This Kerry cottage has been brought back to life, and given a jaw-dropping new addition
Carefully restored and given an extension that makes the most of its incredible views, it's the perfect balance of tradition and innovation.
“Watching the weather here is hypnotising,” begins Brian Spain, owner of the Lost Cottage, which overlooks Caragh Lake, near Glenbeigh in Kerry. “The vista is so big, you could spend hours just watching the weather patterns move across the sky.”
The area is in fact designated as Ireland’s first International Dark Sky Reserve (with only three other European countries boasting areas with this designation). “On a clear night, the view of the Milky Way from here is exceptional.”
Born in Dublin, Brian has been coming to this part of Kerry “since before I could walk”, spending every school holiday at nearby Dooks all through his childhood. “I always knew I wanted to have a home here,” he says.
With his background in developing and running bars and restaurants, Brian spent five years living and working in Madrid and 20 in Paris. “In 2003, I came home for a visit from Paris and asked my friend Terence Murphy to come with me to look at a derelict cottage.
“The windows were blocked up, the roof was falling in, the floor was nothing more than mud, and a herd of wild goats had taken up residence. But… the view. Everyone thought I was mad. Terence immediately saw the potential.”
Brian bought it and took the following winter off, together with Terence, to work on it. “Terence is an artist,” states Brian. “I was just a pair of hands.” Looking at the work Terence has done on the Lost Cottage (making each of the bespoke window frames, doors and most of the furniture), it’s clear that Brian is not exaggerating.
Through those winter months, Brian and Terence worked to painstakingly restore the cottage, with passionate attention to detail and heritage materials.
“We made the new roof timbers out of larch wood cut from the forest behind the cottage – Terry and I dragging them out with the Pajero – it got pretty hairy at times,” Brian recalls, grinning.
“We knew we needed specialist help when it came to the lime render,” continues Brian, who called on Ed Byrne of the Traditional Lime Company in Carlow. Ed introduced Brian to Henry Thompson of OldBuilders Company, Birr, who then joined to assist with the interior and exterior rendering and hemp-lime insulation of the floors.
