No. 4 Main Street, Shillelagh, County WicklowY14K095
€70,000
2 Bed~1 Bath~65 m²~BER G
What you'll like:
- Attractive Asking Price: The property is offered at a very accessible entry price of seventy thousand euros, making it a compelling option for budget-conscious buyers looking for an affordable project.
- Historic Stone Façade: The charming cut-stone exterior reflects the unique heritage of a planned village settlement, offering immense visual appeal and authentic period character for restoration enthusiasts.
- Village Centre Location: Positioned directly on the main street of a picturesque village, residents enjoy easy walking access to local schools, churches, restaurants, pubs, and everyday shopping conveniences.
- Spacious Rear Garden: A mature and hedge-lined garden at the back of the house provides a peaceful outdoor sanctuary with significant space for landscaping or recreational use.
- Renovation and Extension Potential: The sizeable plot and rear layout offer great scope for future property enhancement and possible extension works, subject to obtaining the necessary planning permissions.
- Grant Eligibility Prospect: The residence is understood to potentially qualify for the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, which can provide substantial financial support for comprehensive upgrade works.
- Traditional Street Character: A delightful picket fence to the front creates the instantly recognisable and welcoming appearance of a classic Irish home, enhancing its overall curbside charm.
- Compact Floor Area: Spanning sixty-five square metres, the two-bedroom layout provides a manageable footprint that simplifies heating, maintenance, and the overall scope of required modernisation.
- Abundance of Original Features: Retaining unique historical elements such as stone-cut stairs and original internal details, the dwelling offers a wonderful canvas to blend vintage charm with modern comforts.
- Outdoor Lifestyle Proximity: A vast range of recreational activities are close by, including local golf courses, fishing spots, scenic hill walking trails, cycling routes, and equestrian pursuits.
- Commuter Accessibility: Both Arklow and Gorey can be conveniently reached within a thirty-minute drive, while South Dublin is accessible in just over an hour for wider travel needs.
- Established Mains Services: The house is connected to all main utility services, which can help streamline the plumbing and electrical integration during the upcoming renovation process.
- Oil Fired Central Heating: Equipped with an existing central heating system, the dwelling provides a baseline infrastructure that can be inspected, serviced, or upgraded as part of thermal improvements.
- Stone Outbuilding Feature: The inclusion of an exterior stone outbuilding offers practical storage space or potential utility options to support future outdoor living and garden maintenance activities.
- Investment Potential: Suited to those seeking a dedicated renovation project or a buy-to-let investment, this property allows buyers to add significant value through targeted aesthetic and structural upgrades.
- Manageable Two Bedrooms: The layout features two bedrooms, making it ideal for a small household, a cozy holiday retreat, or a compact home office setup after modernisation.
- Ground Floor Store Room: An internal store room directly accessing the rear garden provides functional transitional space that could easily be incorporated into an expanded kitchen or utility area.
- Separate W.C. and Shower: The ground floor layout includes a separate shower room and W.C., offering a practical configuration that can be reconfigured or upgraded during bathroom renovations.
- Direct Road Frontage: Situated right on the main street, the property benefits from convenient direct access for construction traffic, material deliveries, and everyday pedestrian arrivals.
- Scenic County Setting: Located in scenic County Wicklow, buyers will appreciate the tranquil rural surroundings combined with the friendly atmosphere of a historic planned settlement community.
But keep in mind:
- Extremely Poor Energy Rating: The property carries a G energy rating with a very high consumption indicator, meaning extensive and costly insulation upgrades will be needed to achieve comfort.
- Extensive Modernisation Required: The interior requires complete modernisation throughout, necessitating a substantial financial and time commitment from the buyer to bring the living spaces up to modern standards.
- Untested Services and Fixtures: All domestic apparatus, fixtures, fittings, and services are unverified, and buyers must commission independent professional inspections to determine their actual working condition.
- Historic Fabric Maintenance: Cut-stone buildings from the nineteenth century require specialised conservation knowledge and sympathetic maintenance techniques to avoid damaging original masonry and damp-proofing elements.
- Planning Permission Uncertainties: Any future plans to extend the dwelling or alter its historic footprint will require formal planning consent from the local authority, with no guarantee of approval.
- Restricted Front Access: Being a mid-terrace town house directly on the street, parking and heavy material staging during renovations may require careful coordination with local traffic flow.
