CO WEXFORD / PROJECT
E
ight years ago we bought a holiday home in Wexford,” says Daniel. “It was an old farmhouse, that had originally stood on about 50 acres of pasture land. The previous owner had retired from farming and sold off most of the land leaving the house, yard, outbuildings and five acres. It was perfect for us, as it fit into our longer term aspiration to move down to Wexford and set
up a small holding.” “We love Connemara but it’s just too far away to use regularly for short breaks,” adds Helen. “We wanted a home relatively close to a town with good shops and facilities and our site is only 6km from the centre of Wexford town. Despite that, it has a very rural feel, located 500m from the nearest public road and surrounded by the farmland with which the original house was associated.” “We both love being close to the sea and Wexford is ideal for fishing, kayaking and beach days in the summer. Several of our siblings on both sides of the family have
second homes nearby so the children have lots of opportunity to entertain themselves.”
Inspiration
“The house that was on the site was probably about 100 years old, with thick mud and rubble walls and very small windows, originally thatched it had been extended over the years and a second floor added,” says Daniel. “It was a functional building, offering protection from the elements, but it did not take advantage of its wonderful location at all as well as being damp and barely insulated at all.” Holidaying in the house over the years, it became clear to Daniel and Helen that a renovation would be too difficult and that they would be better off starting from scratch. “We’ve had maybe 10 previous houses and apartments, mostly period
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