Co Meath has certainly entertained us with a plethora of exceptional properties for sale this year. And although the season is slipping on, the market still continues to throw up some fabulous gems.

Just launched to the market in recent weeks is Harristown House, Kinnegad, which stands on 151 acres, not far from the Meath/Westmeath border.

During my visit last week, it’s clear the owners kept Harristown House, and indeed the entire property, in excellent order down through the years.

Nicely presented

You just know from the neatly-cut lawns, the trimmed hedges and shrubs, the tidy farmyard and the super layout of the land.

Situated just off the main Kinnegad/Edenderry road, the property comes to the market with a five-bedroom Georgian residence, an extensive range of farm buildings and circa 151 acres of excellent-quality grazing ground.

Selling agents James and Padraic Murtagh from James L Murtagh Auctioneers, Mullingar, will auction the property on 7 July at 3pm in the Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar.

For sale in one lot only, the entire is guided in the region of €2m, or circa €13,200/acre, including the house and yard.

Given the complete package, with the house, yard and 151 acres, widespread farmer-based interest can be expected, including from those who are willing to relocate.

But given the fine period house and the sheer character of Harristown, one couldn’t rule out a trickle of bloodstock inquiries as well as some business interest over the coming month.

The residence

Accessed through limestone piers with cast iron gates, Harristown House is approached from a narrow but beautifully-maintained tree-lined avenue that leads to the forecourt, and an imposing flight of limestone steps up to the house.

Built in 1847, the residence is elegantly poised on a slightly elevated south-facing site that overlooks the garden and the front field.

Comprising two storeys over basement, the house extends to over 4,200 square feet, which for some may appear quite big, but when you walk inside, the rooms are nicely proportioned to make comfortable family living without being in any way excessive.

Features include high ceilings, original sash windows and shutters, decorative cornicing, ceiling roses and an attractive fanlight in the hallway.

The accommodation extends to two reception rooms with dual aspect windows, kitchen, a lovely bright sun room and a downstairs bathroom with five bedrooms (one en-suite) – all fitted with vanity basins – and a family bathroom upstairs. The heating is oil-fired and water is supplied from a private well.

The downstairs basement has direct access off the yard and incorporates a breakfast room, games room, office, utility and store room. The structure and main fabric of the house is in excellent heart.

The yard

Outside, there is a lovely lofted stone coach house, a walled garden and a range of other stone outbuildings. The main farmyard has a surprising number of farm buildings, that include a five-bay sheep shed, two adjoining seven-bay round roof sheds (one slatted and the other has a concrete floor), a silage pit and a six-bay A-roof shed divided in two.

There are also two isolation pens, chemical store, tool shed, hayshed, machinery shed, cattle handling facilities and a newly built six-bay, single-sided, slatted shed. Neatly presented, it’s clear the owner tailored the buildings to allow for a one-man operation.

Potential

Once the nurturing ground for tillage, Harristown has been home to a beef enterprise for the past number of years. Set out in single-151-acre platform, the land is superbly laid out, comprising four major divisions, subdivided into a plethora of decent-sized paddocks that are accessed from an extensive network of farm roadways.

This roadway is securely fenced with sheep wire, has tubular gates into some of the paddocks and runs right through the farm. The one thing that springs to mind is what a fine dairy farm Harristown would make. The only thing missing is the milking parlour and a cubicle shed.

When I was there last week, much of the farm was sporting a fine crop of silage. Reseeded in recent years, the land also has over 850 metres of frontage to the river Boyne and no less than 900 metres of road frontage.

Harristown should make for an interesting sale in just over four weeks’ time. CL