Situated on the bank of the river Barrow, within rowing distance of the town of Graiguenamanagh in Co Kilkenny, is Clarahawn House, a stylish mix of period and contemporary.
Its owners, a couple from England, have been known to eschew the car for their boat to row into the heritage town for a pint of plain in Doyle’s, a pub that still has a grocer out front. “Getting there is easy,” one of them explains. “Rowing back upstream isn’t quite so easy.”
The town is also home to Cushendale Woollen Mills, where they’ve been weaving since the 18th century, before the original part of this property was built. Cushendale throws grace several of the beds upstairs, one of many local touches.
The owners bought the house in 2011, when they paid €370,000 for it, according to the Property Price Register. They estimate that the original part of the property was built sometime in the 1850s or 1860s and that the double-storey, timber-clad extension was added in 2005.
Through the use of soft, sludgy colours by Colourtrend they have married the two eras together, reconfiguring the layout and adding painted tongue and groove panelling to the bedrooms and main bathroom.
They installed a new staircase and turned the then five-bedroom home into a roomier four-bedroom house, moving one of its double bedrooms downstairs, where there is a bathroom nearby.
In the kitchen they plumped for a classic contemporary design by Neptune from Castle Cabinets in Kilkenny city. Here, bifold doors open out to a raised terrace that gets southerly sun. This steps down to lawns that slope to the waterway, one of Ireland’s finest, where the local wildlife includes otters, red squirrels, pine martens and the odd deer.
The kitchen leads to the sittingroom, which has a corner fireplace with stove inset. This too opens out to the vast grounds, which extend to more than 2.6 acres, and lead down to the river, which is part of the natural boundary between Co Kilkenny and Co Carlow.
On the opposite bank there is a pathway used by cyclists, walkers and nature lovers.
The bathrooms are first class. The en suite in the primary bedroom has a large shower stall by local firm Merlyn and a freestanding cast-iron double-ended tub; one half of the couple still won’t say how much he paid for it. When asked whether he feels he got his money’s worth, “God yes” is his resounding answer.
The main bedroom has a Juliet balcony that overlooks the river. Adjacent to it is a study also with panoramic river views and across to the Blackstairs Mountains.
Extending to 184sq m (1,984sq ft) the property, with a Ber of C1, is seeking €595,000 through joint agents Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes and Sherry FitzGerald McCreery.
Dublin is a 90-minute drive or you can catch the train to the capital at Thomastown or Bagnelstown, a 20-minute drive.
