Half the price they were a year  ago, houses on the Kileen estate in Co Meath come with family golf membership and the run of 600 acres of grounds, writes ORNA MULCAHY

HOUSES in the Killeen Castle golf estate in Co Meath that had been planned as luxury weekend homes are now being pitched at regular househunters, with prices cut by more than half since their launch 16 months ago.

Three-bedroom terraced and semi-detached houses that the developer had hoped to sell for up to €1.2 million each in May 2008, go on the market tomorrow with prices starting at €475,000. Four-bedroom detached houses, initially priced at €1.9 million, are now available from between €675,000 and €845,000.

The houses, which are being sold through Sherry FitzGerald New Homes, are part of a scheme of 21 homes called Loughmore Square, within the walls of the wooded estate near the village of Dunshaughlin, 15 miles from Dublin.

The price includes full family membership of the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course on the estate which is due to host the Solheim Cup in 2011.

Golf membership is valid for two adults, and an unlimited number of children with the age limit for juniors bumped up to 30, in line with the recessionary trend of grown-up chidren staying on at home, or returning to the nest.

Owners in the development will have the full run of Killeen’s 600 acres, which include seven well-stocked lakes and extensive woodland. The newly priced houses should appeal to local families looking to either trade up or down in an area where sites are relatively rare, since much of the surrounding land is controlled by either the Killeen or the nearby Dunsany Estate.

At the centre of the Killeen land is 12th century Killeen Castle, which will eventually be developed as a hotel and leisure centre. The golf club meanwhile has been fully completed, and has attracted over 300 members, many of them from Luttrellstown Golf Club, which is due to close at hte end of this year.

The developer behind Killeen Castle is Joe O’Reilly, whose company Castlethorn built Dundrum Town Centre, and is also developing a large part of Adamstown in west Dublin. He has planning permission to build up to 162 houses on the estate, though it is probably safe to assume that construction work on the remaining homes will be slow until the economy picks up pace again.

The finished houses are located at some distance from the castle, and built around two courtyard-style gardens that have been lavishly landscaped. Designed architects Brazil Lohan the three-bedroom houses feel larger than their 1,600 sq ft, thanks to higher than average ceilings and roof lights.

The terraced house feels particularly spacious with its big hallway leading in three different directions. To the right is a kitchen that runs from the front to the back of the house and connects to a spacious livingroom with French doors opening onto a good-sized fenced garden just yards from the 5th fairway.

Upstairs, the suprise is the main bedroom,with its soaring window going up to the apex of the roof, making the room extremely bright. The finish is topnotch, and much of what you see is standard, including expensive bathroom tiling and fittings.

In all there are four different showhouse types, with radically different interior designs, including a mostly-white, contemporary scheme by Minnie Peters, and a cosy, shooting country lodge style designed by CLR Designs, who were responsible for decorating the five-star Doonbeg resort in Co Clare. While the houses have all been built, there are some options for internal layout changes.

Three larger detached four-bdroom houses are priced between €675,000 up to €850,000 for the lavishly furnished showhouse with many extras such as a kitchen by Dalkey Design.

The four-bedroom house is unusual in that the bedrooms are located on the ground floor, with the top floor given over to a super-large kitchen with several windows, and a high-ceilinged livingroom with French doors to a big balcony directly overlooking the golf course. Residents at Loughmore Square will pay annual service charges from around €2,000 each to cover rubbish collection and the extensive landscaping throughout the estate.