City to Country: Charming €595k Drumcondra redbrick or stylish and spacious home in Clonakilty 

New owners of 24 St Anne’s Road should be able to sit back and enjoy the charm of the renovated red brick mid-terrace property and the convenience of its Drumcondra location.

“It was extended and renovated in 2019 – everything was upgraded including the flooring, the bathroom the kitchen,’’ says Martin Doyle of Sherry FitzGerald Drumcondra noting that it has replacement sash windows and that the BER rating has been brought up to a C1.

Current owners have maintained it well since buying it off a couple who renovated it four years ago. Guiding at €595,000, it’s larger than it looks from the outside with 75 sq metres of living space.

At entrance level it has a high ceilinged sitting room with a period style fireplace and alcove shelving. A staircase in the hallway leads down to an L shaped kitchen/dining area which has beech topped white units with a breakfast counter as well as a redbrick fireplace with a stove.

One bedroom is located at the rear of the kitchen while the other, along with the renovated wet room style bathroom, is on the first floor.

“The location is within easy reach of the city centre and convenient to numerous shops, cafes, and restaurants in Drumcondra Village “ says auctioneer Martin Doyle noting that The Botanic Gardens , Griffith Park and Drumcondra Train Station are close by.

The Property Price register shows the property selling for 2018 for €442,500 and again, post renovation, for €540,000 in 2020.

VERDICT: Attractively renovated and conveniently located.

Designed and built as the dream home of its owners in 2008, this three-bed detached dormer property at Ballyshea, Craughwell in Galway is stylish, spacious and energy efficient.

It’s an architecturally designed limestone clad house with a stylish bespoke Italian spiral staircase, a sleek red Scavaloni kitchen and a B1 BER,’’ says of Colm Ruane of RE/MAX noting that it’s on a site of almost an acre and a quarter.

Designed with a double height apex window at the front, it’s surrounded by lawned gardens and has views of countryside and of a nearby castle.

There’s 251 sq metres of living space which includes a very sizable open plan kitchen /dining / living space with stylish red fitted units and includes a dining area/sunroom with a vaulted ceiling and a fully glazed wall. The property also has a utility room, a guest WC and an en suite ground floor bedroom

A spiral steel and timber staircase in the hallway leads up to a galleried landing with metal balustrades . At the level there are two en suite bedrooms and a home office which could if needed be turned into as a fourth bedroom. The house has an additional 164 sq metres in the basement.

Guiding at €585,000 , it’s located seven km from Craughwell village and 30 km from Galway city and is a little over an hour’s drive from Limerick city.

VERDICT: Spacious and stylish enough to attract both remote workers and commuters.

In addition to being charming and rustic, Pergola Cottage at Little Sugarloaf near Kilmacanoge village in Wicklow has quite an impressive view of Sugarloaf mountain.

It looked especially pretty when photographed with a sprinkling of snow by Serena Maguire of George & Maguire properties in recent weeks. Listing the sympathetically renovated two bed semi-detached cottage with a guide of €525,000 she says that both it and its well laid out patio gardens are delightful.

The property which probably dates from the 1900s was renovated by current owners around ten years ago. “They upgraded, insulated and redecorated put in double glazing, gas heating and brought the BER rating up to a C1,” she reveals.

An L shaped split level property, it has 89 sq metres of living space which includes an open plan kitchen/ breakfast room with a vaulted ceiling, white kitchen units and a pale blue island unit/ breakfast counter. Alongside it there’s a timber floored sitting room which has a fireplace with a stove and large windows with views of the Sugarloaf.

The cottage also has two bedrooms including an en suite as well as a bathroom. In an attached garden room/ utility room the owners built a timber bar during Covid and turned it into an entertainment space.

The garden which is all at the front is stepped, paved and enclosed by fencing and has flower beds, seating areas and a pergola.

Located around a km from Kilmacanogue village, Pergola Cottage is within an hour’s drive from Dublin city centre

VERDICT: Pretty as a picture.

Properties of all kinds are scarce in Clonakility, but spacious detached ones close to the town centre like this one at 4 Inis Cuain are especially so.

“Modern spacious modern four- bed homes like this one are in short supply but are sought after by trading up buyers as well as relocating ones says Con O’Neill of Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill adding that he also expects viewings with downsizers moving in from rural areas who want detached houses.

Part of a development of 25 detached house build in 2005, it’s a 191 sq metre property with a guide of €625,000.

At ground level it has two timber floored sitting rooms – one with a fireplace and a stove at the front and another overlooking the back garden. Stretching from front to rear is a kitchen/ diner with shaker style units and an island unit and there’s also a utility room and a guest WC.

Upstairs, the property has a bathroom and four bedrooms including two en suite ones.

Located within a five minute drive from the town centre, it’s within easy reach of shops, schools and amenities, says Mr O’Neill who thinks it might suit a commuter from Cork city.

Not a lot of the Inis Cuain properties have come up for sale in recent years although No 25 sold for €628,000 in October. The last sale before that was in 2022 when No 20 sold for €600,000.

VERDICT: Space and proximity to the town centre are key selling points.