Holy smoke, the owner of a former church and schoolhouse has repurposed its altar for use as a kitchen island, turned the sacristy into a utility room, and the confessional is now a shower room.
As two-bedroom, two-bathroom detached properties go, this is a storied house with talking point features aplenty.
The stone property was built in 1868 as a two-room school on the estate of local landlord Francis C. Bland.
Address: Old Church / School House, Ardmore, Sneem, Co. Kerry, V93 XT86
Asking price: €315,000 (€1,981 per m²)
Agent: DNG Timothy O’Sullivan
One of its teachers was P.W Palmer, who started in 1924.
He was chairman of the Kerry Irish National Teachers Organisation, a member of Kerry Co Council and in 1948 a Fine Gael T.D.
Mass was celebrated in the school on the first Friday of every month, and when the school was amalgamated with Sneem in 1967, it was turned into a Catholic church.
As Ardmore Church, it had a bell tower, which is now linked to the front door and used to announce the arrival of visitors.
Other notable features include the church windows in colour blocks of blue and red on its gable walls and an altar made of Valentia Island slate.
This rather unique feature has been repurposed as an island in the kitchen.
It is architectural and roots the space in its past, making a striking statement when paired with a gable church window, now a window seat.
The kitchen is a split-level space, with its cabinetry at the altar level and the dining area below, down a few steps.
Every corner of the property has been used. What had been the sacristy has been repurposed as a utility room.
The first of its two double bedrooms is off the hall. There is also a bathroom at this level. Previously, that had been the confessional.
The living room is at the opposite end of the house and also enjoys a gable church window. Glass double doors open out to a large gravelled area that was once the church car park.
Bounded by planting and a low wall with an electric gate entrance, more could be made of this large outdoor space.
A set of stairs leads up from the living room to the second bedroom and bathroom.
Full-height doors within its dormer windows open out from both the landing and bedroom to a south-facing terrace where you can enjoy the surrounding scenery and the broad stretch of blue that is Kenmare Bay.
The two-bedroom, two-bathroom C1 BER-rated property, which extends to 159 square metres, is seeking €315,000 through agents DNG Timothy O’Sullivan.
