house

Detached four-bay single-storey house, built c. 1800, having windbreak porch (offset) to the centre of the front elevation (southeast). Now disused. Two-bay single-storey garage extension, attached to the northwest gable end having square-headed carriage arch/garage door. Pitched natural slate roof with ridge tiles, three rendered chimneystacks and raised verges to either gable end. Flat-roof to windbreak and pitched corrugated-metal roof to garage extension. Painted smooth rendered walls. Square-headed window openings with painted stone sills, rendered reveals and one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows. Square-headed door opening to porch having timber panelled door. Painted timber double-leaf door to carriage arch/garage door to extension. Painted random rubble stone single-storey outbuilding to rear (northwest) having pitched corrugated-metal roof. Painted random rubble stone boundary walls to site. Road-fronted to the north end of Abbeylara.

This modest single-storey house, with its asymmetrical façade and small openings, is built in the vernacular manner. It retains salient fabric and features including the windbreak porch and timber sliding sash windows. The steep pitch of the roof suggests that it was previously thatched. The form of this building hints that it was formerly a three-bay building that was extended by a bay to the northeast end at some stage. The position of the central chimneystack in relation to the doorway suggests that it original had/has the lobby-entry plan that is typical of the vernacular houses of the midlands of Ireland. Vernacular structures are becoming increasingly rare in both urban and rural areas in Ireland, making this a rare survival. The rubble stone outbuilding and the rubble stone boundary walls add context and complete this unassuming but appealing composition.