Starter home: Richmond Hill, Cork City €250,000

This period-era, mid-terrace home is full of character and enjoys the elevated views from Cork City’s Richmond Hill, writes Tommy Barker.

Sq m 126 (1,350 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 5/6

Bathrooms: 2

BER: E1

Best Feature: Scope

There’s long been an arty feel to some of the areas around Cork City’s occasionally shabby, and sometimes chic, Richmond Hill. Now, there’s an architectural vibe coming to dominate it all too.

Looming new onto the hilly skyline at Richmond Hill and St Patrick’s Hill is the quite remarkable makeover being given to St Angela’s girls’ secondary school, by architects Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey.

The duo won Britain’s Royal Gold Medal for architecture last year.

Now, their practice is overseeing the final few months of work to a new school extension on Cork’s vertiginous St Patrick’s Hill, mixing conservation of three 19th century buildings with three new ones, including a rooftop pitch.

It may come to be as admired as their Glucksman Gallery at UCC.

With its timber window screens, it’s all going to be a new presence above No 3, Gordon Terrace on Richmond Hill.

This three-storey, period-era and mid-terraced home has just had a price reduction with agent Olivia O’Leary of Thomas J O’Driscoll auctioneers, down €20k to €250,000 and that’s for a 1,350 sq ft old-world house of character.

It has a long back garden, and the cracking elevated old city views over Blackpool and Shandon, including St Ann’s Shandon and the North Cathedral among the Heineken brewery and local housing chimney pots.

Richmond Hill runs parallel to St Patrick’s Hill, reached from Hardwick St by Leitrim St, crowned at its top by the integrity of large homes at Audley Place and Bells Field.

VERDICT: Well worth a view