Address: Church Road, Kilkee, Co ClarePrice: €685,000 Agent: DNG O'Sullivan Hurley View this property on MyHome.ie A deconsecrated Presbyterian church up the road from the beautiful horseshoe-shaped beach in Kilkee, Co Clare, fell into the right hands when it was bought by its builder owner in 2017. Although he saw its potential to become a holiday home, his wife was understandably a bit hesitant about living in a church. However, her fears were allayed by the fact that there were no graves on the site, and she was further persuaded because they could see the sea from the front wall.The owner, who has made a career out of his passion for reinvigorating heritage buildings, was granted “change of use” permission to turn the place of worship into a four-bedroom home. The church had been used for just one ceremony a year until quite recently before he bought it, he understands.He was unperturbed that the building was listed, even though it meant he had to stay within strict parameters; retaining its Gothic-revival features was something he was happy to do, he says. As a listed building, it is Ber exempt.Now the builder is moving on to a new project at a farmhouse in Cratloe, Co Clare, where he had his first farm job, which he’d cycle to from his family home in Sixmilebridge. Thus, he’s putting this characterful home up for auction with Ennis estate agents DNG O’Sullivan Hurley, with an advised minimum value of €685,000. Unless sold in the meantime, it will be for sale by online auction on Friday, September 4th at 2pm. Interested parties can register to bid at osullivanhurley.dngauctions.ie.Extending to 350sq m (3,767sq ft) with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, the former church comes to the market in turnkey condition. It was designed with multigenerational family groups in mind, hence its open-plan layout that incorporates a spacious kitchen/living/diningroom with high ceilings accommodating the towering Gothic-style windows. The church’s original mahogany gallery was retained on the upper floor, adding a wonderful feature when viewed from the living space.A second wing accommodates four bedrooms, one of which is en suite, and a ground-floor shower room.Because you can’t see out of the colossal windows as they are set so high, the owner built a staircase up to a lovely reading nook at a window overlooking the sea. I’m sure 19th-century novelist Charlotte Brontë, who had her honeymoon in Kilkee in 1854 and of whom a mural has been painted on the beach wall, would approve. Brontë described the Kilkee coast in a letter to a friend as “such a wild iron-bound coast – with such an ocean-view as I had not yet seen and such battling of waves with rocks as I had never imagined”.Aerial view of Kilkee, with the property location indicated Front door Open-plan kitchen/living/diningroom with staircase to reading nook Gallery in original mahogany Dining area Kitchen The building and the roof were in great condition when he bought the property, the owner says, so his first step in the renovation was to have the house replumbed and rewired. He enjoys finding uses for old materials, and he used the church benches to panel the walls in the living area and floorboards to create backdrops for beds.The home sits on 0.39 acres, allowing for plenty of parking space, even for friends visiting in campervans.Located a few hundred metres from the beach and the town’s main street, the home is also walking distance from some of the country’s most stunning cliff walks, namely the Dunlicky route and George’s Head. It is about a 10-minute drive from Kilrush, an hour from Ennis and 90 minutes from Limerick city.The owners have especially loved spending winters here when the town was quiet, the owner says, when they’d go for walks and get to know the locals outside of the busier summer months.Hallway One of four bedrooms Kilkee beach. Photograph: Jessica Doyle Mural of Charlotte Brontë at Kilkee beach. Photograph: Jessica Doyle