Co Waterford/€1m: A touch of the US deep south has been added succesfully to a Georgian home in Woodstown, Co Waterford, writes Michael Parsons.
Last weekend the sun came out. After what seemed like 40 days and nights of biblical deluge, which would have had Noah nervously eyeing up Carrauntoohil, the waters receded.
The countryside emerged shimmering like a verdant Aegean island and everyone who couldn't afford to, or hadn't bothered to, or was simply too busy to have booked a flight for the great escape, realised they were in luck. By Friday afternoon the national mood had perceptibly lightened.
Grown men, who 24 hours earlier had the complexions of enclosed Carmelites began to resemble Sioux Braves in an amateur production of the Battle of Little Bighorn and ransacked garden sheds looking for rusting barbecues.
Many predictably disgraced themselves by donning three-quarter length trousers. Listen lads, these really are only suitable only for Parisian lycéens. Women, with the forearms of heavyweight boxers, who really should know better, switched into sleeveless 'tops'.
Oh, and farmers stopped grumbling. The conditions were ideal, apparently, for cutting silage. In the south-east, the region amply merited the 'sunny' epithet often used in hope by tourism marketing officials. And thousands headed for the seaside.
Many chose the Waterford coast with its profusion of beaches and smugglers' coves. There's nothing like a day of shocking sea water, a sand-gritty picnic and candyfloss to evoke powerful nostalgia.
And if, as you headed home, you thought wistfully "wouldn't it be lovely?" to live there permanently, then this could just be the ticket.
Inisfail House, on one-third of an acre, at Woodstown, Co Waterford, with an AMV of €1 million will be sold at auction on June 22nd by O'Shea O'Toole & Partners, Waterford.
At first glance, the terracotta exterior's decorative white shutters suggest the Deep-South ante-bellum style and, sure enough, were added by previous owners from Florida. This exotic feature works surprisingly well on an otherwise traditional late Georgian farmhouse. Indoors, the 260 sq m (2,800 sq ft) of accommodation is laid out nicely with well-proportioned rooms in lovely condition.
The extended ground floor has two fine reception rooms, a large kitchen/dining area and steps down to an annexe comprising a comfortable combined family room/study and a cheerful ensuite bedroom which offers privacy from the rest of the house. Upstairs there are three peaceful double bedrooms and a bright bathroom.
There are small, but perfectly-formed, pretty and very manageable gardens to front and rear. And a sun-trap patio. Despite recent reports that the species is at risk, fat, Falstaffian, black and amber bumblebees carouse amid the old-world foxgloves, lavender and moss roses.
Over 40 years ago, Jackie Kennedy chose the Woodstown area - known locally as Waterford's Killiney - as one of her havens of solace as she recovered from the trauma of Dallas.
Inisfail's location combines three very desirable attributes. It is close to the sea - a two-mile stretch of golden sand on the estuary, is just a mile away - perfect for year-round walks and blue-flagged summer bathing. (And speaking of biodiversity - the strand is also a favourite of Waterford's 'yummy mummies' - yes, this species has migrated - who eschew nearby Tramore, recently dubbed tacky by the Rough Guide).
Woodstown also offers rural tranquillity. The house is set on a monastically quiet country road without even the rumble of distant traffic - an increasingly rare quality in the eastern half of the country.
Nevertheless, the house is only six miles from Waterford city. Some of the country's best schools (including Newtown) and the busy regional hospital are even closer. There's posh golf at Waterford Castle, a thoroughbred equestrian centre at the adjacent Pallas House, a regional airport, the pretty fishing port of Dunmore East just down the road and the ferry at Passage East providing access into south Wexford and the ferry-port at Rosslare.
Inisfail House would make a most civilised home for a busy and stressed-out professional in nearby Waterford. Or a superior weekend retreat for Dubliners with a hankering for the sunny south-east.
Inisfail will be auctioned on June 22nd by O'Shea O'Toole & Partners. It has an AMV of €1 million
