More than golf links to €450k architect-renovated Waterville schoolhouse

Lessons in how to make the most of a home can be learned at the former schoolhouse

Views to die for at The Schoolhouse, Emlaghdrinagh, Waterville

Waterville, Co Kerry
€450,000
Size	149 sq m (1604 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	C3

BEING labelled a spinster, shorthand for a woman past marriageable age, is not a title women aspire to. However in times past, it conveyed a distinct legal advantage in the context of property ownership. Unlike their married peers whose legal identity was subsumed by their husband’s, spinsters could own and manage property independently.

The Old Schoolhouse was given a modern twist

In a throwback to the bad ol’ days — or simply the archaic language of the law — the contract regarding the sale of The Schoolhouse in Emlaghdreenagh, Waterville, 37 years ago, referred to its new owners as “spinster sisters”. In fact the two young women were only getting going with their lives and had made the very sensible decision to buy property in one of Kerry’s top-tier spots, where mountains, sea, and lake command the landscape. 

They were introduced to the beauty of South Kerry by their father.

“In his spare time, my dad (a banker) became involved in developing professional golf in Africa, and when we were back in Ireland, he loved to spend time at his favourite course, Waterville, where his great friend, Liam Higgins, was the pro.

“They had met when Irish pro golfers on the African tour came to a reception always held at our house. I remember those parties being long, loud and great fun,” says the owner, who spent some of her early childhood in Africa.

In later years, visiting Waterville Golf Links with her dad, she was introduced to the sublime coastline of South Kerry for the first time.

 “And it was lucky timing, because myself and my sister were looking for a place of our own to put down roots”. “We found The Schoolhouse, took that deep breath familiar to all first-time buyers, and bought it 37 years ago,” the owner says.

The two sisters had spent their formative years as boarders in the Ursuline Convent in Blackrock in Cork City (now de-luxe apartments) while their parents were in Ghana and Nigeria, but became familiar with Kinsale, where they stayed in the Swiss Cottage on Compass Hill, whenever their parents were home. But good and all as Kinsale was, it couldn’t compare to the raw beauty of Waterville. They were smitten with the setting and with the history of The Schoolhouse itself.

Built as a one-room national school in 1894, it served the local population until the 1960s.

“We have neighbours who tell us that pupils were expected to fetch a daily sod of turf to heat the building,” the owner says. The former school washrooms are now a sturdy outbuilding, a section of the wall separating the boys’ from the girls’ playgrounds has been retained and used to grow thriving grape vines, while the schoolhouse itself — built from the stone of a demolished, de-consecrated nearby Church of Ireland church - has benefitted from a masterclass in renovation.

The exceptional level that the property is at today is down to Cork architects KOBW, who picked up where previous owners had left off after they turned The Schoolhouse into a two-storey home, with an ahead-of-its-time open plan layout, sometime between the school closing in the 1960s and the sisters buying it in 1988.

Throughout the 1990s, it was the “welcome home” base for siblings scattered around the globe and for the “spinsters’” retired parents.

“This is the place we allcome back to, this is where we take off our shoes and coats, this is the place we call home,” the owner says.

The noughties saw a great deal more change when one of the retired “spinsters” moved there fulltime with her retired husband, and they set about implementing gradual upgrades.

“The project that we initially saw as some minor DIY tweaks and repairs...soon turned into a total refurbishment designed by KOBW,” the owner says, adding that the objective was to turn a holiday home “into a light and airy, but cosy year-round residence”.

“KOBW came along and said ‘you have got to lift the roof up and let the light in’, and so we did.”

The Schoolhouse, Emlaghdrinagh, Waterville

During the re-design process, the three-bedroom house was re-roofed, re-wired and re-plumbed, with three new bathrooms installed, as well as a gas-combi central heating system and lots of insulation.

 The roof was raised over the main open-plan area to create a 7m high vaulted ceiling with exposed timber beams.

 Modern zinc and glass extensions were added giving the exterior a contemporary look. Walls of glazing surround the dining area. The view – hard to beat - looks south across the Inny Estuary towards the 3rd and 16th holes at Waterville Golf Links, to Hog’s Head and to the mountains beyond.

“I golf, as does my husband, and before I leave home, I look across to see what people are wearing on the 3rd green and then I know what it’s like weather-wise,” the owner says.

When the weather is bad, there’s nowhere nicer to hunker down than in the cosy sunken snug with a wood-burning stove set into the original stone chimney, or up on the galleried landing where you can watch the storms come in.

Cosy sunken snug

 When the weather is good, flagstone patios to the front and rear are the places to be (one patio is accessible via French doors off a downstairs en suite double bedroom). The glazed dining area is superb any time of day or night.

“The house looks regular enough from the outside, but when people walk in and they see the vaulted ceiling and the gallery landing (with panoramic views), you always get a “Wow!”. That’s who the buyer will be, the person who appreciates that,” the owner says.

They’ll appreciate the beautifully landscaped 0.28 acre plot too, and the glass-fronted, insulated garden studio, currently used to paint in. 

Garden studio

The old school washroom, currently used as a shed, holds further potential.

A fenced in area to the rear of the house is a secure area for kids or pets.

Having seen four generations of family through the doors of The Schoolhouse, the owner has a wealth of memories and is leaving with “some sadness, but not going far”.

“Having spent so many happy holidays in Kerry, our son and daughter decided to invest in a house in Dungeagan, only 10 minutes away. It’s big enough to accommodate the two families, including our four growing granddaughters (aged 11 to 17), their golfing and fishing friends… and us,” the owner says.

The decision was reached following “a family conflab over Christmas” where they came to the conclusion “that there was little sense keeping two houses a few miles apart”. And so The Schoolhouse, with its rich history and fresh twist, is on the market with Ron Krueger of Engel & Völkers who says it’s quite a unique offering, “a lovely mix of period schoolhouse and contemporary architecture”, surrounded by terrific gardens and with the bonus of tremendous views.

“I’m seeing good interest from different parts of Ireland, from the UK, the Continent and the US, so you could say it’s global“ the agent says. His guide price for the 1,600 sq ft house is €450,000.

In a prodigiously scenic location, it’s within walking distance of Reenroe Beach and within a 10 minute drive of the charming villages of Ballinskelligs (where there’s a Blue Flag beach) and Waterville and the golf links. Fans of fishing will enjoy being near Lough Currane. Waterville is on the Ring of Kerry.

VERDICT: Hiring architects to wring the most out of the old schoolhouse was a seriously good call. It’s an ideal coastal home, with south-facing sea views, comfort, style and all the scenic extras that come free of charge in this handsome corner of South Kerry. Overseas interest guaranteed. A golfer’s paradise.