The first thing you see, as you wind down the twisting country road, just outside Delgany village, is a pair of imposing stone pillars declaring that you have arrived at Struan Hill.
Through these, ahead of you, is number 5, which is all very well, until you realise that there are no numbers one to four. This is the showhouse for a development that was never completed. This is no ghost estate, however, for the lands behind it may be parcelled into sites, but only the blocks of one were ever put in place.
Back in the days before we knew what was going to happen, when prices were shooting up as fast as the luxury developments they were attached to, the seven houses of Struan Hill were to cost €4 million each. The site alone had sold for €10 million. Today, number 5 is on the market through Colliers for €995,000; a price that possibly wouldn't even have covered the cost of its fixtures and fittings. But this house is more than a morality tale – it's really lovely.
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Those costly fixtures include marble floors, geothermal heating, integrated wiring for TV, music and lighting, and a central vacuum system. There are floor-to -ceiling windows with granite sills, a slate roof, double garage, and a cleverly laid out interior that manages to be spacious without being obnoxiously enormous.
The kitchen, with every gadget you could wish for built in (including a wine fridge), has steps down to a living room, and there’s a separate dining room, and a more formal drawing room too.
Four of the five bedrooms have en suites, and there’s a vast third floor area which could be a gym, screening room, games room – currently it’s all three – or anything else that takes your fancy.
Outside the gardens slope up to a slightly whimsical gazebo to the rear and the mature planting means that you won’t be overlooked, even if the neighbouring houses are ever built: the site is currently under offer. To the front views are across the valley to Delgany church. Nearby are golf courses, riding stables, and walks, while the N11 is two minutes away by car, with the Dart two miles away at Greystone.
Some of the boomtime houses are a hodge-podge of styles, a bit of neo-Georgian here, some mock-Tudor there, and a dash of Victoriana to hold it all together, but 5 Struan Hill is gently contemporary.
Not aggressively so, just enough to make it feel like home, a very large one at 418sq m (4,500 sq ft), with an extra 70sq m (750 sq ft) in that marvellous top floor, but home nevertheless.
