St Bronach’s better value beats them all at this price

THE Dunne family, of Dunnes Stores fame, know a good pitch when they see it — and that’s way they put their eye on St Bronach’s corner site many moons ago.

The Dunne family home was in Browningstown in Douglas, Cork, in the early days of Ben senior's empire. One of his daughters, never in the public eye, subsequently bought this nearby home and called it St Bronach's.

It was, however, rarely lived in and changed practically not at all up until last year when it changed hands.

Then it was all change. The then-purchasers updated it from stem to stern, spending heavily and then upped sticks to move back to Dublin for work reasons.

It is thus back on the market, with a E315,000-plus price guide quoted by Dennis Guerin of Frank V Murphy and Co auctioneers, though with the amount of cash invested into it, it is likely to be bid well in advance of that modest-sounding sum.

It is a fully upgraded three-bed semi, in one of inner Douglas' best areas, on a broad corner site with a detached garage at its boundary recently converted to study/playroom, floored out, dry lined and with electric storage heating.

The main house has been under-pinned, the drains have been replaced, new PVC double glazing is installed, the place now has gas central heating instead of storage heaters, and many of the rooms have been replastered.

Whew. There's a whole new bathroom with Heritage suite and smart new shower tiling. Dividing walls between an old, small kitchen and a separate dining room have been torn down, to open up the kitchen/family/dining area, which now has a high quality hand-built solid wood kitchen, made by Leo Linehan, hand painted, with Belfast sink and pine worktops with integrated units.

The family living/dining room has had French doors put in, opening to sheltered private rear garden, with decking replacing a patio. Both reception rooms have had genuine antique cast iron fireplaces inserted, floors are sanded back upstairs and down, and the house has been redecorated after all the major upheaval.

Now all that's left to do move in ...and perhaps open a small shop in the converted garage, and follow in Dunnes' shoes.