Going for a rebel song

THE house that provided secret succour to General Tom Barry and which was mentioned in his book Guerrilla Days in Ireland, is on the market this week with a guide price of €635,000.

For sale through Malcolm Tyrrell of Cohalan Downing and Associates, Belrose House, Upton, in Co Cork, it is in excellent decorative and structural condition and comes with six acres of rolling Bandon farmland.

Set at the end of a private driveway and with south-facing views over the Owenabue valley, this plum property is ripe for the picking.

Built in 1845, all the hard graft that goes into restoring and modernising a property of this age has been done, and some more besides.

For years the home of the O'Mahony's, Belrose, operated as a safe house during the War of Independence, with one of its five bedrooms set aside for IRA men on the run.

It probably played no small part in the Crossbarry ambush, which, despite revisionism, is commemorated yearly and is just down the road from Belrose House.

After the hurly-burly of those years, the house has settled down to be what it essentially is: a period country farmhouse, only now it has grown.

The vendors sensibly resisted the urge to fiddle around with the bones of the house, choosing instead to convert a number of the attached out-buildings to give greater space to the main residence.

What was once an outhouse at the side is now a south/south-west facing sunroom, and the rear stable block has been integrated into the main structure. This provides two extra en suite bedrooms and a huge playroom, as well as a study and office/gym. The building could be operated independently from the house as it has a separate entrance.

The main house faces full south, and the private driveway sweeps round to a terraced area overlooking the valley below. Even on a cold autumn day, the sunlight is enough to heat up these old walls, warming the two south-facing reception rooms.

These two rooms the dining room and drawing room are formal enough for entertaining, but their size means they're not draughty. Double- glazed windows also see off other potential chills.

An old tiled hallway leads to the rear, where the staircase is located off a small circulation space.

The family room is on the left-hand side of the hallway.

Behind the family room is kitchen built in antique pine with free-standing units. At the opposite side of the rear hallway is a comprehensive utility room.

The sunroom is directly off the kitchen and offers a combination living/dining space with a bright, south-facing orientation.

Five bedrooms are on the upper floor: two off one half landing and three off another. The smallest bedroom is now used as a walk-in dressing room for the master suite. The bedrooms at this end of the house do not have en suites, but share a large, main bathroom. Outside, the high estate walls lend shelter to the courtyard which has buildings on three sides. These offer huge potential to any new owner, but even as they are, the stone sheds provide an attractive addition to the property.

Lots of room for parking and turning is provided in a gravel forecourt off the driveway, and in the rear paddock there's a fine hay barn with a lean-to that would be ideal for ponies or even for housing a few head of cattle.