The stretches of sand at Brittas Bay might just be the finest on Ireland’s east coast. And for much of the year these golden crescents can be virtually empty. Its just about 62 kilometres south of the capital, rougly a 75-minute drive in peak traffic, so doable in time to catch an evening swim.
Brittas is home to several upmarket mobile home parks and a couple of holiday villages. Rockfield, built in the 1970s as part of the Rockfield Hotel, a now sad looking building, is an estate of about 32 properties that adjoins the hotel and is set behind gates to the north of the 5km public beach.
The units are all detached and in various states of modernisation, but hidden down the first cul de sac, past an infill site is a brutalist building that from the outside gives no sense of its attractive interior.
The mid-century property was extended and upgraded by the current owner in 2013 to a design by K&B Architecture and Design. This added about 80 metres to its original footprint, extending the house out to encompass its patio to the front. It now measures a sizeable 170sq m/1830sq ft.
From the outside the four-bed looks a little like a military lookout, and the hall, while lofty, doesn’t really give any sense of the impressive living dining room beyond the internal door. This room has a wall of enormous picture windows, all triple glazed, with one sliding back, hatch-style, to bring the sea breeze inside on warm days. The ceiling height is 3.6m and all of the focus is out to the silver horizon beyond.
The windows currently carry sizeable green squares to deter active birdlife from hitting the glass. Niall Hatch of Birdwatch Ireland suggests a very simple solution that involves marking the glass at less than 10 cm intervals with lines using ultra violet marker. Barely discernible to the human eye it may offer a less unsightly option.
A large opening leads through to the kitchen with a wall of glass and sliding doors opening out to a very smart north-east facing terrace.
The kitchen is fitted with white and stainless steel Siematic design and Gaggenau appliances, including a four-ring induction hob. There is oil-fired underfloor heating throughout these rooms.
The first of the property’s three double bedrooms is off the kitchen. The rest of the accommodation is at the far end of the house. Here there is a second double and a single, fitted with bunkbeds. This could also become a home office. These rooms are discernibly cooler in temperature to the open plan rooms.
The main bedroom is at the end of the house and enjoys a sizeable en suite bathroom with separate bath and Teuco shower cabin with massage jets. There is also access outside to a small and underutilised courtyard. A little bit of landscaping or green foliage here would transform it.
Access to the main garden is from the kitchen. Here there is a sheltered lounge area and the garden is stepped down several levels where a far corner catches the evening sun. There’s also a small viewing deck to the front.
The annual service charge for the grounds, which includes a large football green and its own private path down to the beach overlooking Jack’s Hole caravan park is €1,200 annually.
The property is seeking €495,000 through joint agents Lisney and Clarke Auctioneers.
