Cavan five-bed makes the most of its setting with outdoor seating, high ceilings and waterside views in nearly every room

Irish Independent

02-05-2025

Asking price: €429,000
Agent: Mark Lawlor Auctioneers, [phone] ​
​When Michelle Lynch's son Matthew was a little boy, she used to tell him stories about pirates. This was partly because of her job, and partly because the house in which they lived in Belturbet, Co Cavan, overlooked a lake known locally as Smugglers Lake.
'It was called Smugglers Lake because we're only three miles from the border. Back in the 1950s, rumour had it there was a lot of traffic on the lake, but that obviously doesn't happen anymore,' says Lynch.
A former barrister, who later served as vice president of the World Trade Centre in New York, Lynch, from Cootehill in Cavan, lived in the US for 10 years before moving to Delgany in Co Wicklow and setting up a business enforcing EU and international export controls – which on occasion involved real life pirates.
'My son didn't fully understand the work I did,' she explains. 'But you might be familiar with the movie Captain Phillips, the true story of the US captain who was kidnapped by Somali pirates. After that incident, I was approached by a US shipping company to help them acquire a licence for night vision goggles so they could see a pirate boarding the ship. I had my son watch the movie, and told him I worked at keeping the pirates off the ship.'
The fact that Corraback Lake sits across from their five-bedroom home, and that she has a collection of antique swords, also fed into the fantasy.
'I wove stories about Smugglers Lake and I used to use my antique 18th-century cavalier swords as props. It's a small collection I picked up over the years, and they're very impressive for little boys.'
Matthew is now grown up and she has long since left the job, but Lynch still lives in the 2,250 sq ft detached home she bought in 2006. She was attracted to the peaceful setting of Belturbet. 'I was able to do very intensive work for international companies and travel from here,' she explains.
The house, one of 10 in a quiet private development, was in good condition when she and seven-year-old Matthew first moved in. She did, however, knock down a couple of walls – including the one between the kitchen and the old formal dining room. 'It was lovely but lonely, and we never used it,' she says.
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Two years ago, Lynch had a new kitchen installed, and put a lot of thought into the design. The breakfast bar, which she calls the 'Prosecco bar' is at a height where you can't see the dishes in the kitchen sink. There's a marble fireplace in the dining room, and a carved wooden mirror she bought at a shop in Monaghan.
The porcelain tiles underfoot were designed for a restaurant. 'I first saw them in a magazine and tracked them down. They're incredibly resilient because they're restaurant standard.'
She was pleased with the overall result. 'Opening up the dining room gave a new lease of life to the room, and it's the perfect place for entertaining now,' she says.
Double doors lead to the sitting room, which has particularly high ceilings and is heated by a stove.
The hall has marquetry designs in the wooden floor, which was there when she moved in, and the stairs are hand-carved.
In the master bedroom, which has a dressing room off it, she did away with a wall and created a raised area. 'The idea was that I could lie in bed with a cup of tea and look out the window at the lake.'
With views of Corraback Lake to the front and the Woodford River and canals at the back, every room in the house, save for the utility room and one of the bathrooms, has a view of the water.
Lynch added patios surrounding the house. During the day, the sun moves around the house and sets at the back, so it hits different parts of the house at different times.
The garden needed a lot of work when they first moved in, but over the years, she and Matthew – who is now a landscape gardener – have developed it, adding specimen plants, perennials and trees.
'I remember bringing a spruce tree back in an old convertible car I was driving at the time. It's now nearly 30ft-high and it's stunning when it's lit up at Christmas,' she recalls.
These days, she enjoys a quieter pace of life and now works in a fundraising role for The Sanctuary meditation centre on Stanhope Street in Dublin. 'The role suits me as I'm interested in wellness and meditation, and it ties in with the life I live here surrounded by nature.
'Here, you can be gazing at the stars or the moonbeams at night, and watching the water by day. You feel at one with nature in a setting like this.
"In fact, you're biggest stress when you first arrive is learning how to do the right wave to your neighbours as you drive by. That's important as people here are friendly,' she laughs.
The house is well located for accessing amenities. You can walk to Belturbet town which is 3km away. Cavan town, Derrylinn and Enniskillen are all a short drive.
'In Cavan town you've got a theatre, the town hall and cocktail bars, and Belturbet has some fabulous restaurants. We're also just a seven-minute drive from the border, so you can buy Prosecco and beer at half price!'
Lynch is selling the house now as Matthew and his girlfriend Andrea have just had a baby boy, Theo, who is now 13 months old, and she's moving to a house beside them in Fermanagh.
But she's 'heartbroken' to be leaving Corraback. 'Moving won't be easy, but I'm looking forward to sharing all those pirate stories with my beautiful little grandson,' she smiles. 'And you can't put a price on that.'
Number 3 has an asking price of €429,000 with Mark Lawlor Auctioneers.