Angel couple spread their wings to move to Carcassonne

Rathdrum: €900,000 A couple who run an angel sanctuary in Co Wicklow are moving their unusual enterprise to south-west France, courtesy of a wealthy benefactor who has donated a large rural property near Carcassonne for a state-of-the-art retreat.

Their Rathdrum house is now for sale with Remax of Wicklow town, with an asking price of €900,000.

The Sanctuary is at Corballis, on the outskirts of the village of Rathdrum, Co Wicklow. The early 19th century house was used in the past as a summer home for children from a city orphanage and later as a hotel and restaurant. Angel pictures, cards and candles are manufactured in a 74.2sq m (799sq ft) commercial unit attached to the property.

Owners Lorraine Coffey and Eugene O'Connor ran The Angel Shop in Dún Laoghaire before moving to the country, where they cover their costs by producing angel products. Sceptics may pooh-pooh, but there are enough people who believe in angels to run a successful business in angel produce. The couple have unswerving faith in the power of angels.

"Lorri was visited by an angel at a low time in her life back in the 1990s. Her life had been spinning downwards and things started to change after the vision. My life has changed too - I was in advertising, rigid in my thinking and believed science had all the answers. "One day, driving to Roscrea, a car towing a van pulled out of a garage in front of me. There was nothing I could do. A voice said "You're going to be ok. The tow rope suddenly broke into pieces and I drove safely between the car and van. Some months later, my sister bought a garage and to my amazement, it was that garage."

With seven en suite bedrooms and half an acre of grounds, the Rathdrum house could be a health spa or B&B. In good decorative order, accommodation includes a drawingroom, sittingroom, study, family room and big kitchen/diningroom.

Lorraine and Eugene are heading off to France in September to begin their new venture. Running a sanctuary on a larger scale in France is a huge opportunity for them, says Eugene. " Its an old 650sq m (7,000sq ft) farmhouse with a river and a forest - ideal for a retreat. There's a big international market out there and a lot of need for what an angel sanctuary does for people."