A house that may appeal to relocating civil servants

WITH many Office of Public Works staff due to up sticks to Kanturk, Co Cork, in the near future if the Minister of Finance’s plans are carried through, demand for property in the region should increase exponentially.

So for those of the 100 or so civil servants expecting a move, it might be an idea to get in fast on the local market and one house in particular has fortuitously been put up for sale just outside the town.

For the price of a small apartment in Dublin, you can get a four bed, two-ensuite detached house of 2,500 sq ft that’s ready to move into.

And, according to selling agent Anthony O’Regan of Keane Mahony Smith, if your could move it closer to Cork city you’d achieve a lot more than the asking price of €350,000.

He’s selling this property at Coolenahane, Kanturk, and says it’s immaculate, inside and out. Also, it’s just half a mile from the Blackwater, which should reel in the fishing fraternity and has a rural, but not remote location.

Polished wooden floors in all rooms, quality joinery, two ensuite bedrooms and a total of four double rooms make this an ideal family home. So you can see the draw for decentralisation for civil servants where quality of life issues are concerned.

Half of the OPW staff are to move to Kanturk, another 150 are to go to Claremorris and the department’s HQ is to move to Trim, in Co Meath. Kanturk is close to Mallow, and is a 40-minute commute from Cork city, while this house is three miles from the village. It is, says Mr O’Regan, one of the finest houses to come on the market here in some time.

The property comes with two reception rooms, a conservatory, a fully fitted kitchen, guest bathroom, four bedrooms and a bathroom. Oil heating is fitted and the grounds of half an acre have paddock fencing and old tree-lined boundaries.