Owner of site overlooking Ring of Kerry offers to swap for luxury car

WITH THE purse strings of most financial institutions remaining resolutely tight, the dream of acquiring an unspoilt plot of land overlooking the Ring of Kerry might seem like a fantasy – unless you happen to own a luxury car.

The owner of a sea-view site of approximately five acres, complete with ruined pre-Famine cottage, at Derreendrislagh near Sneem is seeking to swap the land for a Bentley Continental GT.

John Gould, a former professional racing driver in his 60s, has owned the site, which he describes as “the loveliest bit of land”, for 12 years.

A fan of the bartering system, Mr Gould acquired the land in exchange for an Aston Martin DB24 over drinks in the local pub.

“I met the owner of the land in the pub and he liked the car I was driving, an Aston Martin DB24, and we made the swap over a couple of whiskeys”

Mr Gould then returned to Britain, where he has been based until recently, and forgot about the purchase. “Around two years later I went to my solicitor, who thought I’d been had, but he made contact with the landowner and everything worked out.”

Mr Gould, who is originally from South Africa but was educated in England, had hoped to build a house on the land, which had planning permission for a residence, but was unable to because of planning rules which only allow local people to build in the area.

Now retired, he and his wife have relocated to Mauritius, and he said it was unlikely they would have many opportunities to visit the area again.

“It’s two or three years since we’ve been over in Kerry. It’s the loveliest bit of land with views out across the bay and the local pub, the Blind Piper, is the best pub in the world. I had visions of setting up in a house there writing books, but now we’re living in a tropical paradise, which isn’t too bad either.”

Mr Gould said he would like to think of someone living on the land.

“I’d quite like a new Bentley, and maybe someone else who has one would like to live in a house in the Ring of Kerry.”

Mr Gould placed an advertisement in The Irish Times last Thursday seeking expressions of interest from Bentley owners. He estimates the car he is looking for would be worth in the region of €75,000. He has already received one inquiry, but has yet to make contact with the car’s owner.

The only building currently on the land is a ruined cottage which was abandoned in the mid-1800s at the time of the Famine. Planning permission had been secured for a dwelling, but has since lapsed.