Modern edge to a village townhouse

Tommy Barker is quite taken with a refurbished stone-built home that lacks none of life's creature comforts.

HISTORY casts a long shadow here beyond the back garden walls but the view from this house's bedroom sauna is thoroughly up to date.

The contrast between the very old and the very new couldn't be more obvious than at this Irish country village home.

There's a strongly-built, 13th century castle beyond the garden walls, originally a Barry family stronghold and steeped in history and musical lore as a garden feature, it beats a designer's folly.

This Liscarroll, Co Cork, house is stone-built to last through the ages, but its interior is comfortably and deceptively modern.

Location is in the village of Liscarroll, midway between the major Munster cities of Cork and Limerick but in lifestyle terms, it is a world away from both.

It carries a €220,000 price guide with agents Sherry FitzGerald Walsh, and this sort of sum wouldn't buy a box-built starter home in either of those cities or surrounds.

Home for the last few years to a professional couple who worked, respectively, in Limerick and Cork city (each a 45-minute commute) it is likely to draw enquires from either market, as well as from people moving from Dublin or the UK seeking a quieter pace of life with every amenity literally on its Main Street (if that's not too busy sounding an address) doorstep.

Built in the 1830s, this fully refurbished townhouse has each of its three bedrooms en suite, and there's even a sauna on the first floor for creature comforts.

Decor is quite timeless, with exposed stone walls a real feature and an anchor to the past, there's a warm wooden feel enhanced with open fireplaces in the sitting room (stone) and in the dining area (old pine) and there are terracotta-tiled floors as well as pine flooring.

The view from the French doors in the sitting room is a stunner, with Liscarroll castle, one of just three 13th century castles of its size left in Ireland, looming as a backdrop at the rear of the 35' garden, which is bordered by a cut-stone wall and accessed through picket fence-like wooden gate.

The wide and well-proportioned house has a classic black and white tiled hall, a kitchen area with built-in units, window seats, antique fireplace and timber-clad ceiling, and is bordered by a 25' high exposed stone wall on the stair-well.

The three upstairs bedrooms have built-ins as well as tongue and groove wood ceilings, and the master bedroom has a wood-sheeted sauna area as a spot to pine for.

The house's exterior stonework was done by one of Ireland's last specialist stonemasons, according to the vendors, who are selling with regret as they have to make a move to city living for work reasons.

The roof is slate, and there's double glazing and oil heating for easy heating.

Agent Sherry FitzGerald Walsh, who are handling viewings, say that although it was most recently home to a professional couple, it was previously run as self-catering Bord Fáilte-approved accommodation and could easily revert to business use.