517ac agri-tourism property on the market in Mayo

A 517ac residential, agricultural and sporting property at Derrypark and Glenbeg in Tourmakeady, Co Mayo, is on the market guided at €1.6m. It is offered for sale as a whole or in six lots ranging in price from €50,000 to €590,000.

The property has a number of income-generating streams, including a holiday-letting business, an angling centre with fishing on Lough Mask from six boats and a farming business with Basic Payment Scheme entitlements. The farm carries a breeding flock of about 500 hill ewes which are lambed outdoors and graze on the 425ac Glenbeg Hill. There are three small sets of farm buildings within the portfolio.

There are also six residential properties which are positioned around the banks of an inlet of Lough Mask, There is direct access to the lough and boat moorings from each house or cottage.

“The Derrypark and Glenbeg portfolio presents a variety of options for buyers, from those looking for an idyllic waterside retreat to investors with natural capital interests seeking an expanse of land,” said James Butler, head of country agency with the selling agent, Savills. “This combination of assets is very rarely offered for sale and I anticipate interest to come from local and international buyers who are searching for the rural tranquillity and amenity that this fabulous west of Ireland location offers.”

The property is in two principal blocks – Derrypark, situated to the north of the lough’s inlet, and Glenbeg, situated to the south.

The largest lot in terms of agricultural area is number six, Glenbeg Hill, which comprises 425ac and is guided at €250,000. The purchaser of this (lot 6) will have the option to take over the sheep flock by separate negotiation at an additional price. The land rises from a low point of about 18m above sea level at Lough Mask to a high point on the southeast boundary of about 372m. The hill is fenced in four principal sections. Loading pens and smaller enclosures for gathering are next to the road.

A 17ac block of farmland (lot 5) lies a short distance to the east of the principal landholding at Glenbeg and is guided at €50,000 (€2,950/ac). There is also 18ac of pasture at Derrypark guided at €50,000 (lot 1b).

Main REsidence

The main residential offering in the property is Lot 1a which comprises Derrypark Lodge and two cottages. Derrypark Lodge is a 200sq m detached, south-facing house with accommodation laid out over two storeys. The three-bedroom house is believed to have formerly served as a hunting lodge. It includes an open plan sitting/dining room with magnificent views. The two cottages are semi-detached and in a L-shaped formation. They were constructed in 1991 to a traditional design with stone walls beneath a pitched slate roof. Both cottages have two bedrooms and are just under 90sq m.

Lots two and four both have a cottage and some farmland (see table), while lot three comprises the 200sq m Red Island House with 5.7ac.

“For more than 30 years we have enjoyed hosting tourists and anglers from around the world, with many repeat visitors. However, the property is more than a business to us, it’s a beautiful place to live and work,” the current owner Brian Joyce said. “While we are sad to be placing it on the market, it has never looked better and we hope that the new owners will derive as much pleasure from it in the future as my family has over many generations.”

Earlier this year the sale was agreed on a 557ac hill farm in Mayo, just five weeks after it came on the market. The farm near Wesport is believed to have sold for around its guide price of €695,000.