‘Flash’ Gordon is a winner

SAY you’re walking around some of the older parts of Cork city, and maybe it looks a bit grim in parts. But, don’t hurry on, take time to look up and around - and then try this.

Pretend you’re in some peripheral arrondisement in Paris, or a borderline suburb of London and then think of the possibilities.

Or, pretend you’re a tourist and you’re seeing all of this for the first time.

All of a sudden, shabby can look potentially chic and the banality of the everyday fades away.

Then you can appreciate the inner city in another way and begin to understand why the continentals never really took to the suburbs.

And as an example of residential living in the city, there’s still Richmond Hill, where generations of families have lived and not left.

It lies off the dark and unedifying rat run that is Hardwick Street and is two minutes from St Patrick’s Street but up on top it has the air and the sunshine and a community.

Admittedly, there are eyesores here and there, but the lower part has new townhouse rows and the upper part has a lovely viewing spot to take in the west of the city where Shandon Steeple sits proudly in the middle of the picture.

Number 3 Gordon Terrace, Richmond Hill, is a new market entry with Michael O’Donovan of Sherry FitzGerald and it’s a three-storey, five-bed with a long and private back garden.

The front garden is a sun trap at midday and the rear garden is high enough to get sun all day long.

Surrounded by mature trees, it backs into the red sandstone cliffs that make up the northern hills of the city and has huge potential. You could get a polytunnel in here easily, and the soil is excellent, apparently.

Inside, this is an arty house, the walls are lined with lithographs, prints and paintings while surfaces are dotted here and there with well-chosen and sometimes quirky sculptural pieces.

Interior decor is stripped pine and sea grass with high ceilings and two cosy living rooms to the front with an extended kitchen/dining room at the rear.

The latter is bright, in blue and white, with an overhead light and big windows looking onto a sunny yard.

The kitchen area is to the rear again, running into the garden and there is the option of opening this room up entirely to create a fluid space.

Then, there are three bedrooms on the first floor, (the large master has been subdivided but could be restored to one room again), and a big bathroom on the half landing.

On the top floor there are two further bedrooms with great views over the city – ideal for a painter, writer or dreamer.

The guide price for No 3 Gordon Terrace is €325,000 through Sherry FitzGerald and considering its 1,350 square feet, garden and period features it could make a great home for a couple or young family.