- Limited Bathroom Facilities: The current sanitary arrangements are basic and compact, meaning a complete redesign is likely necessary to create a comfortable, modern family bathroom space.
- Underfloor and Surface Damp: Older stone-built homes frequently suffer from rising damp and inadequate ground-floor ventilation, requiring thorough damp-proofing investigations before laying new flooring.
- Roof and Structural Condition: Given the 1890 construction date, buyers should commission a thorough structural survey to assess the integrity of the roof timbers, chimney stacks, and stone walls.
- Heating System Efficiency: The existing oil-fired boiler and associated radiators may be obsolete or inefficient, requiring complete replacement to meet modern heating demands and building regulations.
- Window and Door Upgrades: Single or older double-glazed units are likely present given the G rating, meaning complete window and external door replacements will be necessary to reduce heat loss.
- Ventilation Deficiencies: Historic homes often lack adequate sub-floor and wall ventilation, which can lead to condensation issues that must be addressed during the thermal upgrade process.
- Electrical Wiring Overhaul: The electrical installation should be fully tested by a certified electrician, as older properties frequently feature outdated wiring that fails to meet current safety codes.
- Plumbing and Drainage Inspection: Cast iron or old-format internal plumbing and underground drainage lines should be professionally surveyed for corrosion, leaks, or potential blockages before renovation starts.
- Asbestos Material Presence: Older buildings can sometimes contain hazardous materials such as asbestos in ceiling tiles or insulation, requiring specialist identification and safe removal protocols.
- Boundary and Title Verification: Buyers should instruct their legal representative to carefully verify all property boundaries, right-of-way access to the rear garden, and any restrictive covenants.
- Grant Condition Compliance: Relying on the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant requires strict adherence to timelines, contractor qualifications, and prior local authority approvals that must be meticulously managed.
- Internal Layout Constraints: The narrow profile of a traditional two-bedroom town house may limit major structural reconfiguration options without incurring significant engineering and steelwork costs.
- Limited Natural Light: Mid-terrace homes of this period can suffer from restricted natural light in central rooms, which may require clever interior design solutions or roof lights to brighten.
- Ongoing Maintenance Burden: Historic properties generally demand a higher ongoing maintenance budget compared to modern builds to preserve structural integrity and prevent weather-related deterioration.
Price positioning
?
- The asking price appears undervalued primarily due to the exceptionally low entry point of seventy thousand euros, which reflects the heavy immediate discount demanded by the very poor energy rating and extensive structural modernisation required throughout the dwelling.
- Valuation signals heavily emphasize the poor G energy efficiency rating alongside an urgent need for comprehensive internal upgrades, though these negative factors are partially counterbalanced by the presence of a mature rear garden and potential eligibility for government refurbishment grants.
- Such a low price could be strongly supported by extraordinarily high contractor expenses and unforeseen structural remediation costs typical of nineteenth-century stone buildings, while it could be undermined if competitive auction bidding pushes the final acquisition cost significantly beyond initial expectations.
- Relevant market comparisons indicate that typical residential properties in the wider locality command substantially higher sums, suggesting that the initial guide figure acts primarily as a low-cost marketing strategy designed to attract heavy interest at auction.
Build Analysis
What we know from similar construction types
- The property is a traditional stone-built mid-terrace house dating back to 1890, forming part of a historic streetscape with cut-stone construction.
- The building requires comprehensive modernisation and refurbishment throughout, evidenced by its low energy rating and period features.
- Buyers should investigate the structural integrity of the stone walls, roof condition, dampness issues typical of period properties, and the state of the existing services such as the oil-fired central heating and plumbing.
- The rear garden offers potential for extension, subject to obtaining necessary planning permission and regulatory consents.
- Potential eligibility for the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant should be verified by interested parties.
Retrofit Cost*
Possible renovating / insulating expenditure
- Given the G BER rating and a floor area of 65 square metres, a comprehensive deep retrofit is estimated to cost between 50,000 and 75,000 euros.
- This estimate includes significant upgrades such as external or internal wall insulation, roof insulation, window and door replacements, installation of a modern low-carbon heating system, and upgrading electrical and ventilation services to bring the property to a modern energy efficiency standard.
Heating cost*
Estimated expense to heat this property every year
- Estimated annual heating cost: EUR 2,000 to EUR 2,800.
