Buzzy €350k Galtees sanctuary a retreat  from a world of woes

Rustic lifestyle,  with no  hardships,  at this cleverly extended period stone cottage

Old meets new: architect-designed extension keeps a respectful distance from period stone cottage. Agents PF Quirke & Co guide at €350,000

Ballylanders, Limerick
€350,000
Size	103 sq m (1,105 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	C3

HALF a century before the current wave of US citizens fleeing the US for quieter lives amid the whirling Trump tornados, a couple of American journalists, Donald and Mary Grant, wrote an account of their move to a simpler, bucolic life in 1970s south-west Ireland in a book called White Goats and Black Bees.

Only uphill struggle at Balllylanders home is a climb in the Galtees

Well, 50 years on, here’s a custom-made 2025 retreat for anyone considering same, a safe and steadying sanctuary.

Carraturk cottage: original section with inglenook hearth and stove

Heck, it’s even got bees and hives, pygmy goats, and hens roaming the unsullied land, with a charmer of a restored cottage with architectural adroit add-on. It’s on 3.5 acres, near Limerick’s Ballylanders and North Cork’s Mitchelstown, with the gentle Galtees rolling down to meet and greet any and all arrivals.

Glazed eyes? Rest up.

Having been a rustic hideaway for a woman with Mitchelstown family heritage, this ‘pretty in pale pink’ compact heritage stone cottage with half door, inglenook fireplace, and simple interior has been extended to the side: it’s joined now at a respectful distance with a linked larch and standing seam flat/low pitch roofed side wing with clerestory, corner, and glazed wall of windows, all ready for new occupants and caretakers now; it is listed with Tipperary agent Natasha Quirke of Clonmel-based PH Quirke & Co with a €350,000 AMV.

Linked-in

It’s all aesthetically done: what’s old is old and what’s new is new, with a ground floor bedroom plus a lofted bedroom via a ladder (so traditional) in the original pink washed vernacular cottage which has a stove in the vast chimney ope; underfloor heating, with free-standing old and painted pine furniture and workmanlike kitchen with cherry red range cooker.

The modern add-on with large floor tiles is to the side, down a few steps, and has a utility with garden access to banks of ferns, a bathroom with shower, long bath, and decorated ceramic hand basin.

The main bedroom is set within a timber-planked cocoon by a bright linking living area facing mountain and garden views through a long wall of glazing, a complete contrast to the sash originals in the cottage section.

Take the plunge.

There’s over 1,100 sq ft now, with a respectable C3 BER, and the three-plus acres ringed by old pines is private, in the midst of fields of pasture, approached by a long drive/avenue with natural hedgerows for foragers, whilst the ground is grazed by a few goats, and buzzed about by busy bees.

Nearby is Ballylanders for shops, cafes, and services, Mitchelstown is only 10km to the south, and the wider area is replete with walks, hikes, and cycle trails.

VERDICT: Carefully curated ‘old’ meets easy living ‘new’ at this extended Galtees refuge from the woes of the world.