Former famine cottage trumps a beach house in The Hamptons

A writer with the New York Times put down roots in east Cork after falling for a seaside cottage in beguiling Guileen

Mon, 10 May, 2021 - 06:00

Catherine Shanahan

Guileen, East Cork
€355,000
Size	111 sq m (1195 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	C3

FORGET your beach house in the Hamptons, The Anchorage in Guileen is as authentic as it gets, with just the sort of romantic appeal that might attract say, a writer from New York, with no interest in pretentious Long Islanders.

Just such a writer was bewitched by the charm of this whitewashed seaside home, and so it came about that Italian American Jackie Clarke, a contributor to the New York Times, bought The Anchorage, basing herself in Guileen for six months of the year, and the other six in London.

The current owner bought The Anchorage from Jackie in 2010, a year before she passed away, aged 89. She recalls Jackie as quite a character in the village of Guileen, having established herself as a regular visitor after she bought the house in 1967.

Jackie sold up a couple of years after a fire destroyed her writings in the noughties, which also required her to re-roof the cottage.

The current owner bought the house, on a 0.2-acre site, as a holiday home in 2010, eking every possible summer moment out of it, as well as weekends, even in winter, amid the drama of high seas.

The house can be traced back to The Famine: The Anchorage began life as two famine cottages, which is possibly what drew Ms Clarke to it, in a far rawer state than what it is now.

It’s had a nice update since, in 2012, when the current owner brought in architect Pat Higgisson of McNamara and Partners to add a kitchen/dining extension to the rear, with vaulted ceiling, Velux windows and double doors to a sheltered patio, to create a fine, bright, airy room, with a utility off it.

The extension also created a double bedroom and wet room to the rear, increasing the bedroom count from two to three.

The 111 sq m cottage is on the market with Adrianna Hegarty of Hegarty Properties and she is guiding at €355,000. The vendor is downsizing but not moving far - as close as it gets, right next door. This site was also once home to a famine cottage, which was demolished a couple of years back.

The site and home she leaves behind are considerably bigger, but both homes have the fantastic good fortune of magnificent proximity to the sea - and the breathtaking views that go with it - while at the same time having the security of knowing the cliff face is protected by a retaining wall, installed in the noughties, as a coastal protection measure, for the sake of the houses and a lovely coastal walk that runs nearby, but too late for several outdoor toilets, which ended up flushed out to sea.

The owner says she’s enjoyed every minute at The Anchorage - which has off street parking - and is delighted not to be moving far, so that she can still enjoy membership of a small coastal community where residents gather annually for the Blessing of the Boats at the slipway on nearby Guileen Beach, before adjourning to the local Guileen Arms bar.

Then there are those sunrises and sunsets, which she has enjoyed from a variety of vantage points from her perch on the hill, including a sheltered raised deck to the rear of the property with spectacular seaward views. She and her family have also had the choice of BBQ areas - a patio off the kitchen or using a fire pit in a sheltered old stone ruin, also on the property.