The Offaly town of Tullamore has been shortlisted in the Best Places to Live in Ireland 2021 from a list of 1,538 places. Published by The Irish Times, the judges’ verdict to shortlist the town was due to the fact “it has everything one might want in terms of services and is an excellent location for someone who needs to travel across the country for work” adding “it lacks no amenity or facility and ticks all the boxes as a great place to live”. Indeed the hour by train journey to both Dublin and Galway will be part of the attraction for the midlands town that is a frequent winner in the Tidy Towns award scheme.
It was also the site of the world’s first known aviation disaster (despite it being just over an hour to Dublin airport) when in 1785 a hot-air balloon crashed, setting fire to a house which in turn burned 130 other homes to the ground. Since then the town’s shield bears the mark of a phoenix rising from the ashes.
One of the most desirable places to reside in the town is Charleville View, a development of individually designed detached houses that sits adjacent to the grounds of Charleville Castle, one of the finest gothic fortresses in the country. Bay Lodge, at number 41, has just been launched on the market through Sherry FitzGerald Lewis Hamill seeking €430,000.
The property is within walking distance of Tullamore railway station and town centre, Tullamore Harriers and Charleville Castle and Forest, and is on a site with a large elevated south-facing rear garden. It has a BER of D2 and is currently laid out as having three bedrooms, a good-sized mezzanine over the formal drawing room, a separate dining room and an informal living room-cum-kitchen. It is really a moveable feast and can be changed around as new owners need – where the dining room or indeed the mezzanine could be used as a fourth/overnight bedroom. Extending to 163sq m (1,755sq ft), the property also has an integrated garage. New owners may well want to amalgamate this into the kitchen/living area and this would give a really large eat-in kitchen and living space, as is the current trend.
One of the nicest rooms in the house – which has internal glazing in two of the reception rooms to maximise the light – is the formal drawing room. Part of the room is double height and a lovely Italian marble fireplace warms the room. Full-height French doors open to a sunny south-facing patio, which has the benefit of an electric awning.
