Rostellan v The Rockies: Change in game plan for Makessy family

Once you pull on the club colours it’s very hard to cast them off and the pull of the ‘Rockies Hurling Club is one of a series of reasons behind a Blackrock family’s decision to return from East Cork to their city roots.

Sat, 14 Mar, 2020 - 19:00

Pull of the Rockies is one reason for returning to

There are other reasons too, such as work, and family living in Blackrock, and decisions around secondary school.

And so it is that after just three years of living the dream in Rostellan, Ita Makessy is on her way back to the city, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

“If I could bring the house in Rostellan with me, I would, because it’s a great house and we won’t be able to afford a house like this in the city,” Ms Makessy says.

“We will be downsizing, but we have to take other things into account, like changes in family circumstances and decisions around secondary school.”

Coincidentally, the house in Rostellan, 25 Radharc na Mara, featured in these pages when previously up for sale in 2016.

On a corner site, it sold in 2017 for €510,000, having gone to market at €495,000.

It is with the same selling agent this time, James Colbert of Colbert & Co Estate Agents, who describes it as a “fine-sized house, with a good flow between the downstairs rooms”.

It was in extremely good nick at the time, but Ms Makessy made a few modifications of her own that opened up the layout of the general living space.

“We knocked a kitchen wall and repainted the units and made the island bigger and replaced the surface with a six foot piece of quartz,” she says.

The upshot of knocking the wall was greater linkage between the kitchen/dining/living area.

In addition to this generous open space, Radharc na Mara has a big living room on the other side of the hallway, with patio doors leading to the back garden.

A feature of this room is the fire basket. A fireplace bigger than the norm was designed to accommodate the basket, which throws out a great deal of heat.

Downstairs also includes a utility room, pantry and bathroom.

At the top of the bespoke stairs, offset by brass stair rods, is a large landing with doors leading to four equal-size double bedrooms.

Equality gives way to indulgence in one bedroom which has the bonus of a walk-in wardrobe as well as an en-suite wet room, where the shower floor and walls are of fiberglass, thanks to a local boat builder.

A second bedroom has a similar wet room with a generous shower head. Both have heated towel rails. The main bathroom has a bath/jacuzzi.

Ms Makessy says they also installed built-in wardrobes on the landing, adding to the already ample storage space.

The accommodation doesn’t end there. Overhead is a massive attic that functions well as a teen den.

With such a winning interior, it seems greedy to hope for even more outdoors, but Radharc na Mara delivers on its Gaelic billing, with a glorious sea view.

Straight across the water from the kitchen window is East Ferry, to the right is Rostellan Lake, skirting the edges of Rostellan Woods, and away over to the west, Cobh is marked out by the Gothic spire of St Colman’s Cathedral.

Adding to the enjoyment of this wonderful panorama is a fine hardwood deck, fitted with timber seating on one side and raised flower beds on the other, with ample space for garden furniture.

The previous owner took her inspiration from BBC TV programme Garden of the Year.

“We’ve had many barbeques on that deck, including my father’s 80th birthday last year. It’s a lovely house for dining outdoors,” Ms Makessy says.

The Makessy family also made the most of nearby beaches like Ballybrannigan and Inch.

Ms Makessy says East Cork, more so than West Cork, has always been their spiritual home.

“We’ve always loved East Cork. We had many Sunday walks in East Cork, ever before we moved here, so when this house came up, we had a look and went for it.

“We wanted to be by the sea and have a seaview.”

Leaving Rostellan will be a wrench, Ms Makessy says, and they will particularly miss the good neighbours in the 17-house estate. “We made quite a few friends here and we hope to stay in contact,” she says.

She’s also sorry to be leaving “all that space” behind.

Ms Makessy believes No 25 is particularly suited to a family of young children who could go to school locally and make the most of the nearby water-based activities, such as kayaking or paddle-boarding.

For sporty landlubbers, Aghada Tennis Club is one short mile away.

Other attractions include the Pepper Stack, formerly Rosie’s Bar and Bistro, and the Rostellan chocolate factory and coffee shop, with its artisan products.

For walkers and joggers, there’s a footpath that runs all the way to Whitegate and for more practical concerns, there’s a pharmacy and a doctor in Lower Aghada.

Retail-wise, Midleton, which hosts a farmers’ market every Saturday, is only 10km away and is well-served by trains to Cork city.

VERDICT: Lives up to its sea-view billing. Ideal for family.