€495,000 Kerry home with former links to Skelligs Chocolate could be a sweet deal 

IN THE late 1870s, the Cadbury family built a model village for their employees in an idyllic spot south of the city of Birmingham. They named it Bournville, a portmanteau of the Bourn stream, which flowed through it, and the French word ‘ville’, meaning ‘town’. It became the blueprint for many model villages in Britain.

In the 1950s and ’60s, pretty scenes in towns like Bournville were used by Cadbury in their packaging, promoting the notion that the sweet treats inside the chocolate box were as scrumptious as the scenes themselves. The term ‘chocolate-box’ property was coined.

While the house featured here, in south-west Kerry, has nothing to do with Cadbury, it does have links with confectionery.

 Moreover, it’s ruggedly handsome setting would outshine any image of English countryside used to enliven Cadbury’s packaging.

The original owners of this Kerry home were the McGowans, founders in the late 1990s of the Skellig Chocolate Factory, now a hugely successful food tourism business, grown by entrepreneur Colm Healy, who bought it from the McGowans in 2004 and sold it in 2022 to the Paddy McKillen Jr/Matt Ryan Oakmount/Press Up group.

While Skellig Chocolate Factory continues to churn out handmade artisan goodies from its base near St Finian’s Bay on the Wild Atlantic Way, the McGowans have long moved on from their home in the townland of Cloghanelinaghan. It’s been in the ownership of UK-based Mark Overty and family for more than 15 years, after it came to their attention when his wife was looking for somewhere to stay for a few days with gal pals.

“I remember at the time she was looking online for somewhere to stay in Ireland with her friends. Whenever she did a search, this property kept popping up as ‘for sale’. Even though there were no internal pictures of it, we liked where it was and I got my parents to go and look at it for us,” says Mark.

Mark’s late parents, Fred and Beryl Overty, were living near Killarney, having relocated there from the UK. Celebrities in their own right in the roles of Killarney town’s official Santa and Mrs Claus (pictured below), they liked the land/house package at Cloghanelinaghan.

 Having given it the thumbs-up, Mark and family bought it and it’s been their holiday home ever since.

Nestled into the valley floor, the house they purchased is set against the dramatic backdrop of Cnoc na dTobar (Knocknadobar), a 690m mountain worshipped by pagans in the good ol’ days when celebrations took place on its summit to mark the harvest festival of Lughnasa. It later became a sacred place for pilgrims and, in the 1880s, Stations of the Cross were added. These days, it’s one of just 12 pilgrim paths across the country.

Beyond this mountainy backdrop is Kells Bay, but you don’t need to go over the mountain to reach the coast. Just 750m away is Coonanna harbour and pier, a sheltered area with a slipway and lots of boating activity.

“You’ll sometimes spot seals there,” says Mark.

The nearest beach, White Strand, is 15 minutes by car, but there’s a multitude to choose from along the beauteous Iveragh Peninsula.

Well positioned to explore this landscape is the four/five-bedroom Overty home, which has a good deal more to it than its exterior suggests.

“It’s quite deceiving from the outside. It looks like a single-storey home but, in fact, there’s lots of roof spaces that have been made use of,” Mark says.

These include a converted attic currently used as a lounge, with a bathroom and sleeping quarters off it. 

Above the open-plan kitchen/dining area, another vaulted ceiling creates room for a mezzanine lounge area.

At more than 2,500sq ft, it’s a roomy light-filled home, made more so by raised ceilings and large skylights. The site it’s on is 0.6 acres.

The Overtys have maintained it well over the years, touching up the paintwork and adding new roofs and doors to rear outbuildings.

Otherwise, it’s largely as they bought it: an unfussy, comfortable holiday home with a cosy cottage feel, enhanced by traditional units in the kitchen and Valentia slate accents (from the quarry on nearby Valentia Island). 

As well as open-plan kitchen/dining (with adjoining utility) and a mezzanine sitting room, there’s a small study/office, family bathroom, and three double bedrooms on the ground floor. 

A conservatory on the south side of the house offers premium views of Cnoc na dTobar. 

A rear hallway gives access to a storage area and leads to the converted attic.

Outside is a mix of lawn, gravel and shrubbery. To the rear, a covered deck and outdoor fireplace faces west and is “ideal for outdoor living and entertaining”, says selling agent Ron Krueger, of Engel & Völkers.

Mark says a table out front is the perfect place to breakfast and capture the sun as it rises up over the mountains.

Mr Krueger says the area “epitomises tranquil country living, while being just an eight-minute drive from Caherciveen”, a town well-stocked with retail and hostelries.

“The area is celebrated for its stunning beaches, scenic hill walks, and picturesque trails,” Mr Krueger adds.

Given the spectacular location, he expects interest from overseas, with a strong possibility that the property will continue to be used as a holiday home.

The guide price is €495,000.

VERDICT: Lots to savour at this cosy home in a very tasty location.