Four-bed city home in mint order

No 39 Monastery Avenue is within an easy stroll of city centre Tommy Barker reports

Gathering early spring market interest is 39 Monastery Avenue, in Cork’s Shanakiel off Blarney Street, within an easy uphill stroll of the city centre and the North Gate Bridge .

The four-bed semi-d, built by McInerneys, is in mint order, with a feature-packed south-facing back garden, along with recent energy efficiency upgrades, insulation and a new boiler. Factor in a €190,000 price guide and No 39 makes for a comfortable buy on several fronts.

It’s newly available via Diarmuid Dooley of Dooley and Howard, who is selling for house-proud owners who are trading up. It only had its first viewings prior to Easter, and he says more viewings are booking in now.

There’s an assured hand with the decor: it’s understated, crisp and modern, with solid timber floors, sliding glass robes in the main en suite bedroom, simple kitchen, a colourful playroom for smaller folk, and a home office upstairs in one of the smaller bedrooms.

And the back garden fits the ‘room outside’ descriptive phrase, with decking, patio, easy-to-keep fully gravelled side sections, there’s a raised bed at the back boundary, a shed, plus soft screening along the sides, with occasional planting and a pergola by the patio doors.

The main reception is to the left of the hall, with a raised gas insert fireplace and bay window, ceilings are coved (and stippled), with an open arch to the rear play room/dining room which leads to the gardens.

Off to the side and back is the kitchen/dining room, with pale gloss and glass units, timber worktops and a contrasting black tiled floor.

Upstairs are four bedrooms, one with en suite, and main bathroom, making for three loos in all. One of the smaller bedrooms has been fitted for home office use, with bold black and red shelving. Heating is gas-fired, insulation levels have been upped in the walls and attic, and a new condenser boiler has been fitted, helping to bring the BER level to a B3 standard.

The elevated Monastery Hill development is well-regarded and nicely contained off Blarney Street, very much surveying the city and western suburbs beneath, and there’s also a route down towards UCC via Strawberry Hill and Sunday’s Well, with the pleasures of Fitzgerald’s Park as well for those on the downhill trot, via the Shakey Bridge.

VERDICT: Good to go, and showing well.