It’s worth looking up old photographs of Mountgorry Cottage on myhome.ie, where the property can be found under the address Malahide Road, Swords, Co Dublin. The entry, dating from 2022, advertises “a 1920s stone cottage in need of complete refurbishment, standing in a small site with room for the parking of two cars”. Photographs on the listing show exactly what its current owner purchased in 2023 for €195,600, according to the Property Price Register.
It was completely derelict and uninhabited for more than three decades, with half its roof missing and trees growing internally.
The old cottage, which takes its name from surrounding townlands, caught the eye of its current owner, a property professional with expertise in renovating and flipping houses.
Back then “we had to dig our way on to the site”, he says, and under the guidance of architect Greg Tisdall of Studio D Architects in Dublin, the space was fully restored, with the addition of an extension to the rear.
What once was a 40sq m derelict cottage has now been replaced with a lovely 97sq m (1,044sq ft) three-bedroom home where all new owners will have to do is unpack.
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Inside the main cottage, with newly pointed exterior stone, is a kitchen/livingroom with black wooden units, where a bespoke black staircase leads to an overhead living area on a mezzanine. Here, it’s really only the exposed stone walls that serve as a reminder that part of this property is more than a century old.
A smoked larch clad extension was added to the rear, and now houses three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The third bedroom, lying close to a kitchen designed by D1 Kitchens, has a plethora of uses, including as an additional livingroom or indeed a home office.
Gardens, now levelled and planted, have a courtyard to the rear, accessed via the main bedroom and kitchen, while a wooden gate allows access from the exterior. The side has also been levelled and seeded with a lawn.
Besides having a new roof, insulation, underfloor heating, eight solar panels and hot water from a heat pump, high-tech future-proofing means each room is zoned and can be controlled remotely via a smartphone – in an app that also gives usage readings.
In terms of location, Mountgorry Cottage is about 300m from the Pavilions in Swords, so shopping is on the doorstep. For walks, the local Swords Castle and Town Park offer a perfect spot, while Malahide, which is about two miles up the road, has plenty of leisure in terms of sailing, golfing and beach walks.
With a Ber of B1 and now more than double its original size, the completely refurbished cottage is on the market seeking €675,000 through Sherry FitzGerald.
