The Malahat Summit may be 7,200 kilometres from Ireland, but for Irish immigrants Sheila and Frank Ryan, it feels like home.
“I feel like I’m living in Killarney,” says Sheila, a retired Celtic singer and harpist who jumped at the chance to buy property that reminded the couple of their homeland.
The 200 acres of forested land is located directly below the summit and has nearly a mile of ocean waterfront and something the summit doesn’t have — its own waterfall that flows for nine months of the year. A geologist officially named the spectacular waterfall Ryan Falls in honour of the family who bought the land 15 years ago.
When they bought the property, the Ryans were living in Victoria and owned the historic Abbeymoore Manor, a bed and breakfast. Frank also operated a construction company that did mainly commercial and some residential work in northern British Columbia.
Still, they were drawn to the Cowichan Valley and whenever family visited from Ireland, they would take them to the Malahat Summit to admire the sweeping view of Saanich Inlet and beyond to the Olympic Mountains of Washington state.
“We have pictures of our mothers at the viewpoint,” says Sheila. “We were amazed by the beauty.”
On one of their tours over the Malahat, the couple saw a “for sale” sign near the summit and made the life-changing decision to secure their own Malahat viewpoint.
“It was meant to be,” says Frank, who adds that leaving the city came easy for them, since they both grew up on farms in Ireland.
“We like the open space and we’re back to that,” says Sheila, adding their children by then were grown, so it wasn’t necessary to be near city amenities.
The couple have a son, Shane, and a daughter, Jeannette.
Their son, his wife, Christina, and the couple’s seven-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, live nearby on their Malahat homestead, while their daughter, who lives in Victoria but works in nearby Langford, often visits.
Sheila and Frank initially built a small cottage, located a kilometre down a winding gravel road. They lived there for 10 years before building their dream home, which they moved into a year ago.
The road to access both homes was initially a logging road that they had widened after buying the property. They plan to give it a makeover next spring.
After spending years getting to know the lot before building their most recent home, the couple are confident they chose the right location. Besides the obvious benefits of terrific views and a flat terrain, the site is protected from the elements.
“This is the warmest spot on the property. We don’t get snow down here. We are nestled at the bottom of the hill,” says Frank, who jokes that the first winter dealing with snow at the higher elevation on the property proved to be a bit daunting.
He recalls shovelling two pathways with his son for the wheels of their vehicles in order to get out. By the second winter, that problem was solved, thanks to a newly purchased snow plow.
Frank built the wood-frame cottage himself, with a front deck to enjoy the views, and laid a stone patio that leads out to their greenhouse, which is full of herbs and vegetables in spring and summer. The cottage is now used for visiting family and friends, and when the pandemic began, they began renting it out on Airbnb.
Three years ago, the couple decided the time had come to build their dream home nearby, which took two years to complete and was done by Plante Homes in Duncan, since Frank is now retired.
The timber frame and ceiling was by Island Timber Frame in Cumberland.
Frank did the home’s stonework himself.
They moved into the stunning home, with a huge deck that runs the length of the house to take in the amazing views, in November 2020.
The meticulously crafted timber house, reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, has soaring 16-foot ceilings with gorgeous fir beams and an angular roof line to mimic a mountaintop.
The beams alone took four months to install. The spacious entryway, with six large, stained glass doors, was purposely built to ensure an antique square Grand Steinway piano, dating back to 1865, and gold harp could be shown off to full advantage.
Another of Sheila’s harps is nearby in the living room.
The windows and doors were by Northwest Window & Door Company, in Cobble Hill.
The entryway is so large it could easily accommodate a small audience, which is something Sheila says she can envision happening one day.
“We made the hallway that big to have the space for the piano and harps. We also thought it would be nice to have get-togethers once COVID is over,” she says.
Sheila used to be in a musical group called Out of Ireland and travelled around the world as a singer and musician on cruise ships.
Her artistic style is evident throughout the home and begins at the entryway, with a beloved quilt created by their friend Pamela Vandy, an award-winning quilter.
Sheila says after their house was built, Vandy visited and was inspired by the trees that surrounded their home, including the red-bark arbutus trees. Each square in the quilt features trees on the property.
While modern in design — from the concrete floors to the large expanses of glass to take in those incredible fjord views — the open-concept living room, dining room and kitchen doesn’t feel sterile, thanks to the couple’s curated collections.
An antique cabinet shows off a Caribbean shell collection, beside a small mango tree Sheila grew from a seed, and another cabinet displays a collection of Belleek fine china from Ireland.
The large, circular dining room table is from Chintz and has eight mid-century modern Wishbone chairs surrounding it.
Both the cottage and their dream home are off the grid, so water comes from a well at the top of the property, solar panels provide electric power and propane helps to heat the homes. The cottage also has a wood-burning stove.
They plan to build a 16-foot high stone fireplace, with stone from Port Renfrew, in the coming year for their new home.
“We didn’t realize how much work would go into the property, but the enjoyment we get from it overrides it,” says Sheila.
“It’s like we have a mission. We feel like we’re custodians of the land.”
