To the lighthouse, and beyond

On the Skerries Road side of Balbriggan and set off the road on 2.5 acres of land, Bello Horizonte has 180 degrees of sea views and comes with private access to the crescent-shaped shingle beach below.

The property, a four-bedroom bungalow built in 1985, is pretty typical of its time. What you’re buying is the spectacular setting. From the back of the house there are uninterrupted sea views of north Co Dublin, from the Mourne Mountains to Skerries.

The stunning seascapes can also be enjoyed from the two viewing decks: a verandah-style one, accessed by a set of steps, which faces the morning sun, and another one, about 100m from the house, where you can watch the sun go down behind the Cooley Mountains.

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Access road

A private access road weaves its way around the property. On the left, before you come to the house, you pass a big field, about half the size of a professional pitch.

This is where owner Dr David Hickey, now retired director of transplantation at Beaumont Hospital and a former double-All-Star Dublin player from the famous 1970s side who went on to become a Dubs selector, used to play GAA with his son David and his friends at weekends.

“Future Dublin footballers have emerged from those games,” Hickey says, laughing.

The house is 167sq m (1,800sq ft) in size. From the kitchen you can see, by day, the two islands that make up Rockabill and, at night, the pulse of the lighthouse there.

Planning permission

Hickey has twice applied for planning permission to extend the house, once by 96sq m (1,033sq ft), the second time by 176sq m (1,894sq ft). Both applications were granted, but the more recent has expired.

There is the potential to convert the property to another use, subject to planning permission, perhaps as short-term letting accommodation, of which there is a shortage in the village. (“The area is zoned ‘high amenity’, so there can be no further development,” says planning consultant Michael Halligan.)

As well as having the elements of a pretty special family home, following some refurbishment, the property could also easily be envisaged as a low-key boutique hotel.

One can imagine finishing off a day with some sundowners on the deck. Hickey and his Cuban wife, Yamile, admit to enjoying the odd Cuba Libre there.