The Coastguard Station near Sligo was built in 1873 by the Office of Public Works. It was originally constructed to accommodate four boatmen and one officer with their families. With the officer's accommodation and offices at one end the watchtower at the other.
Its particular location was chosen because of a naturally occurring strip of beach which allowed easy access into the bay for launching and retrieval of the stations cutter (boat) from the boathouse and slipway.
The building was partially occupied by the postal service until one night in 1919 when the IRA attacked the station along with the local Garda Police station at Skreen and set them both on fire.
The Coastguard station was then left as a ruin with only the stone walls and masonry surviving until the 1960s when it was bought from the government by an Irish American architect who restored both the watchtower and the officers' accommodation at either end of the building.
In the 80s the building was then fully restored throughout into one home by a German hotelier who used the property as a holiday home. The present owners acquired the property five years ago and have extended and modernised the house and out-buildings throughout to its present exceptional standard.
The Old Coastguard Station is located on the south-western shores of the Ballisadare Bay just as it joins Sligo Bay. The property is about 5 minutes from the village of Beltra, 11 minutes from Ballisadare and 18 minutes from Sligo Town . The cities of Dublin and Belfast with their respective International Airports are both about 2hrs 30 minutes away.
For sale through Knight Frank at a guide price of €2.175 million (+353 01 662 3255)
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