Cheaper by the dozen

These quaint cottages on Lough Derg can be picked up as a job lot — and for a song, says Tommy Barker

FEELING enterprising, and energetic for the New Year? Fancy a resolution to work for yourself? If so, these 12 holiday cottages at pretty Puckane, near the eastern shores of Lough Derg, could fit your needs.

Far removed from the many anonymous holiday home competition cottages is this scheme of a dozen houses, up for sale as an entire lot with an all-in price tag of just €450,000: that’s about €37,500 each, or just over €14,000 per cottage bedroom.

Originally dating back to the 1960s, and romantically harking back a century more before that in terms of roots, this cluster of niche rental properties was renovated in 2004, but now, after a period of reduced trade, a number need doing up once more as they’ve been idle.

Most of what’s needed is TLC, suggests selling agent William Talbot of Sherry FitzGerald Talbot, and some of the thatch needs attention, but it’s all in a day’s work, nothing too onerous.

For prospective purchasers, there has to be scope to build a nice tidy business model once more, linking into the amenities in the hinterland, all helped by the genuine village character of wee Puckane itself, with its two pubs, shop and more.

The 12 houses, on about two acres in total, are split six and six either side of the Puckane-Tullyglass road, and there’s an option to buy in two lots, each with six houses, if that’s where buyer interest comes from.

Eight of the cottages are three-beds, four are two-beds, and 10 are thatched, with a pair of three bed semis having slate roofs.

The manageable complex has been through several ownerships in the past number of years, and has traditionally been popular with American vacationers first and foremost, as well as with British visitors.

The 40km long Lough Derg, which is the second largest lake in the Republic, is one of the jewels on the Shannon; activities include boating and other watersports (there’s a yacht club at Dromineer), and the Shannon is navigable along 150 kms in all. There’s also fishing, walking, hiking and cycling, along with golf, with an 18-hole championship course at Nenagh about six miles away, with the N/M7 Limerick/ Dublin route the other side of Nenagh.

While these Puckane cottages vary individually, features typically include beamed ceilings, slate/stone floors, open hearth fireplaces (plus electric central heating) traditional half doors, thatch, etc.

There’s a bit of breathing room between the cottages, with parking, communal green areas, and the overall setting is village-green like.

VERDICT: Cheaper by the dozen.