Climb to the higher echelons of society with classy Mount Patrick

THERE’S a pretty, brass sundial on a plinth in front of Mount Patrick, a Georgian villa whose own time in the sun has come as it hits the market with a E2 million price expectation.

Launched on the market in these pages last weekend, there have been early expressions of interest and viewings booked in, says Brian Olden of Lisneys.

Up above the E1.5 million level the number of possible buyers peters out, but this is one house which is worth going the extra price distance for, he says.

A very original and well kept period home, on just under five acres at Kilcoolishal Glanmire, it is less than a mile from the mouth of the Lee tunnel and about five miles east of Cork city.

With matching rear wings east and west, this over-basement home has 3,000 sq ft of space and huge privacy attractions, behind electric gates and a long approach tarmac drive that ends by the house with a satisfying gravel-crunching sound that announces 'we've arrived'.

Bonuses include all-weather flood-lit tennis court, a gate lodge, stables and rear yard with garage, and outline planning for a smaller detached home by the entrance drive.

But, it is the house Mount Patrick and its potential that people might fall most heavily for.

It comes with three reception rooms, two with great bay windows to the sides, the kitchen also has a deep bay window, and stepped access to a morning sun, stone-flagged terrace.

There are several original fireplaces, collectively worth as much as a small house, cornice work and original sash windows, limestone approach steps to the entrance porch, and a well-worn brass foot-plate as you cross the threshold.

Mount Patrick is bigger than it looks at first glance, with a number of basement level bedrooms (three, plus ancillary rooms) and further space in the east and west rear annexes.

The house has been home for the last decade or so to a single occupant, and it is likely that new family owners will invest further bringing secondary rooms up to scratch to match the appeal of the more formal areas to the front.