Connemara holiday home perched between lake and sea

Stone-clad, L-shaped and on the brow of a hill that gives the best of Connemara views, Derrygimlagh is something of an ideal as holiday homes go. The owners, Eithne Healy (former chairwoman of the Abbey Theatre and former Arts Council member) and Liam Healy (former group chief executive and former deputy chairman of Independent News & Media) thought as much when they first came upon it 20 years ago.

“We saw it going up,” Eithne says, “and bought it half-built. We changed it a lot and have had 15 lovely years in it. We’re selling now because our lives have changed and we’re not spending enough time in Connemara. It’s been a happy, lovely place but, well, for everything there is a time. We’re very glad we had our time in Derrygimlagh.”

On two acres – maintained as gardens around the house and the rest given over to Connemara wilderness – there are sea views from the front windows and lake views from the rear. The Healys lowered the land to the rear to allow for even broader lake views; the decking they installed has a surreal quality where it perches by the lakeside.

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A large house, with a floor area of 248sq m (2,669sq ft), Derrygimlagh has four bedrooms (two en suite and one as part of a guest suite) an open-plan sittingroom, a games-recreation room and kitchen. For sale by private treaty through joint agents Ganly Walters/Matt O’Sullivan, the asking price is €495,000.

The cut-stone build sits gently in the landscape while the internal use of timber and stone ensures an overall fit with the environment. The sittingroom is central. With dining and seating areas, it has windows everywhere making the most of views, a wood-panelled ceiling, stone fireplace and stone-tiled floors. The kitchen is fully fitted. The guest suite and family bathroom are also on this ground floor. The main and other bedrooms are on the first floor, all with great views, as is the open-plan games-recreation area.

The nearby boglands of Derrygimlagh are where Alcock and Brown landed after making the first transatlantic flight.