Riverside country house with almost an acre of land

"GOD made Donoughmore and then he done no more," or so the saying goes.

Either way, the townland crops up regularly in property talk on the north-western side of Cork city, because it's one of the few places where you are allowed to build one-off houses.

This wide-spun area could effectively be described as the planning version of 'to hell or to Connaught'.

Which is why, when you drive along the road from Blarney to Foxes Bridge, in Donoughmore, you'll see some really smart new houses or scraped out-tracks ready for the first lorry load of hardcore.

Building from scratch can be a major turn-off for some people, so the chance to move into a ready made dormer is now on offer through Declan Groeger and Vincent Clinch of F&V Sheahan.

Massabielle is a massive property, almost 3,000 square feet, with a whole top floor suite that would fit the average semi and, as the Americans say, then some.

The grounds have a long sweep of frontage onto the river Martin and the salmon are now swimming past upstream to spawn.

Running to almost an acre, there's a Romanesque terrace at the back with a complicated set of brick arches and a broad sweep of cobble-lock ground.

The river side of the house is finished in similar material and has a seating area, with a small pontoon bridge for interest.

Inside, the house is immaculately maintained with a sweep of reception rooms, a kitchen dining room and three bedrooms on the ground floor.

All of the rooms have fireplaces and wooden floors, and the house has three bathrooms.

It also has two entrances, the formal one facing the main road, with stained and bevelled glass windows, the informal one leading from the gable end approach to the house which leads onto a hallway with the staircase to the first floor.

This area has a dining table at the stairwell end, a large circulation area with walk-out dormers and then a huge master bedroom with separate dressing room and bathroom.

This could be subdivided any which way and is very impressive just as it is, in terms of size alone.

Ready to move into, cosy and well-maintained, Massabielle is on the market with a guide price of €650,000.