Four-bed house on a first-class site

THERE’S something about our need to own land. Maybe it’s race-memory of loss and dispossession – urges that drove the Tiger excesses, perhaps, but our love for land endures, and often in disregard of its value – even when economic return has flatlined, there’s an allure to possession.

Tara, on the brim of Maryborough Hill, Cork, is a typically 1970s house. It sits at the front of a level rectangle of gardens comprising 1.2 acres, which fall gently towards Rochestown and the waters of Cork harbour, below. This is a prime site – and the fact wasn’t lost on those who had it earmarked as part of a larger acquisition during the boom. Now, the house and land are on the market at a price of €1.2m through Malcolm Tyrrell, of Cohalan Downing.

And the property is bursting with potential – albeit that the term is a dirty word, at the moment. However, in ten years’ time, will it pay off? The house is a standard four-bed, but it’s the grounds that are going to reel in the buyer. They are outstanding, with mature plantings that belie the size, but give absolute privacy.