Lee valley views

IT has a stunning location overlooking the Lee Valley at Ovens, so it’s no wonder that the name of this house, Magh Aoibhinn, means ‘pleasant plains’.

A remodelled house, (the original had a flat roof, 1960s design), it now has three storeys thanks to a new dormer roof and a total internal space of 4,500 square feet.

And the modernist look has gone distinctly backwards in a house that’s stuffed with old and antique furniture and finished with a lot of dipped and stripped pine.

Magh Aoibhinn stands on 1.6 acres at Knockanemore, Ovens, just after the turnoff for the Lee Valley Club and the National Rowing Centre at Farran Woods. The house commands a sharp vee corner site and the sale includes a local planning permission for a second dwelling — the remaining third of the total is being retained by the vendors.

The main entrance is at the rear and the house is approached via a flight of steps and a neo-Georgian doorcase in navy-blue PVC.

Inside, an intricate, hand-made pine staircase leads upwards and a hallway leads through to the living room and kitchen.

Both doors have been reframed in pitch pine with antique, stained glass fanlights used overhead.

The kitchen has free-standing pieces in old pine and it faces north and west with a connecting doorway to the main, south-facing living space and descending stairs to the basement area.

The living room runs across three-quarters of the house and has access onto a new balcony, supported by classical pillars.

Ceilings are corniced, with decorative plasterwork and windows are single-glazed teak with PVC inserts: floors meanwhile are in Oregon pine. And this 13’ by 37’ room has a fireplace at one end, (with seating arrangement) and a long dining table with library area at the other plus a wood burning stove.

Two of five bedrooms are on this level, along with a guest bathroom and overhead there’s a master suite with bay window and en suite bathroom. Bedroom two is a double and bedroom three is long and all rooms have period styling and are served by a main bathroom. A walk-in hotpress completes the first floor accommodation, while down in the basement/lower ground floor, there’s a big games room with championship billiards table, wine cellar, office/ store and utility closer to the kitchen, with access outside.

There’s also access from the driveway directly to this level, so it could make independent accommodation or have surgery/therapy use.

Robert O’Keeffe of Irish and European is the selling agent here and he’s inviting offers in the region of €675,000 for this substantial, detached property.