Escape to the edge of nature, a place where selkies gather, the odd basking shark makes a house call, and bottlenose dolphins make waves. You can stargaze from bed and have a front-row seat to storms rolling in.
It’s the time of the year when the last of the Perseids meteor showers light up the sky like a pinball machine.
There are flashes and slow rolls that go on for hours.
All are visible from Mermaid Isle, a six-bedroom, three-bathroom house that extends to 423 square metres across three levels.
Address: Mermaid Isle, Glanlough Lower, Sneem, Kerry, V93 Y2T5
Asking price: €3.3 million
Agent: Majella O’Sullivan
The property, which is between Sneem and Caherdaniel, just off the Ring of Kerry, is in one of Ireland’s Dark Sky reserve areas.
“When the cloud opens up, I can see them from my bed,” the owner Kevin O’Farrell explains.
While the 25-acre property looks like it was set adrift from the seaport of Nantucket, Mermaid Isle is just decades old.
It is anchored to a mound of old red sandstone from the Devonian age that dates from 400 million years ago. At that time, Ireland was situated beneath the equator.
It has been battened into position on the bedrock by a foundation of reinforced steel and concrete that fixes in place like a barnacle.
The timber structure is slate-clad at ground floor level and has shiplap Douglas fir cladding on the floors above.
Set on compass points, its extensive front faces due south. With water views on three sides and sheltered by trees, it is a compellingly sited high-end house.
The design and location buffer it from the elements. It is shielded further by Illaundrane, a private island of which half of its 26 acres form part of the property.
It acts like a reef, creating a haven to the front of the house, O’Farrell explains.
When stormy weather rolls in, he likes to go out to the island to marvel at the size of the waves on its windward side, safe in the knowledge that back on dry land the property is protected from the inclement conditions.
He and his family like to kayak, swim and watch the wildlife, which includes bottlenose dolphins and even the odd basking shark.
One spent a day cruising the channel last summer, its dorsal fin more than 1.5 metres high.
There’s a seal rookery nearby, which explains the property’s name.
Similar to the mermaid, a selkie is a mythical, shape-shifting creature from Scottish, Irish, and Faroese folklore that can transform from a seal in the water into a human on land by shedding its seal skin.
Inside, the house fuses salvage finds with 14th-century post and rail timber construction and a relaxed, rusticated modernity.
It feels like it’s been here forever, whereas it was constructed in the 1990s and boasts an impressive B BER rating.
Giant beams of Douglas Fir from the Wicklow hills, some with waney edges, frame the interior.
A fabulous array of windows salvaged from the Bon Secours convent in Cork add a sense of heritage and texture, as does the timber repurposed from an entire church in rural Co Cork.
This is evident in the arboretum, a double-height space that is filled with plant life and offers a refuge from the elements.
The large kitchen cum living room has a solid timber island, while stainless-steel appliances are hidden behind antique pine confessional doors.
A large composite deck wraps around the room, and there’s a large Californian hot tub to warm up in after you’ve been in the water.
There’s a boat launching area and offshore mooring for sail and motorsports fans. The owners take their Zodiac for cocktails on the deck at Parknasilla across Kenmare Bay.
The closest village for provisions is Castlecove. Generally, they take the car, but you can also go by boat.
The B BER-rated property, which includes 17 acres of land and a further 13 acres, half a private island, is seeking €3.3 million through agents Majella O’Sullivan.
