This eye-catching house in Leitrim with a three-storey turreted tower takes advantage of stunning views
Asking price: €495,000
Agent: Sherry FitzGerald Farrell (071) 962 0976
On first glance, a house in Keshcarrigan, Co Leitrim, looks like a renovated period home. Its three-storey turreted tower, sandstone-clad façade, and slate roof create an old world aesthetic, which suggests a long and interesting history.
In fact, the detached five-bedroom property, which overlooks the Shannon-Erne Waterway, was built in 1997. “We were trying to create the impression that the house has been here for a long time,” says the owner, Martin Collum, a manager with the HSE who comes from Carrick-on-Shannon.
He built the 2,540 sq ft house with his wife Monica Collum, a nurse from Arigna, Co Leitrim. “Visitors usually get a shock when we tell them when it was built.”
The couple built it after living for five years in the US. When they left 1991, Ireland was still reeling from the recession of the 1980s, and unemployment was high. “The American hospitals used to come here in the 1990s to recruit Irish nurses,” explains Martin. “If you were offered a job you’d get a green card.”
The exterior of the house at Keshcarrigan, Co Leitrim
When Monica was offered a nursing role in the US, they sped up their marriage plans and moved to New Jersey where Martin continued his studies, doing psychology, and later worked in counselling and vocational for people with disabilities. “We loved America and were aware it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he says. “It’s a place where, if you’re willing to work, and you’ve got the right attitude, then almost anything is possible.”
After a few years, however, they started to miss home. “When you move to another country, your own home becomes foremost in your mind,” he says “You begin to understand and appreciate its people, its culture and its heritage from afar.
The sitting room with mezzanine at Keshcarrigan, Co Leitrim
“Out of that, came the genesis of the house in Keshcarrigan,” he adds. “We decided to come back and build a house which was unique, and which would reflect our Irish heritage.”
On their return, they considered living in Dublin, Navan and Drogheda. “Then one night, Monica was in a restaurant in Keshcarrigan and heard about this site. We came to view it and were bowled over by the beautiful views.”
The sitting room and window at Keshcarrigan, Co Leitrim
When it came to designing the house, they were influenced by a now-deceased friend, Father Michael Rigney, a parish priest in Drumcong, who was renovating St Brigid’s, a 17th century church. He’d hired the well-known architect, Richard Pierce, and introduced him to the couple, who also hired him.
They had their own ideas about they wanted, however – and in particular, a tower that not only looked old-fashioned, but would take advantage of the breath-taking views. “It took months to land the right design and to find a builder and a year to build the house,” says Martin.
The kitchen of the house at Keshcarrigan, Co Leitrim. Photo: Ray Ryan
It’s built in the style of the Arts and Crafts movement, which flourished between 1880 and 1920, and encouraged traditional craftsmanship and medieval, romantic or folk styles of decoration.
The movement advocates working closely with nature and using reclaimed materials. The slates in the roof of the house are therefore Bangor Blue slates; the bricks are reclaimed Yorkshire red brick and the floors are made of pitch pine. “You’d expect such materials to be cheaper, but in fact they were all more expensive than new ones, possibly because of their quality,” he adds.
The dining room of the house at Keshcarrigan, Co Leitrim
The couple sought out antique furniture to further add to the traditional feel.
In the dining room, located in the ground floor of the tower, there’s an elegant oval dining room table and chairs from 1850. The walls here have an unfinished quality and are painted red, and there’s a white marble fireplace.
The kitchen, decorated in pink and cream, has bespoke handmade wooden units and a dresser on one wall.
A bedroom at Keshcarrigan, Co Leitrim. Photo: Ray Ryan
The light-filled sitting room has a vaulted ceiling with a mezzanine overlooking it, and an impressive chimney piece, made of reclaimed bricks. On the second floor of the tower is the master bedroom, which has a blue and cream coloured scheme.
At the top is another reception room, which the couple call the ‘Ceilí room’. Here, the windows face west and there’s an outside balcony that wraps around it. “Rather than building a conservatory on the ground floor, we opted to build this room, which is half glass, and flooded with light,” says Martin.
The master bedroom of the house at Keshcarrigan, Co Leitrim
“The views are spectacular. In front of you is the Shannon-Erne Waterway and the Sliabh an Iarainn and Arigna mountains can be seen in the distance. In fact, on a good day, you can see Sligo, Cavan, Leitrim and Roscommon.”
The house has a 100-watt sound system and built-in speakers in most of the rooms. “We’ve held some great parties and dinner parties here, and we’ve often had barbeques on the lawn outside.”
There’s a two-storey annexe at the back, with two bedrooms and its own entrance, which would be ideal to rent. There’s also a garage, built in the same style of the house.
An aerial view of the house and grounds at Keshcarrigan, Co Leitrim
The property sits on a hectare of land, some of which has been landscaped, and the rest left purposefully wild. It’s accessed via a tree-lined avenue with an iron gate at the entrance. “We planted over 500 trees when we first moved in, as we wanted to be sympathetic to the landscape and to provide privacy,” he adds.
Located on the outskirts of the village of Keshcarrigan, and opposite the Keshcarrigan marina, which has public boat moorings and a slipway, the house is a 10-minute drive to Ballinamore; and the same distance to Drumshanbo and to Carrick-on-Shannon.
“It’s a beautiful peaceful setting with lovely walks and an abundance of wildlife,” says Martin. “It’s also a welcoming, friendly locality, with a strong sense of community spirit.”
Despite all the work they’ve put into it, they’re now selling it. “We love this house and have enjoyed living here for 28 years,” he adds. “But it’s a big house for just two people, and we’ve decided it’s time for a change. It would make a lovely home for the right people.”
Sherry FitzGerald Farrell seeks €495,000.