Ballinaraw House

The O'Scannlain Family Home
Bunnanadden, County Sligo

The complex of buildings faces to the north across a valley with
views of 30 miles. The fields you see behind the house rise up to a
hilltop with an earthen medieval ring fort that has a 360 degree view. (see map below)

The house dates back to the mid-1800s when Great Grandfather Scanlon was a tenant farmer.
His son was the head constable in the RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) and Ballinaraw House was called
'Head Scanlon's House.' His son, Conn's father, was an IRA member fighting in the War of Independence
from 1919 - 1921 and an anti-treaty rebel during the Civil War from 1921-1923. In 1989 Conn started the
restoration of the old house and the remodeling. In 2000 he purchased the adjoining lands to restore the
original 20 acres that his Great Grandfather tenant-farmed. In 2001 the extension was completed, which
tripled the original floor space. You will thoroughly enjoy the time you spend at Ballinaraw House.
Enjoy your stay in the O'Scannlain family home.

The photo on the left shows the original house that was built in the 1800's, remodeled
to modern standards in 1989 by Conn O'Scannlain. The extension to the left of the original
house was completed in 2001. The other three photos show the extension that created a courtyard.
You can see that the original house is connected to the extension by the formal dining room with
two walls of windows bringing in the southerly sun and making a passive solar effect on the room.
The house has central heating using two oil-fired furnaces with radiators in the original
house and underfloor heating in the extension. All the windows have screens.

From the entrance gate there is a brown gravel drive leading up to the house and courtyard.
It is lined with drive lights that come on at dusk and illuminate the drive throughout the night.
The house complex area is surrounded by large cedar trees planted by Conn's father over 80 years ago.
The sunsets are wonderful as there is a full view across the valley.

The five photos above are of the living room of the original house. There is a Waterford solid fuel
stove that augments the oil-fired hot water radiator system. The room is very cozy and holds the
atmosphere of times gone by. The window to the left of fireplace looks into the new formal dining room.
You'll notice that the walls of the original house are 2.5 feet thick. To the right of the fireplace
is the door to the kitchen and the opening to the sun porch and house entrance door. You'll also see
the doorway to the dining room and the extension.

The kitchen of the original house was brought up to modern standards with a dishwasher, washing machine
(clothes dryer is in the storage building), electric four burner stove (cooker) with grilling oven
and convection oven, microwave oven. There is a larger Waterford solid fuel stove in the kitchen
that has a back boiler that augments the oil-fired central heating and can heat the radiators
if the oil furance is off. The floor is terracota tile which adds to the 'farm house' feel.
There's a door opening to the west with a screendoor. Two windows, one looking into the courtyard
and one looking across the valley.

The photo to the left is taken from the loft looking down on the liiving room in the extension.
The ceiling is cathedraled with a red deal pine ceiling in living room and dining room. The floor
is porcelain tile over concrete and the under floor heating system. Mahogany French doors open
into a sun porch with views across the valley. Off the living room is the formal dining room with a
French oak farmhouse table and chairs. There are French doors opening from the dining room into
the courtyard. The dining room connects through a doorway to the original house. The living
room has a formal fireplace that augments the heating but mostly provides incredible atmosphere
for relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet of the countryside.

The Red Deal staircase leads from the living room to a loft with a Red Deal vaulted ceiling and floor.
French doors lead out to the upper garden across a concrete bridge. Two double beds on four-drawer bed boxes
are available for extra sleeping arrangements. An office area with desk, computer, printer, fax machine,
telephone and internet connection rounds out the spacious loft. There are four windows bringing in natural
light which overlook the courtyard on one side and a graveled walkway around the building on the left.

There are three bedrooms with two in the original house upstairs with magnificent views across
the valley and the grounds. The third is in the extension with French doors opening onto the courtyard.
There are two full bathrooms: one in the original house upstairs down the hall from the bedrooms
and the other in the extension next to the bedroom. It has a jacuzzi bathtub and a stand alone shower stall.

Landscaped one and a half acres around Ballinaraw House

Below are the views of the lawns and drive from Ballinaraw House to the gate. A window box of fuschia brightens the view across the valley from the sun porch entrance.

Views for 30 miles from Ballinaraw House

Below are the views from Ballinaraw House across the valley with the soft rolling hills in the distance.

Pasture land for horses, alpacas and sheep

Below are the view of the fields looking at them from about half-way up the hill.

Relax in Peace and Tranquility at Ballinaraw House.

On the 20 acres at the top of the hill is a medieval earthen Ring Fort in an excellent preserved state. The view from there is spectacular in all directions. You can see the village of Bunnanadden, Templehouse Lake, Cloonacliagha Lake, Ben Bulben mountain, Knocnarea mountain with Queen Maeve's grave, Knocnashee, the Donegal Mountains and more!