A 19th century sporting lodge is being auctioned on 28th September by joint agents Ganly Walters and Jeff Smith Auctioneers. Lackafinna House, which has a pre-auction guide of £450,000 (€571,380),is one and a half miles outside the village of Cong in Co Mayo and less than half a mile from the shores of Lough Corrib. Almost 19 acres of pasture and woodland are included in the sale, in addition to nine wooded islands on Lough Corrib which extend to a further nine acres.

The picturesque six-bedroom property is an angler's paradise, half a mile from Ashford Castle and with wooded surroundings which afford a good deal of privacy. While a good deal of modernisation is required, the house was rewired three years ago and some rooms have storage heating.

The present owners of Lackafinna House have used the lodge as a family holiday retreat for 40 years.

The pretty two-storey Victorian lodge is approached by a long and somewhat overgrown tree-lined driveway and is painted white with dove-grey window sills. Inside, there is a timber-floored drawingroom with an original black slate fireplace and three bright windows facing south.

A terracotta-painted diningroom has a cream traditional fireplace with a log-burning stove. There is plenty of storage for sporting equipment and outdoor gear in the large gun and rod room.

The country-style kitchen-breakfastroom has a quarry-tiled floor and a four-oven oil-fired Aga. Down some steps, a back kitchen with a Belfast sink is used as a laundry room.

Upstairs, all the four bedrooms on the first floor are doubles and have cast iron open fireplaces. The bathroom has a separate shower unit.

Two top-floor back bedrooms with open fireplaces are also large and there is a second bathroom.

The grounds are mainly in lawn and pasture, bordered by groves of mature deciduous trees. An enclosed courtyard contains various outbuildings which could be converted to guest accommodation, subject to planning approval. There is a lofted log shed, a double garage, a lofted stable with the remains of two old loose boxes and a couple of outhouses.

In addition to mayfly fishing on Lough Corrib, the property comes with shooting rights for wild pheasant, woodcock, snipe and duck.

A public lane off the main road leads down to the lakeshore, where the owners keep their boat for access to the nine thickly wooded islands.