One of the most expensive cottages in West Cork, the Rocket House at Castletownshend, is on the market at £1.5 million-plus through joint agents Charles McCarthy and Jackson-Stops. Both agencies expect strong interest from continental buyers keen to acquire a holiday home in this cosmopolitan corner of Ireland, where fine restaurants abound and there's always a high count of celebrities. Neil Jordan, Jeremy Irons, Baroness Jay and Tony O'Reilly are among the well-known names with homes in the area.

Castletownshend is a picturesque village just over four miles from Skibbereen. The Rocket House has a superb setting on the water's edge with panoramic views over Castlehaven to Horse Island. Dating from 1841, the house was once a coastguard station housing six families. It was restored 50 years ago and has been owned by the Chavasse family ever since. The price includes a separate boat house and moorings, an especially valuable asset.

The house, which takes its name from the flares that were once launched from here to guide ships into the harbour, is long and low and painted terracotta. The main house has two bedrooms but there is a self-contained apartment with another bedroom, and the two-storey boathouse can provide further accommodation.

In front of the house is a paved car-parking area with a high stone wall and shrubbery. Directly off the entrance hall is the drawingroom, a bright and spacious room with a redbrick fireplace, leading into a sunroom overlooking the sea. Next door is the diningroom, again with picture windows and a fireplace. Further along the corridor is a double bedroom with a sea view.

At the end of the house is an L-shaped kitchen with fitted wall and beech cupboards and a generous dining area, also with windows overlooking the sea.

This room leads into a paved courtyard area. Upstairs is the main bedroom with an en suite bathroom. This bedroom is a large double with a Velux window and is painted blue, in keeping with the seafaring theme of the house. There is access off it to a large attic area which could be converted to other purposes. Also on this level is a study/dressingroom with storage, which could be used as a smaller bedroom.

The self-contained apartment is at the opposite end of the house and has its own entrance. It contains a sittingroom with a fireplace and French doors to an outside terrace. Fitted shelves could be removed to reinstate a doorway between the house and the apartment. Also off the sittingroom is a galley-style kitchen with fitted units. Upstairs is a large bedroom with a Velux window and a tiled en suite bathroom.

To the rear of the house are the gardens, which run to the sea, and include lawns, stone walls, shrubberies and an impressive sun terrace overlooking the water. Out through the main gates and across the road is the boathouse. This was fully restored five years ago and looks right over the sea. The top floor has been used as an antique business, while at the lower level is the boat store, with large double doors opening to the strand.

Two running moorings and one standing mooring are being sold with the property, a valuable asset in this part of Cork.

Another building included in the sale is the old rocket house, on the sea wall, which has been preserved and shows the tracks for the rocket machine. This workshop stands close to an exact replica of the original flagstaff.