The latest Allsop Space auction takes place at Dublin’s RDS on Wednesday, and the catalogue of 190 properties includes some interesting lots. Among the usual selection of residential and commercial lots - including plenty of country properties - one lot stands out. A car park with 24 spaces at Grand Canal Hotel in Dublin 4 with the reserve range set between €350,000 and €400,000.
Of 100-plus lots on the residential side, a couple of interesting historic properties might attract investors with an appetite for the fixer-upper, including a Victorian manor, an old mill and a thatched cottage.
Millars House, Killala, Co Mayo (Lot 102)
Reserve €525,000-€575,000
This imposing detached Victorian residence was built in the1890's by Rt Hon James Knox of Belleek Castle for his sister Augusta Gertrude Knox-Gore. Historically the lands were known as Foclaidh Woods, where legend has it that St Patrick baptised the first Irish Christians and was also the site of his first defeat against the druids.
The house was refurbished in the 1990’s and features carved oak fireplaces, original wooden floors and ornate ceiling plasterwork all set over a substantial 697sq m (7,502sq ft) on 30 acres. The house boasts 20 rooms in all including seven large bedrooms and some bathrooms have freestanding cast iron baths.
Also included in the sale are outhouses and a courtyard complete with clock tower, which in need of renovation, extend to a further 450sq m (4,843sq ft) The property lies at the end of a tree lined avenue opposite Killala Bay and was originally on the market in 2010 with an asking price of €1.5m, the reserve range for Wednesdays auction is €525,000-€575,000.
Former Mill/ Maltings plus old constabulary barracks on 5 acres
Banagher, Co Offaly (Lot 115)
Reserve €55,000
Banagher held an important strategic position in the 19th century. Not only was its location where Munster, Connacht and Leinster met – at Meelick, it was one of the few crossing points between Connacht and Leinster and had a thriving economy due to its flood-free plains at the edge of the River Shannon.
By the end of the 19th century the only industry to remain was that of a mill on the edge of the river. This derelict mill from the 1800's known as Haughton's Mills, was also used as a maltings by FA Waller who drowned in the Shannon in 1892.
The five storey 12 bay mill, is one of the larger grain mills to have survived in the county and operated on steam power in the mid-1800's. Included in the sale, on the five acre site is a former constabulary, also derelict, which according to Pigot's Directory of 1824 was formerly a nunnery attributed to St Rynagh of AD 580, which had a subterranean passage running 400 yards to St Rynaghs' Old Abbey.
Converted mills can make peaceful and unconventional homes. The waterside location on the banks of the Shannon is part of the Shannon Callows, a SAC (Special Area of Conservation) and is home to some of Irelands' rarer bird species. With a reserve of €55,000 for the five acre site, mill and barracks, it seems good value for a waterside site.
Detached one bedroom thatched cottage on 1.68 acres
Coolough Road, Menlo, Co Galway (Lot 106)
Reserve €100,000
Menlo Park in California was ranked in the top 15 US cities in CNN's 'Best Places for the Rich and Single' and takes its name from two Irish immigrants Messrs Oliver and McGlynn who having left Menlo, Co Galway in the 19th century, built the affluent city which today is home to many venture capital firms. Google was founded in Menlo Park and Facebook's global headquarters are based there since 2011.
This one bedroom cottage on 1.68 acres is located near the junction between Menlo Park and Coolough Road, on the outskirts of Galway just 3.7km from the city.
With its thatched roof, it retains all the traditional features in a bucolic setting while just a short drive to the city. While the floor area is small at 77sq m (828sq ft), there is an opportunity to extend subject to planning.
Agent Keane Mahony Smith has a 0.6 acre site in Killoughter, Menlo for sale with an asking price of €150,000 and Oliver Lynch is seeking €85,000 for a one acre site on nearby Quarry road. The €100,000 reserve sounds competitive at that rate.
