City to Country: A Botanic Avenue mid-terrace or lakeside views at €450k Kerry farmhouse

With some rescued and renovated finds, Trish Dromey has a selection of homes from across the country

Derrylough, Tuosist, Kenmare, Co. Kerry

Glasnevin, Dublin 9
€595,000
Size	94 sq m (1,011 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	C3

Since buying mid-terrace Victorian redbrick 39 Botanic Avenue in Glasnevin 12 years ago, the owners have worked hard on turning it into an attractive and comfortable family home.

Divided into two flats when purchased, it’s since been turned back into a single three-bed home with 94 sq m of living space and a converted attic, now an extra bedroom.

“It was re-roofed, re-wired, and re-plumbed in 2013 and in recent years the owners put in a new kitchen and fitted double glazing at the front and treble glazing at the rear,” says auctioneer Frank Fleming, quoting a guide of €595,000. 

Accommodation includes a front sitting room with a cast-iron fireplace opening into a kitchen with white modern units and a quartz-topped island. In an extension at the rear, there’s a dining room and a bathroom and off the kitchen there’s also a utility room.

The first floor has a bathroom and three bedrooms including one used as an office and above this there’s an attic room.

The house has a small garden at the front and a longish one at the rear which has a covered seating area and a gate.

Located close to Botanic Gardens, Botanic Avenue is within a half-hour commute by bus from the city centre. The Property Price Register shows the property sold for €290,000 in 2012.

VERDICT: New owners could continue the work — using the garden space for a larger extension, as the neighbours have done.

Dunmore East, Waterford
€449,000
Size	102 sq m (1,100 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2/3
Bathrooms	2
BER	C1

A coastal home suitable for a diverse range of buyers, No 16 Pine Cove in Dunmore East is a stylishly renovated three-bed semi with a guide of €449,000.

“It’s currently owned by a retiree from Dublin who has refurbished it from top to bottom — putting in new LVT (luxury vinyl tile) flooring throughout, double-glazed windows with louvre shutters and a stylish bespoke kitchen with quartz worktops,” reveals Keith Palmer of Palmer Auctioneers.

Offering 102 sq m of accommodation it has a front sitting room with a raised stove and a doorway opening into a living/dining space with a fully glazed back wall. Off the dining area, there’s a kitchen which has contemporary grey/green handleless units with integrated Bosch appliances and a hidden pantry.

The ground level also has a shower room while the upper floor has a bathroom and three bedrooms. The smallest one has been turned into a walk-in wardrobe but could, according to Mr Palmer, be turned back if required.

Part of a cul de sac development of 20 houses built in the late 1990s, it is located within a 10-minute walk from Lawlor’s Strand near the centre of Dunmore East village.

“Buyers who come to the area include commuters from Waterford city as well as retirees and relocators who want to live near the sea,’’ says Mr Palmer, pointing out the property would make an attractive holiday home.

VERDICT: Stylishly renovated house in a picturesque coastal village.

Dromclogh East, West Cork
€525,000
Size	227 sq m (2,443 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	B3

Situated in the scenic Mealagh Valley, 9km from Bantry Bay, School House at Dromclogh East offers spacious, modern accommodation and views of green fields and distant mountains.

Despite the name, it’s not an old school house but a 1999-built dormer bungalow which has been comprehensively modernised by current owners in recent years.

It’s owned by a UK couple who have done extensive redecoration and added on an extension since they bought it around five years ago,” says Denis Harrington of Harrington Estates.

Quoting a guide of €525,000, for the 227 sq m property, he says it has broadband and a home office and would make an excellent family home for a relocating buyer.

At the rear, where the views are particularly scenic, the property has an extended kitchen/diner/ sunroom fitted with stylish contemporary dark-grey oak-topped units and a long breakfast island.

Alongside the kitchen, there’s a utility room and a study while accommodation at the front of the bungalow includes a living room with a stone fireplace as well as a guest WC, two bedrooms and a bathroom. The upper floor has two bedrooms with sloped ceilings and Velux windows including one en suite. There’s also an art/ music room which could be used as an additional bedroom. 

Outside there are large mature gardens with a patio, a lofted garage, and a fish pond.

Located at Dromclogh East, it’s 9km from Bantry.

VERDICT: A spacious and scenic home located within a 10-minute drive from the coast.

Tuosist, Co Kerry
€450,000
Size	152 sq m (1,636 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	5
BER	D1

The stand-out feature in this traditional farmhouse in Tuosist on the Beara Peninsula is a full-height apex window offering panoramic views of Cloonee Lakes, Kenmare Bay, and the MacGillycuddy Reeks.

Rescued from ruin by an American who extended it and added a sunroom in the 1990s, the farmhouse has been a full-time home for a UK couple for close to 20 years.

Guiding at €450,000, it’s listed with John Daly of Sherry FitzGerald Daly who says that overseas buyers will love the setting and the views.

Dating from the 19th century, the four-bed property is on a site of two acres which includes a wooded area, some stone outbuildings, a polytunnel, and a glasshouse.

In the original part of the farmhouse, there’s a traditional sitting room with a beamed ceiling, a stove and also a study. The extension at the rear accommodates both a cottage-style kitchen and a sunroom with a large apex window. The ground floor has a bathroom and two bedrooms and the upper floor has a second bathroom and two more bedrooms.

“From the sunroom, you have 180-degree views of Cloonee Lakes, Kenmare Bay, and the mountains,” says Mr Daly, noting that all the rear windows have scenic views.

Located at Derrylough almost 2km from Tuosist Post Office, the property is 17km from Kenmare.

VERDICT: Although in need of further renovation, it is both scenic and charming.