When you approach the residence at Kevits Castle, located in Crossdoney in the heart of Cavan, you cannot help but comment on the unusual design of the residence that greets you. Designed in the 1950s by a Danish architect, the holding was as unusual as anything you could imagine during that time in Ireland. Add in the 160 plus acres, and you have a holding that is quite substantial.

And while this is impressive, it is the history of the premise that is intriguing. The original Kevits Castle, referred to in the Annals of the Four Masters as Castle Cosby, was a 13th century O’Reilly Castle. Today this is in ruin. On this site a residence was built in 1775 and was purchased by a Cavan man, Phillip Smith, in 1885. Smith made his name and fortune in the construction of the Pennsylvanian railway. Various members of the Smith family have lived there ever since. The current house was built in 1958 with the aforementioned unusual design.

Alfred Myles Smith, or AM Smith as he was known, and his wife, Joan, were the most recent owners of the property. AM Smith was a prominent member of the National Farming Association (NFA) in the county before the formation of the IFA. In the IFA he was the Cavan chair and one of three vice-presidents of the organisation at that time. He was also on the IFA National Council from 1957-1962 and played a pivotal role in many movements during that period. He passed away in 1976. His brother, Louis Smith, was the chief Economist with the IFA.

Joan Smith, AM Smiths wife, was a leading solicitor in the area. She passed away in recent years. The holding is now in possession of their son, who lives away from the area. He has decided that it is now the right time to sell the property.

The house

The residence is a 5,120sq ft holding. It is a four-bed house and the layout isn’t the norm for the area. The house is approached by a circa 200m roadway that leads away from the main road. Either side of this roadway is the low-lying land of the property. A plethora of mature trees surround the house, which gives a certain degree of privacy to it.

The house itself is entered via a flight of steps onto a porch and then to the hall on the ground floor. The rooms on this level are of good proportions and are light-filled, with numerous picture windows that overlook the large garden. A fully fitted, modern country kitchen adjoins the dining room. The master bedroom suite along with dressing room and bathrooms are also on this floor. Upstairs are three bedrooms (one has its own sitting room area capable of becoming an additional bedroom) and a family bathroom. The lower ground floor contains a very large garage and various useful rooms which lead to the upper floors. Recent upgrades to the house include a new bespoke kitchen and utility, bathrooms, a zoned oil-fired central heating system and a new septic tank, together with external and internal painting. The residence has also been fitted with new and sophisticated burglar and fire alarm system, complete with cameras and monitoring services.

There is also a gate lodge at the entrance of the holding, which was built in circa 1800, but is in need of total refurbishment.

The land

One feature of the countryside around the house, and indeed around the holding, is the quality of land in the area. This is the case for the majority of land on this holding. With the exception of some heavier, low-lying ground around the house, the land is of very good quality.

The land becomes elevated the further you move away from the residence, but that is the best land of the holding. In total, there are 164 acres on the premise. It is also laid out in one block, which is ideal and practical for a farmer.

There is a network of internal laneways and the plots are large, manageable fields with good shelter, bound by mature trees and hedging. There is piped water throughout most of the lands. The farmyard contains a derelict cut-stone yard and a two-bay span shed and lean-to. According to the auctioneer, This farm would make an excellent beef, drystock or dairy farm. It has been rented for the last number of years to numerous farmers and the land has been kept well.

The offering

The holding is being offered by private treaty. It came on the market in the back end of last year and so far interest has been predominantly local. The guide has dropped in recent times from €1.4m to €1.25m. Flexibility is being offered by the auctioneer when it comes to selling in lots. Auctioneer handling the sale is Property Partners Quinn Bros, Longford.