A one-bed terraced cottage for €50,000 in Clara, Co Offaly may be the cheapest house in the country. MICHAEL PARSONSdiscovered it

I BELIEVE I’ve found the cheapest house for sale in Ireland, which is on the market for a mere €50,000. The terraced house in Clara, Co Offaly costs less than one-fifth of the average price paid for a house nationally, which is €253,546, according to the latest Permanent TSB/ESRI house price index.

Estate agent Emma Kiernan, of DLS Consultants, describes the one-bedroom 39sq m (420sq ft) property as an excellent investment opportunity. The house, situated close to the town centre, went on the market last year for €80,000.

However, the price has now been cut to just €50,000. The agent says there will be no further reduction as the owner recently “rejected an offer of €47,500”.

Kiernan says the house was let until recently for a monthly rental of €370 but this “could be increased to €400 after renovation and refurbishment”.

She estimates that the purchaser would need to spend “about €30,000” to upgrade the house.

So you would think there’s no need for people to go skedaddling off to Leeds to acquire buy-to-let apartments – which is precisely what a group of Co Offaly investors, including the Taoiseach himself, did.

In fact, Kiernan claims there is strong demand for rented property in Clara which is popular with commuters to Tullamore (10kms); Athlone (27kms); and even Dublin (100kms) with good road and rail links to the capital and the “M50 just an hour way”.

This is a house which, in a fashionable area of the city, might be described as “a compact, bijou residence” but in Co Offaly, where many one-off rural houses look bigger than Chequers, a more appropriate term might be “cosy”.

Ballydung Manor it ain’t. The house forms part of St Patrick’s Terrace, a row of homes originally built after the second World War to house Bord na Móna workers on the nearby boglands.

It certainly needs work. A corrugated iron roof, which wouldn’t look out of place in a KwaZulu-Natal township, needs replacing and the interior is crying out for the “Pu-erh” tea and sympathy of a Showhouse competitor.

Also on the downside, the back door opens onto a space barely large enough to accommodate a bicycle, wheelie bin and stack of turf.

The (ground floor) bedroom window looks directly into the neighbour’s patio which might inhibit the timorous from indulging in nocturnal activities of a robust nature.

On the plus side, the house does have some outdoor space. Its own yard – directly across the street – has space for car-parking, a storage shed, clothes lines and even a little garden.

The terrace is next-door to the town’s swimming pool and opposite the latest Midlands tourist attraction, the Bog Heritage Centre which is expected to open later this year.

Clara, located in the heart of the Bog of Allen on the River Brosna, has a population of 3,500 and once hummed with industry but today is a sleepy backwater.

However the hometown of Brian Cowen came to national prominence last year following his election as Taoiseach. It is quintessential Pure Mule small-town Ireland, which means many surprises.

Keeping up appearances seems to be important. There are no less than four beauty salons, a tanning shop and a foot health clinic. Just yards from the Taoiseach’s boyhood home is a spanking new “Niteclub” with the rather racy name of “The 69”.

Sadly, Christy Cowen’s Lounge Bar, “Established 1916”, was, like most rural pubs, closed during the afternoon.

Its somnolent air, frayed tricolour bunting, lace-curtains, a flowerbed sprouting dandelions and a window etched with a hurley and sliotar may not look promising.

But, according to local resident Mickey Kenny, it’s the place to be seen. He said: “The craic is mighty in Cowen’s at weekends; you’d have a bit of sport and there’s plenty of music and singing.”

As the old song puts it: “Uábh Fhaile how I love you/with your heather-scented air/silently the peaceful Brosna/calls her sons from far and near.”

Surely only a bank manager with a heart of stone would refuse a €50,000 mortgage to an Offaly Rover longing to go home to “that Faithful County”?

** The agent for 124 St Patrick’s Terrace, Clara, Co Offaly is Emma Kiernan of DLS Consultants, Moate, Co Westmeath, 0906 466954