- Explanation: Given the floor area of 65 m² and a very poor BER rating of G with an energy performance indicator of 461.72 kWh/m2/yr, the property has high thermal energy losses resulting in significantly above-average heating costs using oil fired central heating until substantial energy efficiency upgrades are completed.
Pollution Safe
9/10Environmental situation to investigate
- The property is located in a rural village setting in County Wicklow, which generally experiences very low levels of industrial pollution and heavy traffic emissions.
- There are no major industrial facilities, large-scale incinerators, or known high-risk active landfills immediately adjacent to the village center, though standard local environmental queries should be verified during conveyancing.
Flood Safe
8/10Water overflow reports to follow up
- The property is situated along the main street of Shillelagh on elevated inland terrain, appearing to be at a lower overall risk of acute coastal or major river flooding.
- Buyers should consult local drainage maps and environmental authorities to verify any localized surface water risks during periods of intense rainfall.
Recent Local Sales
Verified residential transactions published in the previous five years
Sales on the same street or estate
MAIN STREET, SHILLELAGH, CO WICKLOW
- Sale date
- Declared sale price
- €130,000.00
Recent sales in the wider Shillelagh area
13 MILLBANK, SHILLELAGH, ARKLOW
- Sale date
- Declared sale price
- €184,000.00
COTTAGE, COOLKENNA, SHILLELAGH
- Sale date
- Declared sale price
- €310,000.00
1 MILLBANK, SHILLELAGH, WICKLOW
- Sale date
- Declared sale price
- €225,000.00
TAYLORS COTTAGE, COOLATTIN, SHILLELAGH
- Sale date
- Declared sale price
- €107,500.00
20 OAKRIDGE MANOR, SHILLELAGH, WICKLOW
- Sale date
- Declared sale price
- €320,000.00
Source: Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA), Residential Property Price Register (PPR). Matching uses address information published by the PPR rather than measured map distance. It may omit nearby properties on differently named streets.
Last Sale
A confidently matched previous PPR transaction for this property
No confidently matched previous sale was found in the Property Price Register.
Buyer fees*
Associated expenses guide
- Stamp duty: Approximately EUR 700 based on 1% of the asking price for residential property up to EUR 1,000,000.
- Solicitor legal fees: Estimated between EUR 1,500 and EUR 2,500 plus VAT and outlays.
- Land registration fees: Approximately EUR 130 to EUR 400 depending on the property value and registration method.
- Property valuation fees: Around EUR 150 to EUR 300.
- Surveyor fees: Between EUR 500 and EUR 1,000 depending on the depth of the structural survey required for a property needing modernisation.
- Annual home insurance: Approximately EUR 400 to EUR 800 depending on the level of coverage and property condition.
Forum Talk
What people are saying about this area
- Locals in Shillelagh frequently discuss the historic charm and architectural heritage of the village's cut-stone buildings developed under the Fitzwilliam Estate.
- Residents highlight the strong sense of community and the convenience of having local amenities, schools, and traditional pubs within walking distance on Main Street.
- Community forums often note the appeal of outdoor activities in the surrounding Wicklow countryside, including hill walking, cycling, and proximity to Coolattin.
- Discussions regarding older properties in the area often center around potential upgrade projects, energy efficiency improvements, and utilization of vacant property refurbishment grants.
LifeFit Assessment
How well this property may suit your lifestyle
Family
7 areas- Young Children5/10
The property features a spacious mature rear garden that could potentially be transformed into a children's play area, but the 65m2 interior and G-rated energy performance require extensive modernisation before it is suitable for young families.
- Teenagers4/10
With only two bedrooms and 65 square metres of floor area, space is quite limited for teenagers, though the village location provides local independence.
- Multi-generational Living2/10
The compact layout spanning 65m2 with a single bathroom makes multi-generational living highly impractical without significant structural extension.
- Single Buyers8/10
An affordable entry price point of 70,000 euros makes this an attractive renovation project for single buyers looking for a character home to transform.
- Couples7/10
Offers a wonderful project for a couple wanting to take on a traditional stone-built townhouse, provided they are prepared for substantial modernization work.
- Empty Nesters5/10
While single-story living elements are limited, the manageable footprint appeals to downsizers, though the extensive upgrade requirements may prove daunting.
