Lakeside Georgian estate overlooking Lough Derg for €2.75m

Nothing illustrates the relationship between price and location better than large country estates: Fort Henry, a Georgian villa in good condition on 116 acres on the banks of Lough Derg in Co Tipperary – along with a converted mews house and a cottage – is for sale for €2.75 million. That’s only a little more than prices being asked in Dublin for a Ballsbridge penthouse, a terraced house in Sandycove or a semi-detached house in Donnybrook.

Built in the late 18th or early 19th century, Fort Henry's previous owners included a captain Charles Henry, whose father-in-law was a former governor general of India. Henry bought the estate in the 1830s. In the 20th century, it was home to the late Brendan O'Regan, the Clare man who developed Shannon Airport and also founded peace organisation Co-operation North. A family from the United Arab Emirates bought it about 40 years ago and have used it since then as a holiday home.

The house and private grounds have been well maintained – but it is its setting and proximity to Shannon Airport that is likely to attract attention, says selling agent Roseanne de Vere Hunt. Fort Henry has its own boathouse and small harbour on Lough Derg and is only 1.5km from the twin lakeside villages of Killaloe, Co Clare, and Ballina, Co Tipperary. The 116-acre estate comprises 70 acres of woodland and 46 acres of well-cared for gardens that include a rose garden and a walled garden. There are bridges over a small canal and lots of room for grazing.

Extending to 648sq m (6,975sq ft), the detached seven-bed house is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes and Sherry FitzGerald Talbot and includes a 137sq m (1,475sq ft) three-bed mews and a 85sq m (915sq ft) three-bed cottage.

While it would have appeal as a single family home, it also has potential as a boutique hotel/guesthouse offering. Buyers likely to be interested include international buyers or Irish ex-pats, says de Vere Hunt, attracted by its proximity to Shannon Airport, 54km away.

The entrance to Fort Henry is from the back, through a conservatory into a large hall from which there are views of the lake. Extended at an undetermined point in its history, the house is designed to make the most of the lake views, with all the major reception rooms facing the water.

The drawingroom on the right of the front hall, painted a vivid blue, has deep bay windows curving around the room overlooking the lawns and lake. A garden room at the other side of the house from the drawingroom, added by the current owners, also has tall windows on two sides maximising the views. Like the conservatory, it has a timber-beamed ceiling. The diningroom and livingroom, between these two rooms, also overlook the lake. The livingroom has fabric-covered and part-panelled walls. The large, somewhat dated kitchen/breakfastroom is on the other side of the house.

Most of the house is decorated in opulent country house style: walls are painted or wallpapered in vivid shades and furnished with period-style furniture.

Other downstairs accommodation includes a small study, two en suite bedrooms, a utility room near the kitchen and a downstairs toilet.

There are five bedrooms upstairs, four of them are en suite. The main bedroom, positioned over the drawingroom, is very large, and has wide bay windows overlooking Lough Derg.

A mews house outside was refurbished and has three bedrooms, two livingrooms and a kitchen. A cottage was also recently refurbished. It has three bedrooms, a livingroom and a bathroom.

Seventy of the estate’s 116 acres are woodland, and 20 acres of the remaining 46 are suitable for grazing. The grounds include a canal with bridges across it, lots of walking paths  including one along an old railway line, a farmyard, walled garden and kitchen garden.

Fort Henry’s number one attraction is likely to be its direct access on to Lough Derg, a popular amenity for boating and fishing enthusiasts.

The property price register lists a property called Fort Henry in Ballina, Co Tipperary, as having sold for €175,000 in 2014: it has no relation to the property now on the market. Fort Henry is the name of the area generally, and of a small business park nearby.