Privacy set in stone
Cuan Dor Haven in Glandore is probably West Cork’s only ‘gated community’ to date, and the 12 detached stone-faced homes within are privately secured from prying eyes without, by a sternly-gated electronic entrance.
A few years this reporter took a chance for a peek around when the gates swung open as a resident’s large car emerged: they clanged shut as soon as entry was gained. It took forlorn, and then dashed, hopes of motion sensors on the inside to try to open them, finally followed by an embarrassed knock on the door of one of the houses to gain freedom again. Investigative reporting it ain’t, really.
Those with an unsated or burning sense of curiosity, and €850,000 or so to spend, can get an exclusive and invited whirl around no 4 Cuan Dor Haven, with an open gate policy for genuine callers. It is the first re-sale to date in the development which was built about five years ago.
Planning was secured on the five acre site in the teeth of fierce opposition: its earlier owners had sought to build 30 or 40 houses here, but when Rocktree Ltd acquired it they had architect Alexander White draw up plans instead for large 2,000 sq ft detached homes on a Victorian design theme which safely made it through the planning process.
The well-finished houses, built by Sean O’Donovan, have an all stone exterior in a mix of Liscannor and Kealkil stone, with hardwood windows, doors and ornamental fascias, as well as slate roofs and sharp finials on the gables and dormers.
Truth be told, the houses were initially a slow seller and were offered for under £200,000 (€250,000) each with Hamilton Osborne King and Charles P McCarthy in Skibbereen: contrast that now with a sales guide for no 4 of €850,000, and the lucky owners may see roughly a 350% increase in value over five or six years. (Rocktree Ltd have just finished 11 townhouses nearby in Glandore Mews, where buyers paid c €350,000 for terraced homes).
Local part-time residents of Glandore include TV celebrity Carol Vorderman and her partner Daily Mirror newspaper editor Des Kelly, media magnate Dr Tony O’Reilly and the extended O’Reilly clan, and UK construction multimillionaire Bernard McNicholls, owner of Kilfinnan Castle, which is overlooked by newly up for sale, no 4.
The owner profile at Cuan Dor Haven, meanwhile, is prosperous professionals, with a gathering of Cork city based medics and lawyers, and while they bought as second homes, there’s a chance this house will now be bought for full-time occupation, says Charles McCarthy who has the re-sale of no 4 for its East Cork-based shop-owning business family.
No 4 has two of its four bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, large entrance hall, cloakroom, study, 25’ by 15’ sitting room, and a similarly-sized kitchen/dining room with granite topped pine units. Features include underfloor and ceiling-level central heating, surround sound in the sitting room, a floored attic and lots of built ins, with internal joiner by Glenline Pine and a mahogany stair rail.
