Bright lights of the gaeltacht

Tommy Barker says impressive stone work is a strong feature.

BUILT very much with the upper end of the market in mind is this 2,400 sq ft home at Feonagh, on Kerry’s Dingle Peninsula.

The detached house on 1.8 acres has a price guide of €1.2 million via Fenton Properties for developer Myles Vickers.

He’s ensured the specification is high from start to finish, and one thing that really makes it stand out — literally — is the effort and wiring put into the lighting.

Over €40,000 worth of lighting has gone into place, inside and out, controllable from 0 to 100% brightness, and everything in between, for mood setting and energy efficiency to boot.

Surpassing the spend on lighting was the cost of the distinctive stone work, where 250 cubic metres of local sandstone (about €70,000 worth of stone and labour) was used inside and out, and in particular in the fireplace and chimney breast for a real hefty feel of rootedness to the landscape.

Architect-designed, the house has clusters of Velux windows (two blocks each of four roof windows) in the two upper level rooms, one a bedroom, the other a living room, for light and views.

And, what views!

Mountain and sea meet, with the eye-catchers including the Blasket Island, Smerwick harbour, and the rise and fall peaks of the Three Sisters. The setting is natural and largely unspoiled, with the added extras of two restaurants and a bar all in the immediate hinterland, and a beach just down the road a few minutes bare-foot walk away. Dingle town is about five miles.

It is being sold with a builder’s finish, so a buyer will get final choice of things like flooring and a kitchen, and a PC sum/alowance of €40,000 is set aside for this further spending.

Features include underfloor heating, landscaped grounds with cobble lock paths, with lighting inset into the paths.

Accommodation includes one en suite first floor bedroom, plus upper level living room, and three ground floor bedrooms (one is en suite), main bathroom and guest loo (four bathrooms in all) with open ground floor living and dining space.