Kildare Living: Curragh home an odds-on favourite

New to the market this month is Holly Lodge in Sunnyhill, a mile from Kilcullen.

Built in 1988, this 528sq m (5,575sq ft) house is the former home of the late Patricia and Joe McGrath, of Irish Hospital Sweepstakes fame. The couple moved there from their home at Curragh Grange.

All of the McGrath family were “horse crazy” according to daughter Mary, who lives nearby, and the fact that Holly Lodge is next to the Curragh was a big part of its appeal for her parents.

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The four-bedroom house, which was built to a very high spec and has been well maintained, is great for entertaining, she said, “The rooms are big and well-proportioned, with loads of light.”

Over the years the McGrath family, whose other business interests included the Irish Glass Bottle Company and Waterford Glass, laid claim to some of the finest houses in Leinster, including Cabinteely House in Dublin.

While more modest in scale, Holly Lodge has some deluxe features of its own, including an indoor swimming pool and leisure complex.

For the green fingered, the three-quarter acre gardens will hold even more appeal. “My mother was a great gardener and the gardens have matured beautifully. The back garden is totally private, sheltered and sunny,” Mary says.

The house is a half mile from the motorway, from where Newlands Cross is a 30-minute drive, making it suitable for city commuters.

Wonderful family home

“Kildare is a great place to live,” says Mary. “If you’re into horses you’re done and dusted but if you prefer golf there are loads of great courses nearby, great hotels and towns like Kilcullen and Naas are just humming at the moment. You’re also very close to the city but surrounded by the countryside and all its amenities.”

While the sale of a late parent’s home is always sad, the fact that Holly Lodge would make a wonderful family home is pleasing to her.

“When my parents were there every holiday and half term saw it full of kids and, despite its size, it’s not an expensive house to run at all. It’s got C2 certification. The only really costly element is heating the pool, and of course that doesn’t have to be heated all the time,” Mary says.

Holly Lodge is for sale through Jordan Town & Country estate agents, which is quoting €695,000.

TWO MORE TO SEE
Ard Caein is a Victorian redbrick period property in Naas, dating to the 1880s. Located just off the Tipper Road, it is accessed via a sweeping drive and bordered by mature trees. Inside, the 450sq m (4,840sq ft) six-bedroom house sits on 1.5 acres of garden and is within walking distance of the town. REA Coonan is guiding between € 1.1m and €1.4m. coonan.com Property Partners Brady in Maynooth is currently handling the sale of Castleview House, a period property in the heart of Maynooth, overlooking Maynooth Castle and opposite the gates of St Patrick's College. The three-bedroomed Georgian house, which sits on one acre, has been in the same family for three generations and is going to auction on June 24th with an AMV of €685,000. propertypartners.ie