Rather than downsize, Dr Sabina Brennan and her husband took on a sprawling 19th-century lakeside retreat, where they intend to keep living life to the fullSabina Brennan and her husband, David, at Lough Sillan House, Co Cavan. Photograph: Alan Betson Mon Jul 06 2026 - 05:00 • 5 MIN READSome people feel obliged to start thinking about downsizing as they age. The psychologist and neuroscientist Dr Sabina Brennan is not one of them. When she and her husband, David, were 59, they decided to upsize. They sold their Clontarf mews and bought Lough Sillan, a sprawling lakeside retreat near Shercock in Co Cavan.“In later life society expects you to slow down and do less but I think it’s a time to pursue your dreams,” she says. “In my work, I’m all about healthy brain, healthy ageing. It’s important that people’s lives have meaning and purpose.”For many years, the couple’s two children were their joint project, but when they grew up and moved out, and Covid-19 restrictions slowed the country down, they started to reassess their lives. Neither of them needed to be in Dublin for their work, and they realised they wanted to live in the countryside. Sabina, a bestselling author, had recently published the book The Neuroscience of Manifesting, and she jokes that she manifested this house into existence. “You have to have very clear goals of what you want, and then you take action and you take the steps to achieve that goal.” She drew up a spreadsheet listing the features she would like in a house. One home in Wicklow ticked many of the boxes, but the sale fell through. After that setback, she remembered reading about a house for sale in this publication and thinking she would love to live in it. She knew the house had long been sold, but she wondered why it had stayed in her memory. She re-read the article and at the end of the piece, the algorithm suggested another house – Lough Sillan. David and Sabina Brennan at Lough Sillan House. All photographs: Alan Betson Kitchen Dining and living area Sabina took charge when it came to the interior design The four-bay two-storey-over-basement former rectory on 9½ acres of gardens was built in 1819 on the shores of the lake by Rev Frederick Fitzpatrick. The house was built with the aid of a gift of £100 and a loan of £900 from the Board of First Fruits, the Church of Ireland institution that funded building work on churches and glebe houses.“It was the house of my dreams,” she says. “Four hundred metres of lakefront – I can walk down to my garden and pull out my kayak and go kayaking or I can go swimming without leaving home.” Sabina Brennan and her husband David at the lake Lake view Kayaks The house is on 9.5 acres However, with an asking price of €1.2 million, it was beyond their budget and they did not want to take out another mortgage. Nevertheless, they went to see the house and met the owner. “I just fell in love with it and thought, we have to find a way to get this house,” she recalls.She returned to see the gardens that had been rejuvenated by garden designer and botanist Daphne Shackleton two decades earlier, and this made her even more determined to buy the house. The grounds are a haven for any gardener with meandering paths winding through ornamental groves, and a rich display of ancient trees, rare specimens and shrubs. After some negotiating, and the sale of their own house, they secured Lough Sillan for €1 million and made the move on December 16th, 2021.She immediately got stuck into the renovation project. “I’m a real doer. I had us all unpacked before Christmas, plus I painted the kitchen presses and walls before Christmas Day.”And since then, they have taken on one project after another. Thanks to interventions by the previous owner, the structure of the main house was in fairly good condition, but they updated the plumbing, bathrooms and electrics and refurbished some interior walls and floors. She took charge when it came to the interior design, and the result is an elegant and restful space that’s bright and airy thanks to the generous windows looking on to the lake and the Cavan countryside. The couple also restored the original gates and pillars of the house, and then turned their attention to three crumbling farm buildings. They got a €4,000 grant from Cavan County Council to restore them and convert them into holiday cottages.The couple turned three outhouses into self-catering cottages A cottage bedroom Hot tub Sauna Bathroom There was a preservation order on the buildings, so work was slow and expensive and they were tempted to finish the interiors as cheaply as possible. But then she reasoned that visitors would never know how well the structural work was done. “What they’ll see is what the interior design is like, and the aesthetic. Each cottage has its own personality and all the interiors are done to the highest standard.”They also added an outdoor hot tub, sauna and relaxation room. It’s not difficult to relax in surroundings that are teeming with wildlife such as foxes, otters and more than 50 bird species. Dozens of herons return to nest in the ancient heronry every January, and have been recorded by the ornithologist and wildlife sound recordist Seán Ronayne.As well as the council grant, the couple also got help through the Workaway programme to restore the gardens and grounds. The international initiative allows people to volunteer their skills in exchange for food and accommodation. It all helped, when the costs for restoring the house, cottages and gardens were creeping over €250,000.But the homeowners have no regrets about taking on such a project. “It’s been amazing,” she says. “I’m 63 and it might sound crazy that I’m out digging a ditch this morning, but we’re always doing and maintaining, whilst holding down our own jobs, and I honestly feel that keeps you young. It keeps you motivated and feeling useful and interested in life. I just think we have it wrong, this thing about slowing down in later life. When you reach the point where you’ve lived longer than you’ve left to live, for me that means I live life to the full.”Has she any advice for anyone thinking of moving to the countryside for a richer life and a slower pace? “I suppose if anyone thinks maybe it’s too late to ever do something like this, I don’t think it is. I wish we’d done it earlier, but at least we’ve done it,” she says.However, she says it’s essential to make friends locally. “Moving to the country is lovely, but I think you really have to make an effort to become part of a community. I’m very aware of loneliness as people get older,” she says. If a partner dies, and the couple haven’t made friends, the surviving partner could become very lonely and isolated.“We were very fortunate in that people actually knocked on our door,” she says. “People invited us to things. We have found people so welcoming and so friendly.”loughsillanhouse.comIN THIS SECTION