{"id":554448,"date":"2026-07-17T13:38:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T13:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/554448\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T13:38:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T13:38:15","slug":"charlie-chaplins-kerry-cottage-comes-to-the-market-for-e205000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/554448\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlie Chaplin’s Kerry cottage comes to the market for \u20ac205,000"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury,\u201d was one of many memorable Charlie Chaplin observations, and perhaps his daughter took it to heart when she bought this tiny, whitewashed, weather-beaten cottage on Kerry\u2019s Valentia Island.<\/p>\n

Christened Chaplin Cottage by Josephine Chaplin, the richness of the setting more than compensated for the low-key nature of the property, which has just come to market for \u20ac205,000.<\/p>\n

\"JustJust turned 65, filmdom’s great comedian Charles Chaplin accepts a birthday hug from his daughter, Josephine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About 100-years old and in a row of about half a dozen homes that were at one time Coastguard cottages, the stone-hewn building has been in Chaplin family ownership since the 1990s, but remains relatively untouched \u2014 perhaps because they had a second home on the Kerry mainland, in nearby Waterville, another exceptionally lovely setting on the Iveragh Peninsula.<\/p>\n

Chaplin Cottage is being sold now by the late Josephine\u2019s son, Arthur Gardiner, who remains a regular visitor to Waterville, although his mother passed away in 2023.<\/p>\n

\"CharlieCharlie Chaplin walking along Waterville Strand while enjoying his summer holidays in the early 1960’s in Waterville, Co Kerry. File picture: Harry MacMonagle<\/p>\n

Auctioneer Pauline Sugrue is handling the sale and she says the dramatic setting, on the headland of Dohilla, with jaw-dropping views across the Atlantic and towards the historic Valentia Lighthouse, would have made a big impression on Josephine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chaplins purchased extra ground to the rear of the cottage too and it goes all the way back to the foot of the mountain, measuring c 800 sq m,\u201d Ms Sugrue said.<\/p>\n

The agent added that while the cottage requires extensive internal renovation (vacant property grant?), it presents a \u201cwonderful opportunity to restore a piece of Valentia Island\u2019s rich heritage\u201d \u2014 not to mention sharing in the legacy of one of the most globally recognised and culturally enduring figures of the silent movie era.<\/p>\n

The legendary British-born actor, comic, and filmmaker was introduced to Waterville by his good friend Walt Disney, who recommended that he pay a visit, which he did in 1959.<\/p>\n

He fell hook, line, and sinker for its knock-out natural beauty \u2014 not to mention the chance to go salmon fishing away from the public glare. He stayed at the Butler Arms Hotel and returned there almost every summer for the rest of his life, bringing his wife Oona O\u2019Neill \u2014 daughter of celebrated Irish playwright Eugene O\u2019Neill \u2014 along with his children, including Josephine.<\/p>\n

She later recalled that her father loved Waterville, not just for its unspoilt beauty, but because it was a place where he could simply be himself rather than \u2018Charlie Chaplin the movie star\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Charlie Chaplin Festival in Waterville unveils their ‘Charlie Award’. Arthur Gardin Charlie Chaplin’s grandson, Josephine’s son,\u00a0 with his statue. Picture: AJLPhoto.<\/p>\n

The affection in which he was held in the village is captured in a life-size bronze statue of the actor on the village promenade, as well as at the annual Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival, established in 2011, with the support of Josephine, who passed away in Paris two years ago, at the age of 74.<\/p>\n

\"whilewhile the cottage requires extensive internal renovation (vacant property grant?), it presents a ‘wonderful opportunity to restore a piece of Valentia Island\u2019s rich heritage’.<\/p>\n

She was also an actor, and appeared in films from a young age, including her father\u2019s Limelight (1952), and later worked in French, Italian, British, German, and Canadian films.<\/p>\n

The cottage she left behind has just one downstairs open-plan room, with flagstone floor and open fireplace, and a loft, as sleeping quarters over head. A bathroom was added on.<\/p>\n

There may be scope for a new owner to do more to the rear. Other houses on the row have been upgraded and extended to make the most of the views and are all used as holiday homes. Holidaymakers are spoilt for scenery, and there are some nice swimming spots, at Glanleam Beach, or around coves in Knightstown.<\/p>\n

\"AboutAbout 100-years old and in a row of about half a dozen homes that were at one time Coastguard cottages, the stone-hewn building has been in Chaplin family ownership since the 1990s.<\/p>\n

Beautiful Ballinskelligs beach is a 20-minute drive away. Other notable attractions on Valentia Island include the dramatic Geokaun Mountain and Cliffs; the Tetrapod Trackway, one of the world\u2019s oldest fossilised footprints and the historic transatlantic cable station, where the first successful permanent telegraph cable between Europe and North America came ashore in 1866.<\/p>\n

Catherine Shanahan is Property Editor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury,\u201d was one of many memorable Charlie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[187201,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-554448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-kerry-news","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}