Islip estate for sale on waterfront has pool, 'country club' style

By 1999, Theresa Donahue and her sisters, Eileen and Maureen, had each experienced love and loss. The three were living independently when Theresa envisioned the next phase of their lives: they would live together on waterfront land in Islip.

The 6,619-square-foot house the sisters commissioned that year became the backdrop for family celebrations and milestones over the course of two decades. With six bedrooms and 6½ bathrooms, the home served the sisters' needs.

Today, the 1.93-acre canal-front property is on the market for $2.5 million, listed by Meg Smith for Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty. Annual taxes on the parcel, which falls within the Islip School District, total $46,346.

"It actually was built with the purpose of three sisters living together, under one roof," Smith said. "The right side of the house is the mirror image of the left side of the house, and the second story accommodated the third sister."

Smith called the custom build a "great multi-generational home" that facilitates "country club living in a single-family house." In addition to the residence, the property has an in-ground pool and detached three-car garage.

On the main floor, there are 10-foot ceilings, oversized windows and sliding doors that lead outside, Smith said.

"They really took advantage of the views on the land," she said.

Crown molding and ornate details stand alongside more modern features, including central air conditioning and a heating system that runs on natural gas.

According to Smith, the owners replaced the bulkhead behind the house three years ago. The incoming homeowner would be responsible for maintaining the bulkhead, she said.

Because the sellers do not have a mortgage, they are not required to have flood insurance, Smith said. At the time of publication, Smith did not have a flood insurance estimate for the property.

Theresa, who died in September 2023, had five sons and one daughter with her husband, Frank, who died in January 1996. The home is currently under the ownership of their adult children.

Their son Robert Donahue and his wife, Diane, described the house as a summertime retreat and year-round meeting place for family and friends. Each year, during the week before Thanksgiving, the lobby area was filled with turkey, ham and visitors for Theresa's pre-Thanksgiving party. Sometimes, there was a band playing.

"She would invite everybody she knew," said Robert, of Holtsville.

Often, there were guests the family did not recognize, Diane added; Theresa would invite acquaintances she met while traveling in Italy, or whose Brooklyn roots reminded her of her own.

"It's just a house that has so much love, and hospitality, and generosity, and kindness," Diane said.

That the family has to sell the house is "bittersweet," Robert said, but necessary because he and his siblings cannot continue to maintain it.

"We just hope the right family can find it," he said.

By Arielle Dollinger

arielle.dollinger@newsday.com@aridollinger

Arielle Dollinger joined Newsday as a staff reporter in 2022. Previously, she covered local and national news as a freelancer for The New York Times, Newsday and other outlets.