Converted roomy and cheerful schoolhouse is in a class of its own

CO MAYO €480,000:A SCHOOLHOUSE which was converted into a three-bedroom home is for sale by private treaty through Sherry FitzGerald Feeney West for €480,000.

The building, which is between Lough Conn and Lough Levally, was built in 1881. The school closed in 1968, due to a population decline, and was sold three years later by the diocese of Killala.

It was bought by the late Chief Justice O'Higgins and his family. Several generations enjoyed it as their holiday home for over 30 years. The family has other properties in the area and have decided to sell this one.

The two-roomed schoolhouse, which had no electricity or running water, was converted into a cheerful, roomy haven and now has a floor area of 126sq m (1,356sq ft), a new slate roof and 2.1 acres of land around it.

It retains many of its period features, such as wooden floorboards, long windows and cut stonework, as well as one of the class rooms. This spacious room has been made into a large double-height sittingroom, which is almost 400ft square. It has a big open fireplace and the original floorboards polished. You can still see some old ink stains under the polish, from its schoolhouse days .

There is a feeling of long tradition associated with this building as it is thought that many of the children who were educated here sailed on the Titanic as large numbers from the beautiful surrounding area emigrated to America on the fateful ship.

A fitted galley kitchen with quarry tiled floor is at the back of the hall and there are two big double bedrooms at this level, one with en suite shower room. Both these and the livingroom have French doors opening to the garden.

Upstairs is the family bathroom and an enormous bedroom with the original joists painted scarlet and a big window in the gable end with views of nearby Lough Conn.

This room is ideal for children on holiday as it manages to hold quite a number of beds, while still giving some privacy because of the position of the roof joists. The half-hipped ceiling is panelled in warm hued wood.

Outside, there are gardens on about a quarter of an acre, while the rest of the land is in meadow with ample road frontage. The property is near Pontoon and Lahardane, while Castlebar and Newport are 12 and 13 miles away.

Knock airport is about 40 minutes drive.