Be a part of the rich history of Smerwick home near a secluded Dingle beach
Built to provide a sheltered vantage point from which to watch the waves break on the rocky shores of the Dingle peninsula, this house involves the story of a First World War army chaplain and one of a German tropical timber merchant.
In the 1920s, Canon Conor McClean, an Anglican chaplain who had served in the British Army during the war, arrived in Dingle in search of place to spend his retirement.
According to stories told by locals he first looked at Clogher beach — but opted for a site overlooking Smerwick Harbour because it was more sheltered.
He built a timber cottage with a corrugated iron roof above the harbour and a boathouse on the foreshore and came to live there, gaining local fame as the first person to own a car on the Dingle peninsula.
After his passing in 1949 the property became a summer home for other members of the clergy.
The German dealer in tropical timber entered the frame in the 1970s when he fell in love with the local scenery during a holiday and decided that this was where he wanted to spend his retirement.
Twenty years after purchasing the property in 1978 he took up permanent residence, bringing with him crates of iroko timber from Ghana, where he had lived, as well as crates containing oak planks and double-glazed timber windows from Germany.
The original cottage was knocked, replaced by a two storey continental style house with large windows and a veranda which had been designed by a German architect.
Timber framed at the front, it is block built and shingle covered at the back and has stone walls at the side.
At the same time the boat house built by Canon McClean acquired a second floor and a spacious living room/TV room with an oak bar counter and a large window positioned to offer magnificent views of the harbour, the Three Sisters and the Brandon Mountain Range.
The German owner subsequently built a second property nearby, and since the early 2000s has offered this one as a summer let.
Called Atlantic Bay Rest it offers visitors a chance to arrive by boat and experience the magic of Dingle. Costing €980 a week in high season, it mostly rents to Germans, Austrians and Swiss tourists.
The house has been available for several years, but has recently been re-advertised by selling agents Fitzgerald Auctioneers who believe it could attract the interest of some of the overseas buyers who are now looking for holiday homes in Kerry.
The property is approximately 1,300 sq ft, with five bedrooms.
The site of a quarter of an acre includes gardens, a boathouse, a boat slip and access to the foreshore.
Similar to many of the timber houses built here by continentals, it has timber paneling on almost all the walls and on the ceilings, as well as timber flooring.
The largest room is a living/dining space with double height ceiling, built-in bookcases and a stone fireplace.
On ground level there’s also a long narrow kitchen with timber fitted units and built-in timber seating as well as a bathroom and four bedrooms.
The first floor has a separate access with one large bedroom with an en-suite and a panoramic view of the harbour.
The timber paneled living room over the boat house offers additional space of approximately 300 sq ft.
Guiding €1.2 million, and open to offers, auctioneer Anthony Fitzgerald describes it as being well-maintained.
He says the key attractions are the exceptional views and the access to the foreshore.
“The property has the added benefit of being just 30 metres from a small secluded beach which very few people know about.”
Twelve miles from Dingle and three from Ballyferriter is in prime tourist territory just two miles from Ceann Sibéal Golf Links.
: A retirement home with a difference! After a World War One Chaplain and a tropical timber merchant, who is next?
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