Not a run of the mill project

A MILL building, which predates the 1601 Battle of Kinsale, is bound to have seen ups and downs in its 400-plus years of existence – so welcome to the rocky road of post-boom Ireland.

A dream renovation project, which ticked all the boxes in terms of targeted tourism product, has ground to a reluctant halt at Brownsmills, a couple of miles from Kinsale. It owner’s distress at abandoning it unfinished, as it comes up for sale via a receiver and a bank’s insistence, might just be some other person’s lucky stroke.

But, that person will need funds to buy, more funds to finish, plus a skillset that includes building and business, and who wants a manageable challenge to occupy them while the world goes through current tough times.

Take the big picture, and there’s opportunity here – and the first two completed mill conversion apartments show the way.

There’s six rental/sellable units here in all, in about 10,000 sq ft of grouped courtyard stone buildings, in two/three main blocks, with all of the heavy grunt work done, plus a caretaker’s cottage, all on an acre and a bit of scenic rural setting, complete with mill race, sound of running water, and a mill wheel left high and dry in a field.

And, these are among the fields and ridges where the Battle of Kinsale and artillery attacks were waged between Spanish soldiers and sailors, Irish Earls and their men, and the English Tudors. The English win meant the decline of the clan and chieftain structures, leading to the Flight of the Earls. A 2007 Irish American movie was filmed round these parts by Mark Mahon, starring Vinnie Jones, Michael Madsen, Pat Shortt and Finbarr Furey – ironically titled Strength and Honour.

The original Brownsmills stone mill building supposedly dates to 1598, and inspired a modern stone replica nearby, which has ten apartments, all sold, occupied and minded since the 1990s.

Then, across the road from this unfinished project is the Oyster Creek bar and restaurant, so there’s eating and drinking to hand, without having to go over the hill to Kinsale itself for sustenance, while the original mill stream feeds into the Belgooly river and creek, before meandering out to sea by Oysterhaven.

That all the backdrop to this literally quiet backwater, five minutes from Kinsale and 20 from Cork city and airport. Selling agent for the unfinished, but surely realisable dream, is Malcolm Tyrrell of Cohalan Downing, who has the whole lot, stock and mill wheel up for sale, guiding €825,000.

“We’re basing our value really on the quality and value of the two finished units,” he explains, one of which is 2,500 sq ft, the other 1,900 sq ft, with very high end kitchens, down to costly Viking cookers, hobs and US-style fridge freezers. One’s a four-bed, the other’s a three-bed, and the multitude of bathrooms/en suites are done to corporate let standards. The other four unfinished units are offered and included as-is. All, however, are roofed in slate, with timber double glazed windows, most have slabbed partitions up showing the layout of rooms to be finished and first fix wiring and plumbing – though whether or not they get completed now to the same high standard already set will be down to the next owner. For those with the acumen, there’s rental income to be had straightaway to help out with finishing work on the rest, which can be done on a phased basis.

All the main landscaping is done, the site’s future look can almost be seen – there’s a vision here to be realised, and a lettable/sellable finished product too, for anyone who can overcome the funding hurdles – and the doom and gloom merchants. Strength and Honour wanted, indeed.