Churches make characterful homes. A derelict chapel in Co Meath is up for auction with an eye-catching AMV of €50k. Needing complete salvation, how much will it really cost to renovate? Those with lived experience offer insights.
A derelict church of about 130 square metres with a graveyard on a site that extends to about half an acre is being brought to auction later this month with an eye-catching AMV of €50,000 through agents Raymond Potterton.
You could add a jacuzzi to the top of the bell tower, install roof lights to flood the interior with light, and add floors to take advantage of the lofty ceiling heights, all subject to having the funds to execute such ideas.
Address: St. Finian's Church, Clonard, Co. Meath, no Eircode
AMV: €50,000 Auction Wednesday, Sept 24th
Agent: Raymond Potterton & Co
It has “access to a septic tank”, according to the estate agent. There is water. The source is a well on the grounds, but it is a holy well, according to the agent. What would be the protocols around using such a source?
The property has no interior shots so difficult to guage the extent of the works. Neither does it have an Eircode and is listed on Google Maps as St Fionnan’s Abbey. It is one of three lots being sold.
If Donagh Cronin were to buy it, he’d “be turning into the well. Well water is gorgeous, holy or not”.
He and his wife Maria Lalor renovated a church in Co Waterford that they bought in the 1990s for €25k, the price of a car. Now a three- to five-bedroom home of 177 square metres, they recently sold it.
“The site looks wonderful,” he says. “I don’t see an obvious graveyard, but there is a precedent for moving the headstones to the perimeter in a tasteful manner. This is called reordering and has occurred many times with deconsecrated churches and graveyards.”
Depending on the ceiling heights, getting a second floor in is obviously advantageous on several levels, he says, adding that a large open plan space can be difficult to heat and an impractical solution.
“We were lucky enough to have the height over the tops of the windows to be able to add three bedrooms and a bathroom. Frederick O’Dwyer of the heritage section of the OPW asked us to consider putting in dormer windows instead of rooflights.”
He says you can expect materials costs to be in the region of €700 to €1,000 per square metre. This price is excluding labour. Finding skilled craftspeople to work on such a building may be difficult.
The property is not listed on Former Glory, which is considered the go-to place for quirky listings. The site owner Chris Deakin owns a church in the west, which he rehabilitated from a derelict condition. You can read more about it here.
For the price of a good car, someone might get a bargain, or it could be a €50,000 white elephant, says another church owner who asked not to be named.
He fits the bill for those who find this type of property appealing. Aged 29 when he walked through the gates, and he bought it sight unseen, having previously tried to buy a monastery and a train station. “I was looking for an oddball property. I didn’t look inside.”
It had no mains, no sewage, no electricity, nor planning permission to convert. “It was either very romantic or very stupid.”
He expected to be in situ by the time he threw a party for his 30th birthday. This did not come to pass. He did, however, get permission to install huge glazing units in the roof, which completely changed the possibilities for the interior.
Now, some 15 years later, the conversion is considered a success. It was valued at over €1 million about two years ago.
He believes that water “is easy to get in and that the septic tank is the main concern,” also counselling any would-be buyers to find out what sort of access there is to the graveyard.
Are rights of way in place? If the churchyard is “closed”, as in there aren’t going to be any more burials in it, is it also “locked”, meaning those wishing to enter it require permission from the owner?
The property does not appear to have planning permission to convert it to residential or other use.
“Whoever buys it needs to go in with their eyes open," he counsels. “Caveat Emptor, buyer beware.”
The auction takes place online and at 38 Watergate Street, Navan, Co. Meath, on Wednesday, September 23rd at 3 pm. Visit raymondpotterton.com
