City to Country: Victorian Portobello cottage for €475k or taste of rural life across scenic West Cork and Kerry homes 

Situated close to the banks of the Grand Canal in Portobello, Dublin 8, No 9 Portobello Road is a very cute looking two-bed terraced house, with a guide of €475,000.

The small, single storey Victorian cottage is on the market with Emer Costello of Felicity Fox auctioneers, who says it is well maintained, well presented, and is very much in demand due to the popularity of the Portobello area, and it’s location close to the heart of the city centre.

Offering just 57 sq m it’s a former rental property which was extended by previous owners, who added Velux windows in the living areas to let in more light.

Accommodation includes an open plan kitchen/dining/ living room, which has grey units with a Belfast sink, and a sitting room space with a period style fireplace and a stove, as well as a high ceiling with a Velux window.

At the front, the cottage has a bedroom with a sash window and views of the canal.

To the rear it has a shower room and a second bedroom which is most likely added as part of an extension.

Although well maintained, the property has an F energy rating and is in need of a retrofit.

“Located at the city end of the South Circular Road, it’s within a 15 minute walk of St Stephen’s Green and Grafton St,” Ms Costello says, pointing out that it’s also within easy reach of a range of amenities in both Portobello and Rathmines, across the canal.

VERDICT: Small, but cute, and the area is fashionable and popular.

To very pretty effect, the owners of 112 Church Lane, in Kilcock, Kildare, have painted all the redbrick features and window quoins on the front of their detached cottage green.

A very charming Victorian property, it dates from 1907.

“It was owned by the same family for 90 years, until the current owners bought it 20 years ago,” Eamon O’Flaherty of Sherry FitzGerald Brady reveals, explaining that the “two-up two-down” cottage has since been extended and renovated.

On the market with a guide of €340,000, it’s now a three-bed, three-bathroom 122 sq m property, with a C3 BER.

“The owners rewired, re-plumbed, and upgraded the insulation, but were keen to retain original features,” Mr O’Flaherty said, noting that features include exposed brickwork, an original brick fireplace, and a metal frame staircase with spalted Ash treads.

Ground-floor accommodation includes a kitchen, which mixes old and modern features which include brick fireplace, a Belfast sink, and some orange kitchen units. In the extension, there’s a living dining room with exposed brick walls and a stylish staircase.

There’s also ground floor study/ and a guest WC, while the upstairs has two bedrooms at the front and a third with an en suite, as well as a bathroom in an extension.

Mr O’Flaherty says this very charming cottage could look very attractive to Dublin city buyers.

VERDICT: Quaint, quirky, and larger than you would expect.

Poundrock House at Gortnagrough near Ballydehob offers space, land, and beautiful scenery for a buyer who is looking to experience the West Cork lifestyle.

Built in the early 2000s, it’s a four-bed dormer bungalow with 204 sq metres of living space, close to two acres of gardens, and myriad views of the surrounding countryside.

“It’s a well maintained property which was built as a family home and has been very well maintained”, says Niamh Moloney of Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill, who is currently seeking offers of €375,000.

Accommodation includes a long open plan kitchen/dining/living room with a kitchen diner and a fitted kitchen with a breakfast counter at one end, and a timber floored sitting area with a stove at the other.

Double doors in the sitting room open to a stunningly bright sunroom at the side, and the property also has a utility room, a guest WC and a study at the front.

The upper floor has a bathroom and three bedrooms including one with an en suite and a walk in wardrobe. The house has oil fired heating and a C1 BER.

In the extensive gardens there are mature trees and shrubs.

Ms Moloney says there may be potential for a new owner to set up a small scale farm enterprise.

Located 5km from Ballydehob, Poundrock House is 12km south of Bantry and around the same distance from Schull which is located south west of it.

VERDICT: Offers lots of land and plenty of space for a relocating buyer.

The most obvious attraction of this stone-faced bungalow at Lackeen, on the Ring of Kerry, is the scenic view it offers of Kenmare Bay and of the Caha Mountains across on the Beara Peninsula.

When viewers take a break from admiring the view, they will appreciate other attractions of the 2007-built property.

The house has 159 sq m of living space, almost an acre of gardens, and is located within a 10 minute drive of Kenmare.

Quoting a guide of €435,000 for the three-bed property, Ron Kruger of Engel & Voelkers auctioneers says it’s a very well maintained, owner occupied home, with a solid B3 energy rating and scenic private gardens.

Rooms with Kenmare Bay views include a front sitting room with a fireplace and stove, as well as a long kitchen/dining room with cream fitted units.

There’s also a utility room, a bathroom, and three spacious bedrooms — including two with en suite shower rooms.

Surrounded by mature private gardens with sloping lawns and mature trees, the property is accessed by a long gravel driveway.

Situated in a cul-de-sac off the Ring of Kerry, it is located 11km from Kenmare.

“It’s within a short drive from Blackwater pier, Templenoe Pier, Cush Strand and the Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club,” Mr Kruger says, noting that it’s attracting attention from relocating buyers and those seeeking a scenic holiday home.

VERDICT: Offers space, comfort, and very scenic views.