A postcard-perfect home on iconic Cobh street for €275,000

The colourful homes at West View are synonymous with Cobh, Cork and Ireland

The flamboyant homes, built in the 1850s, are known as the Deck of Cards.

No 13 West View, Cobh
€275,000
Size	1,600 sq ft / 149 sq m
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	D2

Visitors to San Francisco in search of whimsy are enchanted by a run of painted Victorian houses on Steiner St, known as Postcard Row, which have found their way through letterboxes the world over, iconic images posted home from the city by the bay.

Closer to home, an uphill slant of houses in a small but up-and-coming seaport town have also come to symbolise their neighbourhood, featuring as prominently in quintessential Cobh images as nearby St Colman’s Cathedral.

The home is close to St Colman's Cathedral overlooking Cork Harbour.

These flamboyant homes, built in the 1850s, are known as the Deck of Cards — understandable to anyone who studies their form. They resemble what playing cards look like when stacked as a house of cards, and, as some locals joke, if the home at the bottom collapsed, the others would come tumbling down too, as they are stacked against it.

Prospective buyers of No 13 West View, slotted comfortably into the 23-house Barrack Hill terrace, need not worry about it tumbling down. In fact, it’s the opinion of selling agent Johanna Murphy of Johanna Murphy & Son Estate Agents that just two adjustments are required to make this the perfect home.

The first is the replacement of its single-glazed windows and the second is the removal of an oil tank from the rear of the house which currently takes up much of the back yard.

She says the current owner — who lived in the property initially before subsequently renting it out short term — looked into replacing the windows, and the job was priced at €9,500.

Converting the heating from oil to gas to create more space in the yard would cost in the region of €2,500, Ms Murphy says.

“So if you spent €12,000 on the house you would have a perfect dwelling — ideal for a holiday home, ideal for renting out, and of course ideal for the person who wants to live in close proximity to the town,” she said.

The idea of buying No 13 as a holiday home in a town that has strong links with the US — it was the scene of the departure of thousands of emigrants to the US — is already generating interest stateside.

Ms Murphy says she has had Zoom calls with overseas clients, including in the US, Australia, and Dubai.

However, its sale price — she’s guiding at €275,000 — could also make it a very attractive prospect for a first-time buyer living locally.

For your money, you will get a three-storey terraced home, which has the benefit of a rear two-storey extension, in a great location.

Step outside onto Barrack Hill and you can look down upon the harbour (also visible from upstairs) while the giant towering spire of St Colman’s will dominate your view to the rear.

Opposite your front door is a lovely amenity garden, running down the opposite side of Barrack Hill.

Back indoors, the ground floor consists of a sitting room with open fireplace which opens onto the dining area, which in turn opens onto the kitchen, where sliding doors give access to a small yard. Heading to the first floor, a main bathroom and a separate shower room take up the return of the stairs. The first floor has two double bedrooms, one with a fabulous bay window that projects out over the hill, and the second floor has another two double rooms.

Original wooden floors feature strongly throughout this 1,600 sq ft house, as well as original architraves and doors.

Ms Murphy says Barrack Hill must be “the most photographed street in Cobh”, a town that she says has improved in leaps and bounds, proving itself increasingly attractive to house buyers.

“We already have nearly 20,000 people living on the Great Island, and more and more are moving here thanks to terrific transport links [commuter rail] to Cork City, which is just 25 minutes away," she says.

VERDICT: Looks like a very good deal.