Ex-mayor’s family home for sale

THE former family home of one-time Cork Lord Mayor Gus (Augustine) Healy, is up for sale.

A dentist by profession, and more latterly a politician, Gus Healy’s name is still in daily recall as the municipal Douglas Swimming Pool was named in his honour in the 1970s: he had been president of the swimming body IASA in the 1940s, and maintained a love of the sport.

His family home had been Kilmore Cottage, a neat post-war bungalow on the Church Road in Blackrock, Cork and is now about to leave Healy family ownership for the first time.

Estate agents Savills HOK seek €550,000 for Kilmore Cottage, which is certain to see considerable further development on its primely-set site.

Houses on either side are two storey, and there’s the likelihood that this bungalow may also grow in similar stature. Alternatively, it may be replaced with a larger dwelling: SHOK say it is on private gardens “offering redevelopment opportunity.”

The dwelling is compact at 650 sq ft, and has living room and family room to the front with two bedrooms, kitchen/dining room and bathroom to the rear. It may even be bought as a trading down option and modestly upgraded as a cheaper investment option.

The immediate hinterland (by the Church of Ireland church and Rockies GAA pitches) has seen some quite expensive new houses built on similar sized sites.

Kilmore Cottage has a west-facing rear aspect with off-street parking and a detached garage.