Bright ‘star’ home in a coastal village

Orion’s period facade masks open-plan, light-filled interior in west Cork Tommy Barker reports

THERE’s star quality in this Castletownshend, west Cork village home — it is called Orion, after one of the brightest constellations in the galaxy, with that constellation called after the Greek hunter Orion.

Estate agent Pat Maguire hopes that a major price cut on Orion will bring keen home hunters for viewings — and no telescopes required.

Standing up to close scrutiny, Orion Cottage, on the landmark steep hill in this scenic coastal village with its twin trees in the middle of the vertiginous street, is a fully overhauled period townhouse, done with some elan, plus a fair amount of investment.

It’s a certainty much more was spent on acquiring it and painstakingly improving it than its asking price now commands, for its owners who came from overseas.

It has had about €100,000 taken off its earlier AMV in a bid to get a sale, now down to €250,000 from a far higher hope earlier this year, and that’s for a quality home of 1,800 sq ft, with a bright and contemporary interior, in contrast to its characterful, sash-windowed front.

In fact, contemporary is probably overstating the look: think more crisp and clean, with a very large main open-plan living space, about 30’ by 16’. It has a kitchen at one end and an inglenook-style fireplace with solid-fuel stove at the other end, with one of the house’s two staircases part-dividing the two spaces.

The kitchen, a modern take on country, has painted Shaker-style units and ceramic sink and drainer, and floors in this large interlinked room are terracotta tiles, with rugs softening it all underfoot. The ground level of this deep house (it has a lengthy, slightly stepped extension running directly out the back, brightened with lots of French doors) also has a utility, and a guest bedroom, plus a hall/reception area with second stairs up to the en-suite master bedroom.

Elsewhere, upstairs, are two more bedrooms, and main bathroom, all with recessed lighting.

Orion Cottage was, at one time, the home of the local district nurse, and a bonus of this street-side home is its slight set-back-off-the-street location, plus gravelled side drive leading around to the south-facing patio.

There’s off-street parking, a lovely old world feel to the private grounds, thanks to retained old-stone boundary wall, and there’s a raised lawn area at the garden’s extremity.

VERDICT: Niche village living, in a noted beauty spot, with shop, pub, restaurant, pier and boat berth facilities all a minute away, and Cork city and airport are a 90-minute spin away.