Country manor with its own spa

CO WEXFORD/€995,000:A COUNTRY HOUSE built on the site of a 13th-century Franciscan monastery comes with a spa in the basement and a protected cottage in the grounds.

Bought 10 years ago and revamped by its current owners, St John’s Manor, on the outskirts of Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, could be bought either as a family home, or as a home and income.

It is for sale for €995,000 through Sherry FitzGerald O’Leary in Wexford.

The late Georgian mansion, built in 1810, sits on five acres near the River Slaney, approached down a poplar-lined avenue. Granite steps lead to a grand entrance hall which, like the rest of the house, is rich in period detail.

There are views of the Slaney Valley from the drawingroom, which has an ornate marble chimneypiece; there’s a black and pink marble fireplace in the dramatic red diningroom and a study. A conservatory with a flagstone floor opens onto a deck.

There are three large en-suite bedrooms upstairs in the main house, and an attic level room at the top.

Other accommodation includes the two-bedroom priory mews cottage and a two-bed annexe.

The Ballycoursey Day Spa is in the basement and is still run as a going concern, leaving it open to new owners to possibly take it over. There’s also potential to run the whole place as a guest house. There are outbuildings in the courtyard and a stable block and two-acre paddock.

St John’s Manor,

Enniscorthy, Co Wexford

Georgian mansion on five acres

Agent: Sherry FitzGerald O’Leary

Rural retreats that are full of country comforts

Kilteelagh House, a Victorian mansion on 25 acres, has been reduced in price by ¤6 million since it was first on the market, writes EDEL MORGAN

Co TIPPERARY/€2.5m:KILTEELAGH HOUSE in Dromineer, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, a Victorian estate on 25 acres, has had four price cuts since it first went on the market in 2009.

Built in 1863 and standing on the the eastern shores of Lough Derg, over the past three years it has been reduced from €8.5 million to €2.5 million in line with market realities in the downturn. Sherry FitzGerald Talbot is the selling agent.

Approached by a winding tree-lined avenue, Kilteelagh House has the kind of elegant reception rooms you’d expect of such an imposing-looking lakefront house.

Two of the more formal reception rooms are situated off the main entrance hall – an atmospheric dining room with red walls, high ceiling and an ornate marble fireplace, and a lovely drawing room with bay windows overlooking the private gardens. There’s also a lounge at this level of the property.

On the first return there’s an L-shaped kitchen-cum-living room with fitted oak units and doors to a large deck. There’s also an office, TV room, and a stairs up to a breakfast room and one of the bedrooms.

As well as a self-contained one-bed apartment at this level with its own dressing room and shower room, there’s a gym, fitness room, pool room and table tennis room.

On the first floor, there are five good-sized bedrooms, including a lovely olde-worlde one with a bay window and a vaulted timber ceiling. Most of the bedrooms have either marble or cast-iron fireplaces.

In the basement, there’s a solarium, changing room , recreation room, Jacuzzi, sauna and an airing room,

Outside, apart from the lovely gardens surrounding the house, the grounds are mostly in paddocks. There’s also a courtyard with a number of stables and a garage,

A boat house which could accommodate a large cruiser has been built recently.

Kilteelagh House, Dromineer, Nenagh, Co Tipperary

Victorian estate on 25 acres

Agent: Sherry FitzGerald Talbot