Lofty lodge with an historic background

Tommy Barker says this Shanakiel offering could be a high-class ‘penthouse’ purchase

It’s sort of a premium product, with a lofty setting and southerly views down over neighbouring period houses and gardens towards UCC

The lodge that saw the history pass its sentinel door, from the comings and goings of Cork’s wealthy families, to the body of Michael Collins after the Béal na mBláth ambush in 1922, as well as others walking and wounded, is about to find things a lot quieter: the hospital up the way at Shanakiel, Sunday’s Well, is now set to close down, due to relocate across Cork city next year.

Historic Shanakiel Hospital, one of the country’s older private hospitals dating back to 1918 when it catered for the injured from World War 1, has been bought by Mater Private, who’ll relocate its services to City Gate, Mahon and boost bed numbers from 44 to over 100.

Its departure will change the tone of the hillside setting, and will dramatically reduce traffic as its staff, patients and visitors had made it quite a busy little spot at times.

This enclave, on a cul de sac spur off Shanakiel Road and home to several dozen large detached homes as well as the more recent Ashboro at its crown, is wooded and south-facing, with views from many of its gardens and sites to UCC, the western suburbs, and the Lee Valley. The original Leahy family’s Shanakiel House is now gone, with its site in the grounds of the still elegant Shanakiel Hospital building and at one stage the family had 2,300 acres around Cork. The Duggan family later took over Shanakiel and ran the private hospital there for many years, before selling to Quality Healthcare in 2004: the terms of its re-sale to the Mater Private haven’t been disclosed.

The lodge that was linked with Shanakiel House’s fortunes and guises dates to the 1890, and was considerably extended and upgraded back in 1998, under the guidance of architect Dominic O’Flynn. It has now come up for sale as a very rare offer.

In rude good health, larger than ever before, all painted up and comfortable inside and out with quality touches, it carries a guide price of €320,000 with agents Michael O’Donovan and Sheila O’Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald — so, at that sort of level, you’d want to think of it as a sort of penthouse purchase, as indeed it may be in many ways.

First up, it’s sort of a premium product, with a lofty setting and southerly views down over neighbouring period houses and gardens towards UCC. Its relative proximity to the university, as well as the Bon Secours, Mercy, Orthopaedic and CUH hospitals, may well draw academic and medical buyers, albeit most likely by those without families in tow as — despite having three bedrooms — floor area is still modest, at 850 sq ft. Apple up the hill, with its several thousand staff, may also supply a surprise buyer to this i-catching pad.

It makes the very best of its space, though, and gets all the essentials in — it’s even got good storage options and loads of built-ins, with every niche availed of.

Its main room is a 14’ by 14’ lounge addition on the western end of the picturesque lodge, and this bright room has views, south-facing patio doors and patio/balcony access. That sun-trap balcony has a dual access too to the 15’ by 12’ kitchen/breakfast room with its well-placed (ie, head-height) twin Velux windows giving intriguing views of old Sunday’s Well roofscapes and garden glimpses.

Off at the far end of the house are two bedrooms, with a master bed en suite, while the second bedroom links back to the lodge’s third bedroom via a shared ‘Jack and Jill’ shower wet-room. Aactually, given that the owner’s two sons had this shared space, it was more of a Jack and Jack en suite.

It’s all very clean, and neutrally decorated and a new owner moving in will just have to hang their own artworks to recreate the current look of ’period-lite.’ But just as its main room responds well to the elegance of fine old furniture, it’s adaptable and changeable for a more contemporary look too.

As it stands, it has gas central heating, with a corner gas fire in the lounge which has an old pine surround and coved ceilings.

The lodge’s original old timber windows are still in situ, with gleaming fresh paint, and sensibly just inside them are double glazed units. The whole exterior is crisply re-painted in shades of grey, with a purple entrance door (the original lodge door, in glossy red, is preserved for visual pleasure, but isn’t used) and a real benefit is the exterior space, separated east and west, with secure off-street parking on the city end, with hedge screening, and low-maintenance paved/graveled grounds.

VERDICT: Set by the foot of Strawberry Hill, Shankiel’s Sunday’s Well Lodge is a walk-in job, within a walk of the city centre. For those who want an old house, with modern conveniences and truly easy to keep, it’s one to run the rule over.