Touch of California on Déise Gold Coast

Dungarvan, Waterford €750,000

Half a century old, still in the same family’s ownership but finally being sold, this Abbeyside, Dungarvan, home is every bit as good now as it has ever been.

A local professional built this Ballinacourty home, four kilometres from Dungarvan back 52 years ago, laid out its gardens, set the swathes of terraces and patios, excavated the swimming pool, and watched it all mature, along with frequent sunsets over Dungarvan bay and its needle-like spit of sand. Now, it’s time to up anchor.

Auctioneer Denise Radley says it’s in arguably one of the most sought-after locations in and around Dungarvan, near Abbeyside village, and it must have been one of the earlier modern homes to locate out here, close to Clonea Strand, and with the Gold Coast Golf Course almost on its doorstep.

It’s a testament to good design, and subtle evolution, and occasional extension. If you thought large banks of glass were a modern phenomenon, think again – they’re here, in all the right places. One living room has almost a 30’ expanse of glass by its terrace and by the outdoor swimming pool, and there’s window-hoods of jaunty stripe awnings (electrically operated) across the front facade to help block out excesses of sunshine, and set a holiday tone.

Very Californian, indeed: all it needs to complete the glowing holiday-at-home picture is a 99, and a flake, and flippers for the pool.

It’s clearly been a cherished home, with money spent day one and regularly maintained since: clear proof of this is the tactile, gleaming polished brass handrail in the quite elaborate stairs curve. Even in Celtic Tiger times, few stretched to this period hotel touch.

You just have to look beyond the original dormer shape (the massive width of box dormer cutting through the front roof slope is a give-away there’s a bit of engineering as well as design gone into this build) to see how comfortable and accommodating it all is, and there’s 3,500 sq ft here – no mean house. Decor is fresh and smart, older style rather than contemporary and it’s all at ease with lots paintings, hanging plates and polished brasses and waxed furniture, while the kitchen and bathrooms have been upgraded along the way.

There really isn’t much that dates it to such an extent that you feel a make-over is immediately called for. (One of the house’s four bedrooms has an avocado green wash-hand basin by a window, that’s about it, and in any case, style-setting bar owners like Benny McCabe have started using old green, pink and blue sanitary ware jumbled up in bar WCs as as sort of ironic joke. It’s only a matter of time before they get deemed fashionable again. In an ironic sort of way, of course.)

Estate agent Denise Radley says the house, currently on 1.16 acres (a road straightening move to make a bay bend safer is set to shave a bit off the lovingly planted gardens) is “not just a perfect family home, but is also a wonderful house for entertaining.” A large reception room with floor to ceiling windows for sea views has sliding doors to a capacious dining room with table set for 12 guests and another even larger 30’ by 14’ reception room has full length glazed doors that concertina out to the stone-flagged terrace and pool. “It’s meticulously and cleverly designed to capture every aspect of its surrounds it really is in a league of its own,” enthuses Ms Radley.

All four reception rooms are decent sized, and the kitchen’s effectively in two sections, mainly 22’ by 19’ with breakfast section with views, and units are cream, topped with black granite, and floors are marmoleum.

There’s one en suite master bedrooms, with big picture windows and a wall of built-in robes, and upstairs are three more bedrooms, one with en suite, and a main family bathroom.

Who’s going to buy? It’s probably seen as a bit of a trophy property in the area, with a population of 8,000 in Dungarvan, which and it serves a hinterland of 20,000. The bay and coastal setting is special, and may lure a relocating buyer from a city, or the UK, or an ex-pat with cash in pocket.

In the past week, Fáilte Ireland has promised an equivalent driving and heritage route to the Wild Atlantic Way for Waterford’s glorious coastline and inland amenities and, certainly, the Gold Coast needs to be put on more travellers’ radar and maps.

Nearby to this house are the Clonea and Knocknagranagh Golf Clubs, Clonea’s Blue Flag beach is within a walk or a cycle and the old rail line to Waterford city is being opened up as the Déiseway cycle route too– so it’s time to get on yer bike to Ballinacourty.

VERDICT: A spick and span house thanks to spit and polish – a sandy spit in the bay, and polished brasses throughout the home.