Killary View Cottage in Galway has possibly the most dramatic vista in Ireland

Asking price: €645,000

Agent: DNG Cregg O’Callaghan (086) 8237548

The Killary Harbour fjord in Galway is Ireland’s only example of a deep glacier-scraped valley, providing what is arguably the country’s most dramatic view.

On one side, in what is Connacht’s highest peak, is the 2,671ft high Mweelrea, while to the south rise the Maumturk Mountains and the Twelve Bens.

The spectacular flooded valley runs for 10 miles and hosts mussel farming, pleasure cruises, steep hillwalks and scuba diving in a wildlife-rich location. There are otters, barnacle geese, whooper swans, dolphins, sharks, seals, salmon and sea trout.

The village of Leenane, at the head of Killary Harbour on the Galway-Mayo border, is itself postcard pretty and, with its breathtaking setting, famously took centre stage in Jim Sheridan’s movie, The Field, alongside Oscar nominated Richard Harris, Sean Bean, John Hurt, Brenda Fricker and Tom Berenger.

With its ancient tombs and potato ridges marking out the mountains and the mirror-sharp waters to reflect it all, you’d be hard pressed to find a more scenic site on which to build your dream home.

So when local hotel industry professional Fiona King obtained a waterfront site overlooking this incredible vista at Leenane, it was a given the exterior of her new home was as good as it could ever be.

So she began planning ahead for what it would look like inside.

“I used to order glossy magazines from America and I would trawl through every one of them,” says King, who also bought piles of interior design books through Amazon. Making notes from these, she built a clear vision of what her new house would be in Leenane. “I always imagined a cathedral-style ceiling, with the double-height and the big windows taking in the view of the valley.”

In 2006, she got to work on her three-bed stone cottage on a site which was a gift from her late father, Richard King, a well-known local sheep farmer, and mum Mary, who ran a bed and breakfast at Killary House. With the family B&B next door, Fiona wanted her new house to stand out as completely different to the 200-year-old home she grew up in.

With the help of her brother Joe and her gathered design plans, she also hired an engineer to map it out for the builders. “I was very hands-on,” recalls Fiona, who was on site every day to make sure everything was going the way she wanted it. “As the work went on, I rearranged the whole inside. Everything that is in the house, I picked myself.”

The longest part of the job was the intricate stonework. Two local men — Tommy Kane and Michael John Joyce — worked long hours on the exterior of the house. “Tommy is renowned in the area for his stonework,” says Fiona, who was delighted she got him on board and couldn’t be happier with the result.

The German-manufactured windows and doors were chosen to complement the roof slates and stone. “I love them,” says Fiona. “My brother and sister-in-law ordered them in from Germany. They are aluminium on the outside and timber inside.”

The overall floor space of the house is 1,851 sq ft. The first thing that hits you when you enter the front door is the large picture window in the living area with the views out over Killary fjord.

The kitchen and living room are open-plan, with double-height ceilings to make the most of the views outside and a mezzanine looking down on the area.

The cherrywood kitchen was made locally and the floor throughout is teak with a cherry stain. The stone fireplace in the living room has a multi-fuel stove and there is also underfloor heating.

There are two bedrooms on the ground floor, one with an ensuite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe, and the other is beside the family bathroom.

The master bedroom, also ensuite, is upstairs and the mezzanine is large enough for a double bed if another sleeping space was needed.

Double doors in the living room open out to a deck that overlooks the fjord and mountains. The price is €645,000 with an option to purchase an adjoining site on the west side with full planning permission for a house with garage already granted. DNG Cregg O’Callaghan says interest in the property is already very strong,

The Leenane Hotel, where Fiona has worked for nearly 20 years, is only 200 yards away from the house and the village has two pubs and a shop. The two adventure centres in the area draw in people from near and far, and it’s also a very popular part of the country with walkers.

Fiona is now busy renovating the period family home next door and savouring her involvement in another big project in this incredible setting.