Enjoy the good life in a dream property

BACK when they were dating, Susan Lynch and her husband Seamus used to take country drives, admiring houses, photographing ones they liked, planning their eventual dream home, and keeping a log of ideas to implement when the time came to buy or build.

Then, one day, they passed the abandoned Woodfield House by Doon Lake in Co Clare — and they simply threw away the book of ideas. They’d found exactly what they wanted.

“It looked so lonely and dark when we drove by, it was just crying out for someone to do something with it,” says Susan.

As besotted with the empty house and its potential as they were with one another, they committed to buying it back in 1997, ever before they married — now, that’s commitment — and they vowed to restore the place that hadn’t been lived in for 40 to 50 years.

It took time, it took passion, it took perseverance: Susan recalls weekends and long evenings working on the house with Seamus, who’s a consulting engineer and thus had the expert knowledge to tackle a job like this.

As the summer evenings lengthened, so too did their hours working on the early 1700s house, initially associated with the Bridgeman family, whose family member William Bridgeman had been a High Sheriff of Co Clare at that period. The estate had its own school in the grounds, and a small brewery or malt house also functioned here in an annexe for a period.

Walls six foot thick, and a structure that spanned the crossover period between the early fortified house and more symmetrical, measured homes, and features like huge chimney stacks and gables, meant serious hard graft.

Returning from their honeymoon, they flew into Dublin and turned right, up to Wilson’s architectural salvage yard for a browse......it was that sort of consuming interest.

They managed to move in around 2004, just before son Andy arrived, and lived on the top floor while work continued underneath on their 5,000 sq ft over-basement home. As Andy grew up, he began to call the carpenter ‘Uncle Keith’ — it was that sort of close-knit project.

Now up for sale as Susan wants to move back closer to her mother, Woodfield House has has a very impressive C1 BER energy rating, which makes it a manageable, comfortable buy for new enthusiastic owners looking for a good slice of the good life her on 34 acres of ‘good energy’ land by Doon Lake.

Doon Lake is noted for its coarse fishing, and the property has 200 metres of water frontage, as well as quality grazing land, woodland walks, paddocks and privacy, hidden areas, a former Lady’s Garden, and those beguiling stone outbuildings, offering commercial potential as well as just space to expand, to keep horses, or let children roam free.

And, while the work is all done on the main 5,000 sq ft, over-basement home. that fantastic range of old stone outbuildings, coach house and stables now beckons for the same sort of care and attention.

Selling agents Clare Tipp properties have reduced the price guide from €3 million to €1.8m, and say the house (variously, a 30 minute or so’s drive to Ennis, Limerick and Shannon airport) is now a great blend of period character and energy efficiency.

There are up to six bedrooms at first floor level, with two bathrooms, three principal reception rooms, including dining room, and a modern take on the classic country kitchen, with granite-topped painted units and a five-oven Aga.

Down in the basement, the heat theme continues: not only is there underfloor heating (LPG fired condenser boiler, thermostatic zoned heating controls, etc) there’s also a sauna and shower room, another kitchen/laundry room, home office, play room, plant room and wine cellar.

With the price reduction the owners and agents Clare Tipp properties says it will appeal to the tranche of overseas buyer who see value in Irish country estate houses, or those her who seek a lifestyle change: “it would make a wonderful crafts, holistic or retreat centre, there’s a lovely energy to the place,” says Susan Lynch, reluctantly preparing to leave, but rightly proud of what she and Seamus achieved.