City to Country: Munster's countryside views or Drumcondra mid-terrace for €450,000

Buyers can choose from city living in Dublin 3 or a range of detached country homes across Kerry, Clare and Waterford

Forest Ridge Lissycasey Co Clare

Drumcondra, Dublin 3
€450,000
Size	95 sq m (1,022 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	F

For No 45 Clonliffe Road in Drumcondra, it’s the location, in a mature residential suburb within easy reach of Dublin city centre and close to local amenities which include Croke Park, that is likely to prove the key selling point.

That’s according to Emer Costello of Felicity Fox auctioneers who is seeking offers of €450,000 for the Victorian redbrick villa style three-bed mid terrace house.

“It was renovated and extended before the current owner bought it in 2014 and has well-presented accommodation as well as off street parking and a large rear garden,’’ she reveals.

It offers 95 sq m accommodation which is more than you would expect from its modest sized frontage.The room at the front which would originally have been a sitting room is now a bedroom and at the rear there’s a timber floored living/ dining space opening out into a kitchen extension with white gloss units.

Upstairs there’s a bathroom and two bedrooms. Fitted with double glazed aluminium windows, the property has an F BER rating, something which new owners will need to address.

At the front there’s a small railed area with a parking space and a gravelled rear garden which also has vehicular access.

“Griffith Park, National Botanic Gardens, Croke Park and Tolka Park Stadium are all within walking distance as is Drumcondra Train Station with links to the Luas line,’’ says Ms Costello 

VERDICT: An attractively Victorian property in a popular Dublin 3 location.

Lissycasey, Co Clare
€545,000
Size	349 sq m (3,734 sq ft)
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	7
BER	B3

Distant views of the Shannon estuary are an added attraction at Forest Ridge near Lissycasey, a spacious and stylish five-bed, seven-bathroom home with a guide of €545,000.

Diarmuid McMahon of Sherry FitzGerald McMahon says it’s a dream home for a family, with a high standard of finish and a good B3 BER rating.

Features in the 2008-built dormer bungalow include under-floor heating, a central vacuum, solar panels and both marble and porcelain tiled flooring. The huge open living area has a kitchen-diner with white units, granite worktops and a long island unit as well as a living room at one side and a west facing sunroom at the other.

Off a marble tiled hallway in the centre of the bungalow, there’s a sitting room, three en suite bedrooms, a guest WC and a bathroom with a raised bath. The first floor, which is accessed by a staircase with a glass balustrade, has a study and two more en suite bedrooms.

Outside there’s an expense of lawned garden and a detached garage, which could be converted into a home office.

Located at Decomade Upper, three km from Lissycasey village, Forest Ridge offers easy access to the M18 motorway and could be considered as an option by buyers in Limerick city, Shannon or possibly Galway city.

“It has high speed broadband so could suit someone working from home,’’ says Mr McMahon noting that Limerick city is less than an hour’s commute.

VERDICT: An extra spacious family home with a good BER and a stylish finish.

Toor North, Co Waterford
€389,000
Size	125 sq m (1,345 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	D2

From this scenically located modern detached bungalow at Toor North near Dungarvan, it’s just around an hour’s drive from the cities of both Cork and Waterford.

Cormac Curran of Sherry FitzGerald Reynolds says the three-bed property and its acre of gardens could appeal to commuters, city relocators looking to work from home and trade-up buyers from Dungarvan, which is within a 15-minute drive.

“It’s an architect-designed house which was built in 2000 and upgraded by current owners in the last few years,” he says, explaining that the bathroom and kitchen have been refurbished.

The owners also converted a garage at the side into an attractive timber cabin with a bathroom which can be used as an office or guest accommodation.

There’s 125 sq m of living space, including a timber floored living room with a fireplace and a kitchen dining room with timber units and large windows offering views of the countryside, wind turbines and gently sloping hills in the distance.

There’s also a small utility room, a shower room, a bathroom and three bedrooms all situated at the rear. Mr Curran says it has great space for a family as well as room to extend.

In the acre of gardens that surround the bungalow, there’s a Steeltech garage as well as a timber cabin.

Guiding at €389,000, the property is almost 12km from Dungarvan, 64km from Cork city and close to 58km from Waterford city.

VERDICT: A scenic and spacious West Waterford home.

Tarbert, Co Kerry
€269,000
Size	163 sq m (1,755 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	B2

All is changed, modern and new at The Cottage, Tieraclea Lower at Tarbert in North Kerry.

“It was a lockdown project for the owners who bought it as a derelict cottage in 2020 and renovated and extended — making it into a smart modern three bed home,” reveals Norma Stack of Sherry FitzGerald Stack.

Guiding at €269,000, the property is expected to appeal to first-time buyers in the area but could, according to Ms Stack, be bought as a holiday home, by a buyer who wants to work remotely or, perhaps, by a returning local looking for an easy to maintain home for their retirement.

Unrecognizable as the 1900s cottage it once was, the property has kept some of its old stone walls but all else is contemporary and new.

Its 163 sq m includes a 10m long kitchen-diner with a vaulted ceiling, Velux windows, and shaker style grey units.

At ground level there’s a modern bathroom and two laminate floored bedrooms while the upper level has an additional bedroom and bathroom. Fitted with double glazing, The Cottage now has a good B2 BER.

Outside there is a garden with lawns, a patio, and gravelled areas as well as a utility shed and a carport.

Located at the edge of Tarbert village on the Shannon estuary, the property is 25km from Ballybunion, a 20-minute car-ferry journey from Clare, and 57 km from Limerick City.

VERDICT: Ultra-modern and affordable, it could be used for remote or hybrid working.