Brideweir revisited

LAST sold in the 1990s, Brideweir is a former Georgian rectory arriving on the market upgraded even further, with a €1.3 million-plus price guide.

The riverside home is flanked by the Bride, a tributary of the River Blackwater in Co Cork, a half-hour's drive from the city and its international airport.

Brideweir is located near Conna, just a few miles off the main Cork-Dublin N8, with Rathcormac and Tallow as marking points. The Bride parallels the Blackwater, and joins it to the east near Villierstown.

Other imposing piles on the Blackwater include Michael Flatley's Castlehyde, his architect Peter Inston's Cregg Castle, and Ballynatray, sold near Youghal on 400 acres last month for e12 million.

Brideweir House is more modestly affordable with a guide price in excess of e1.3 million through country house estate agent Michael H Daniels, who describes it as "a very typical rectory, in excellent condition throughout".

Its 20 acres of grounds run along the wending and wooded road to Tallow, in pure sports country. The accommodation includes a stable yard with stone coach house, four stables (two newly-built), and there's a hard-surface tennis court to round off a day's activities before hitting the sauna in the main residence.

The property has extensive gardens with a mature stock of beech trees. Brideweir was built about 1820, and is a two-storey property over a recently extended basement. The extra floor means that despite its modest-looking proportions, there is about 5,000 sq ft of space to play with. The residence comes with four first- floor bedrooms, with master bedroom en-suite and crisp decor that mixes modernity with period feel.

Reception rooms include a drawing room, dining room, sitting room, plus study. At the lower-most level of the house there is a modern fitted kitchen with painted units and island block, a recently added and sunny breakfast room with pine-sheeted sloping ceiling, overhead Velux window and cast-iron stove.

There is also a bathroom, sauna and au pair/granny bedroom and sitting room.

Although the new Watergrasshill by-pass brings Cork city even closer to those faced with a daily commute, selling agent Michael H Daniels expects Brideweir to attract both national and international interest.

Meanwhile, also on the market within easy commute and with similar country-living appeal is Lissardagh House, an upgraded Georgian home with 13 acres of grounds and extensive facilities for horses along the Cork-Macroom road at Lissardagh village.

Joint agents for that €1.6 million property are Hamilton Osborne King and Sherry FitzGerald Hinchion in Macroom, and it has been viewed by a cross-section of home hunters since going up for sale earlier this spring with bids expected.