City to Country: Extended €475k Dublin home or scenery at spacious Kerry escape

Buyers can choose from city living in Ceannt Fort, Dublin 8 or tranquil seclusion with views of Kerry's Lough Currane, writes Trish Dromey

Tue, 19 Dec, 2023 - 18:14

Trish Dromey

Ceannt Fort, Dublin 8
€475,000
Size	78 sq m ( 840 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	1
BER	D2

The attractive 1920s built brick fronted terraced houses in the Ceannt Fort Estate in Dublin 8 tend to be very sought after especially when they have already been renovated.

That’s according to Andrew Allen of Jacobs & Allen auctioneers who has just listed No 147 Owens Avenue with a guide of €475,000. He says it was renovated and extended around 15 years ago.

“It’s a very well maintained property which was upgraded by owners who first lived in it and later rented it," he reveals.

At the front there’s a tiled living room with a fireplace and an archway leading through to a kitchen with modern units. In an extension at the rear there’s a tiled shower room while the first floor has two timber floored bedrooms.

At the rear the property has a 12.5 metre long enclosed patio garden with raised beds. New owners could possibly use the garden space to extend and will probably consider upgrading the D2 BER.

The house comes with two off-street parking spaces at the front, which Mr Allen says is a significant selling point.

Located within a short walk from James’s Luas stop, it offers easy access to the city centre.

The Ceannt Fort Estate of over 200 houses built immediately after the First World War, is considered to have been a progressive publicly funded response to the housing crisis.

In August this year an extended two-bed property at No 197 Owens Avenue sold for €520,000.

VERDICT: Pretty and popular.

Monalea, Co Wexford
€495,000
Size	236 sq m ( 2,540 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	B3

Not the typical type of property you would expect to find amidst the gently sloping forested hills of north Wexford, this architecturally designed house at Monalea is both stylish and different.

Built in 2007, it is a spacious 236 sq metre four-bed house which is made up of two wings connected by a central foyer. One side has single storey living space with double height ceilings and large windows while the other is a bedroom wing which has a large games room/home office on the upper floor.

Listing it with a guide of €495,000 Victor Lambert of Lambert McCormack auctioneers says it’s a remarkable, contemporary home on an elevated site of almost an acre. “The location between Gorey and Tinahely is picturesque and idyllic,’’ he observes.

The single-storey section has two living rooms, a kitchen diner, a utility room and a WC. One of the full-height windows on the gable end belongs to a contemporary kitchen/diner with modern deep grey kitchen units with quartz worktops. Behind the other full-height window is a large oak-floored living room with a stove.

In the second wing, there’s a bathroom and four bedrooms including two en suite ones. The house has oil-fired underfloor heating, solar panels and a B3 BER.

Located around 14 km from both Gorey and Arklow it would make an attractive trade up home but could, according to Mr Lambert, appeal to Dublin buyers thinking of remote working or commuting occasionally.

VERDICT: Offers seclusion, space and style in a scenic rustic setting.

Dungarvan, Co Waterford
€545,000
Size	136 sq m ( 1,465 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	2
BER	C2

You couldn’t guess from its contemporary interior or open plan layout that this four-bed semi-detached house at Bawnard on Clonea Road in Dungarvan was built in the 1960s.

Now festively decked out for the season that’s in it, the property was comprehensively upgraded, extended and redecorated in 2020.

“It’s a turnkey home with a kitchen /living room extension at the rear and an exceptionally long back garden,’’ says Corman Curran of Sherry FitzGerald Reynolds adding that the location on Clonea Road is one of the most sought after in town.

On the market with a guide of €545,000, it has 136 sq metres of living space and an improved C2 BER.

During renovations walls were knocked to create modern open plan living space. A front lounge opens into a dining area in the centre of the house which has an archway leading into the extension. At one side the extension has a kitchen with modern navy blue units and an oak topped island unit and, at the other, highly glazed, bright living area/ sunroom with two large sets of patio doors.

The ground floor also has a bedroom, a bathroom, a little boot room and a small utility area. Upstairs there’s a bathroom and three bedrooms as well as a reading area/study on the landing.

Located are one and a half km from the town centre, the property is very close to the Greenway.

VERDICT: Attractive to trading up buyers and relocators as well as downsizers.

Waterville, Kerry
€489,500
Size	208 sq m ( 2,240 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	4
BER	B3

Beenbane Cottage near Waterville on the Ring of Kerry has the space, comfort levels and scenery that relocating buyers look for.

That’s according to James Hillis of The Property shop who says he has in recent years sold several properties to employees of large IT companies who moved to the area to work remotely Beenbane Cottage.

New to the market with a guide of €489,500, is a 208 sq ft modern dormer bungalow with close to two acres of grounds and scenic views of Loch Currane and nearby mountains.

“It’s a bright modern 2005 built property which has been very well looked after – it’s a family holiday home which has also been let on Airbnb,’’ reveals Mr Hillis.

The largest room is a spacious kitchen diner with a stone chimney breast, a stove and shaker style units. There’s also a timber floored living room with a fireplace, a utility room, a guest WC and an en suite ground floor bedroom. At the side, a tiled sunroom overlooks the gardens.

An open tread staircase leads to the first floor which has a landing area used as a home office and two en suite bedrooms with large Velux windows Accessed by a long driveway, the property has a large patio and extensive lawned gardens lawns bounded by stone walls and trees.