There’s a special appeal to Kilkenny, with a handsome city centre blending medieval and modern; appealing towns tucked into the wider county’s rolling landscape; and plenty of estates and activities to attract visitors.
Just outside the city on the Castlecomer side, Bleach Road is much sought after by people seeking spacious homes on sizeable plots. A look at the Property Price Register shows how rarely they come on the market, with the most recent sale recorded in 2013. Friars Inch Meadows, a modern six-bedroom home set over three levels and on 0.4 acre of lovely mature gardens, is now for sale through DNG Ella Dunphy with an asking price of €785,000.
Selling agent Ciarán Dunphy says there is already considerable interest in the house, given the lack of supply of new and second-hand properties and its location about a mile from town. There is plenty of space for a growing family, as well as for working from home, and it is also attracting people who may now consider commuting to work in Dublin a few days a week by train or via the M9.
Friars Inch Meadows is an imposing three-bay house of 294sq m (3,165sq ft), partially clad in creeper, designed by Kilkenny firm Dalton and O’Donnell Architects and built in 1995.
There is room for a few cars out the front, beside tall trees, and flagstone steps lead down to a matching paved forecourt. There is a flat-roofed workshop to the left of this area.
Inside, the tiled hall splits into two levels, unified by a window that is the full height of the rear elevation and lights all the landings.
Downstairs, at garden level, the kitchen takes up most of the left side. It is a big space divided by a bar counter, with a living-dining area on the other side. New owners might consider opening it up more if they refit the kitchen, which opens out to the garden through French doors. A utility room off the kitchen leads to the downstairs bathroom.
Across this lower hall there is a livingroom, with more garden doors and a marble fireplace, and a separate diningroom.
The first landing gives views through the back window over the garden, across a stream and towards the River Nore, and there are four bedrooms on this level. Most have fitted wardrobes and the main is en suite. Another room is set up as a study or home office. Upstairs on a half-landing, a reading nook overlooks the front garden, and there are two rooms at the top of the house, lit by Velux windows.
A modern heating system, a new boiler and some solar panels give the house a good B3 Ber.
The owners, who have lived here since 2000 and are downsizing locally, have invested a lot of care and attention in the gardens. Seating, paving and pergolas are well placed to provide shelter and rest after all the work involved in cultivating the vegetable beds, tending the greenhouse, cutting the grass and minding the well-stocked beds.
There is also a little pond, a snapshot of the Nore that is just one field away to the west; summer foliage obscures the view at this time of year, but it’s visible from the house when trees are bare.
