Former Cork coastguard station comes up for sale for €850,000

The former coastguard station in Union Hall is in an idyllic West Cork location

Coastguard Station site Union Hall Savills

NOT quite gone, and not quite forgotten, is the former coastguard station at West Cork's Union Hall — but, while remnants of the century-plus old station remain, they may soon be gone.

Overlooking the busy fishing port of Union Hall, and facing glorious Glandore across one of West Cork's most scenic harbours is the former site of one of Cork's many coastguard stations, one of the many now abandoned.

It's up for sale with an €850,000 AMV, and has full planning permission for site clearance/demolition, and replacement with two large new builds, joined by a courtyard arch. 

Fishermen mending their Gill Nets at Keelbeg Pier, Union Hall. Picture: Andrew Harris

The website coastguardsofyesteryear.org lists 322 former stations around the Republic's coastline, and Co Cork takes up a fair share of them: In fact, Cork accounts for 57, from Youghal in the east to Reentrusk and Ballycrovane Bay in the west of the largest Irish county's massively indented (and dangerous) Atlantic coastline.

Union Hall's former station was one of a local cluster including Dirk Cove near Galley Head lighthouse and Clonakilty, Mill Cove near Rosscarbery, Glandore itself, Union Hall, Squince, and Toe Head, near Skibbereen.

Sadly, the stretch has witnessed numerous shipwrecks, sailing disasters, and trawler losses. Today, much of this section of rock- and island-strewn coastline is protected by the Union Hall RNLI inshore lifeboat, called the Margaret Bench of Solihull, in service since 2014.

Pointing up both Union Hall's maritime attractions as well as the views, estate agent Catherine McAuliffe of Savills Cork is selling this sloping former coastguard station site of 2.5 acres, saying "it's a slice of unspoilt beauty overlooking Glandore Harbour". 

The best-sited houses in that viewing frame over the water have quite frequently hit multimillion-euro price levels, with the largest and latest of note being the €5.7m paid in 2019 for Kinfinnan Castle and large ground in Glandore.

Union Hall property doesn't hit the same dizzying price levels — right now, a stone warehouse ready to convert in the centre of the tourist-friendly village is up for the taking for €100k.

Of the Price Register's 91 sales listings here, 'only' 20 have sold for over €350,000 and nothing has breached the €1m barrier, in contrast to, say, Glandore, or Kinsale (see Kinsale story on p2). The strongest price to date appears to be the beach-side beauty called Mary White's Cottage at Carrigillihy, previously featured in these pages and selling last year for a recorded €790,000.

That's likely to be the sort of budget someone will need to build each of the two homes for which FPP is granted on this coastguard site at, say, €200 per sq ft for the 3,500 sq ft houses, and that's on top of the site cost.

The last development of any note in Union Hall was back in the mid-2000s, when the 44-unit Páirc na Fána was built.

Savills' Ms McAuliffe notes that Union Hall was once known as the 'Garden of Carbery', and says "it is still very much a local fishing village proud of its heritage and strong community". 

The east-facing coastguard station site is a few hundred metres from the pier and a bathing point, less than a ten-minute walk to the village and its shop, post office, school, churches, and bars, with a number of beaches and moorings in the vicinity.

VERDICT: Coast is clear not to build afresh on a heritage site with views.