Partly-built ‘cottage’ by the sea

WITH its thatch sprouting in fits and starts, this Renvyle, Co Galway home is as much in need of a comb-over as a makeover.

A frustrated dream project, this modern take on a Connemara cottage has been 16 years in the making, and it ain’t finished yet.

Started when the Celtic Tiger and the construction boom were in their infancy, it has remained a work-in-progress through the mayhem of the boom, for two different owners.

While many half-completed developments around the country may well remain in that state for years, at least this project has the virtue of being within sight of completion – and within sight of great views and romantic beaches, too.

The location of the block-built, detached, three-bed in-waiting is a 0.58-acre site at Mullaghglass, just south of spectacular Killary harbour, and four miles from Letterfrack, at Renvyle.

It hovers over the beach at Mullaghglass, looking out over the Atlantic and islands, and will make a very special, completed home, promises estate agent, Rod Spencer.

He is due to sell by auction in September, but may hook a buyer over the summer months, when the sun is shining and all on the dramatic coastline is bright and beautiful.

This thatched project was started by a local woman, and was subsequently picked up by a Frenchman “who always intended to finish it, but never quite got around to it,” says Oughterard-based Mr Spencer, who says the price is €300,000, cheekily suggesting it is almost back to 1993 values. When completed, it could be worth as much as €600,000 to €700,000, he says.

It is largely double-height inside, with scope for up to three reception rooms, and the rafters are still exposed. The part-thatch that is in place might now be best taken off and replaced with a full new crop.

There’s probably enough un-used reed stored inside the house to finish the job.

Despite having only rudimentary glazing, the interior has remained dry; effectively, the structure is up, but it needs room divisions, floors, further glazing, first- and second-fix electrics, plumbing and carpentry, services, etc. A budget of €100,000 to €150,000 would go a long way to finishing it all off.

The grounds, the agents diplomatically says, “have been left to nature and are overgrown.”

But it has location, views, setting, space, a stream running through, and neighbouring properties show how it can all be tamed once more.

An open-ended project, but it could actually be done-and-dusted in a few months, with its balding thatch reinvigorated.