Two €1m+ Kerry homes are sure to float someone’s boat

Similar because of their location and because they have slipways, boathouses, sea frontage, and elevated views of Kenmare Bay, they are however different in size and composition. But quite coincidentally both properties are located almost exactly 20km from Kenmare town.

Villa Lilla is slightly older, having originally been built in the 1960s as a small bungalow.

It didn’t get christened Villa Lilla until a UK-Swedish couple fell in love with the tranquility of Tahilla 16 years ago and turned it into something different. Now it’s 130 sq m one-/two-bed property — which, from the outside, is still identifiable as a traditional bungalow while the interior is tiled and modern and quite Mediterranean looking with rough plastered walls, rounded corners, timber features and white connecting archways instead of standard doorways.

Large picture windows in the main bedroom and the living room frame the scenic views of Kenmare Bay and the Caha Mountains across from it on the Beara Peninsula.

During renovations in 2019 the owners — one an inventor for the oil industry and the other a former interior designer and now a writer — fitted triple glazing and put in insulation which brought the BER up to an impressive B2.

Although the house has been attractively upgraded, it was the sizable, scenically situated site, which led the owners to set up home on the shores of Kenmare Bay, which is now sure to attract new owners. Villa Lilla comes with 15 acres of wild countryside which includes 500m of water frontage, a small sandy beach, a little island called Coongar, as well as a boathouse, a mooring, and a pier with a slipway.

The property also has a 20 sq m landing pad for a helicopter, an 85 sq m one-bed guest cottage with balcony and a garage and a 75 sq m building added by the owners in 2009 which is evenly divided into office and storage space.

The boathouse, where the couple keep a fishing boat, is within a short walk of the house. The owners are still in love with the tranquility of a place where they can’t hear cars, but can on the beach hear the barking of seals.

The UK-based owners of Rossmore House came across the site which they identified as being perfect for a remote coastal retreat while sailing in Kenmare Bay in the 1990s. 

They bought a 1.6-acre site by the waterfront and a separate one-acre site with a 1970s bungalow with which they upgraded and extended in 1999 turning it into a split level 204 sq m home.

In order to get the full benefit of their coastal property they built a slipway and a replacement boathouse in 2010 where they keep their sailing dinghies..

“The site includes approximately 250ft of water frontage and the boathouse is located down a pathway around 150 yards from the house,’’ reveals auctioneer Dominic Daly.

The house is well maintained and spacious with five/six bedrooms, three bathrooms as well as a utility room , a kitchen diner and a sitting room with views of Kenmare Bay. Fitted with double glazing and night storage heating it has an F BER which will probably prompt a new owner to consider an energy retrofit.

Rossmore Island is connected to the mainland by a bridge which is located around 1.5km from Rossmore House.

“The property is convenient to the Ring of Kerry but the location is quiet and secluded and the views of Kenmare Bay are magnificent,’’ says Mr Daly.

While the accommodation on offer in the two properties is different, as are the site sizes — both are private and secluded coastal retreats — with sea views, water frontage, and boathouses. Given the similarity in their guide prices and their attractions, it is certain that they will attract similar buyer types — sure to include quite a number of international ones.

A check on the Property Price Register reveals that this type of high-price property with water frontage is very rare. Prior to this the only one on record seems to be Long Lake House which sold for over €1.79m at the start of the year. Built by a wealthy German in the 1980s, it’s 882 sq m house on 13 acres with a private lake as well as a pier a boathouse a boat ramp and a pontoon.

VERDICT: Either of these properties could float a millionaire’s boat.