- Retirees5/10
The village center location is convenient for local amenities, but the layout includes stairs and the property requires substantial retrofitting to ensure comfortable ageing in place.
Work
3 areas- Remote Working6/10
Provides a quiet base for remote working, though buyers should verify local broadband connectivity standards.
- Hybrid Commuting4/10
With South Dublin just over an hour away and Arklow or Gorey at 30 minutes, hybrid commuting is feasible but involves notable travel time.
- Retired7/10
The village setting and local amenities suit retirement living well, provided the property is fully modernized for comfort.
Practical
8 areas- Ageing in Place4/10
The two-story layout with stairs and a G energy rating requires substantial adaptation and renovation to safely support ageing in place.
- Low Maintenance3/10
As a period stone-built property requiring complete modernization and possessing a G BER rating, maintenance demands will initially be high.
- Secure Gated Entry3/10
Features a traditional picket fence and street frontage rather than a secure gated entry system.
- Minimalist Design5/10
The compact footprint allows for minimalist layouts, but the abundance of original features and period character lends itself more to traditional styles.
- Flexible Floor Plans5/10
Comprises 65m2 across two bedrooms with a store room and rear garden offering potential extension opportunities, subject to planning.
- Heritage Home10/10
Forms part of the historic streetscape of Shillelagh, reflecting its heritage under the Fitzwilliam Estate with original stone features intact.
- Ecological Setup2/10
The property currently holds a G BER rating with an energy performance indicator of 461.72 kWh/m2/yr, requiring extensive ecological upgrades.
- Outdoor areas8/10
Benefits from a charming front picket fence and a mature, hedge-lined rear garden with excellent potential for landscaping.
Interests
9 areas- Gardening8/10
Features a mature, hedge-lined rear garden providing plenty of scope for keen gardeners to develop and enhance.
- Walking9/10
The surrounding area is well-known for hill walking and scenic local routes close to the village.
- Gym3/10
Dedicated gym facilities are sparse in the immediate rural village, likely requiring travel to larger nearby towns.
- Cycling8/10
The scenic countryside and local roads offer fantastic opportunities for cycling enthusiasts.
- Golf7/10
A vast range of outdoor activities including local golf courses are close by.
- Fishing7/10
Fishing opportunities are readily accessible within the surrounding rural area.
- Horse Riding8/10
The region is well-suited for equestrian pursuits and horse riding.
- Water Sports3/10
Inland village location means water sports require travel toward the coast at Arklow.
- Entertaining6/10
The spacious rear garden offers great potential for outdoor entertaining once landscaped, though indoor living space is compact.
Lifestyle
5 areas- Quiet Living6/10
Situated in a historic village setting on Main Street, offering a generally quieter pace of life despite its central location.
- Rural Living7/10
Located in a picturesque rural village surrounded by countryside and close to outdoor pursuits like hill walking and equestrian activities.
- Village Living10/10
Positioned right on the main street of Shillelagh within walking distance to local schools, churches, restaurants, pubs, and shops.
- Coastal Living3/10
While Arklow and Gorey are reachable in around 30 minutes, the property itself is inland in a rural village setting.
- Urban Living2/10
Shillelagh is a historic village rather than an urban center, with South Dublin taking over an hour to reach.
Social
6 areas- Community Involvement8/10
Living directly on the main street of a historic village fosters strong community engagement and participation.
- Café Culture5/10
Basic local amenities and pubs are available within walking distance, though a broader café culture is found in larger towns.
- Nightlife4/10
Nightlife is limited to local village pubs rather than extensive urban entertainment venues.
- Health/Wellness groups5/10
Local community offerings exist, but specialized pilates and wellness groups may require travel to larger centers.
- Networking Opportunities3/10
Rural village setting offers limited professional networking opportunities locally.
- Tech-Hub Connectivity2/10
The rural location is far from major tech hubs, making robust connectivity dependent on local infrastructure checks.
Listing information
- Agent
- Quinn Property (Gorey)
- Phone
- 053 948 0000
- Published on HouseDelve
- 27 September 2026
- Correction
- Report an issue
HD-EEA8C1HouseDelve · Republic of IrelandReport checks
Sources used: Public marketplace, Property Price Register, and grounded web research where available.
Automated quality checks: Passed
* Estimate — not advice. Actual costs and outcomes can vary materially. Obtain current quotations and professional advice before making financial or property decisions.