House with country class

IT looks like a former parish priest’s house to the casual viewer – and that’s close enough, because Kilbolane House at Milford, Charleville, Co Cork, was built as a creamery manager’s house.

Standing on eight acres of parkland, the house has a high vantage point over the village of Milford and is close to Newtownshandrum, and within a short commute of Charleville.

The house is ideal for a family, says Derry Walsh of Sherry FitzGerald Walsh, who’s just launched Kilbolane onto the summer market at a guide in the region of €975,000.

That may seem steep for the average property in the area, but as Walsh points out, this is more of a country estate with eight acres attached and the price also reflects the amount of investment made in the property.

“It was sold three years ago and then completely gutted and upgraded to a high standard. There are eight acres with mature trees all round and the lawns have all been redone and landscaped and the old stone walls to the front have been revamped,” he says.

Kilbolane House was built in the 1950s and was run as a B&B for a while: it could revert to that use, says Walsh, as there are two staircases in the house and a range of reception rooms.

These are off a long reception hallway and include a study, a living room with a big bay window, marble fireplace and doors to a side garden with patio.

Then, there’s an impressive formal dining room and a good kitchen/breakfast room fitted with modern vanilla units, granite worktop and stainless steel appliances. It includes a breakfast area, and a fitted utility room: also included is a guest bathroom.

The upper floor has five, big bedrooms, two of which are en suite and all are really well finished, plus a main bathroom.

The external courtyard includes fitted and plumbed laundry room, a shower room with separate WC, and a stone outbuilding that’s perfect for conversion to stables.

The garage includes an overhead room in the apex and the eight acres of land is laid out in paddock fencing.

And the quality of finish will make it attractive to a range of other buyers too, says Walsh, as it is less than two miles to Dromcollogher and has good amenities in the local village.