House of the Week: Upside-down four-bed overlooking The Lough in Cork for €595,000

St Lachtan’s is one of the ‘rarer birds’ in the inner suburban wildfowl reserve

10 St Lachtan's, The Lough, Cork. Pictures: John Roche 

The Lough, Cork City
€595,000
Size	152 sq ft (1,625 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	B2

The Lough in Cork is known for its varied and abundant birdlife, but this nesting spot, St Lachtan’s is one of the ‘rarer birds’ in the vicinity of the inner suburban wildfowl reserve.

The detached, upside-down style four-bed home is one of just a small clutch of modern and contemporary homes fringing the waters of The Lough, and was a bit ahead of the posse as it was one of the earlier new builds/rebuilds to pop up in the much-loved amenity area.

A 1,625 sq ft, good quality property, St Lachtan’s was built about 13 years ago when a couple had bought a bungalow facing The Lough at No 10 Lough Road: they had planned a refurb, but were advised they’d be better off knocking and going the full rebuild route.

This they did, using the design and expertise service of JHK Consultants: this contemporary edge home, with standing seam zinz roof and a host of energy-efficient features, with a consequent excellent B2 BER is the result.

The owners are now trading up, staying in Cork and No 10, aka St Lachtan’s is a late summer 2021 property market arrival. It is guided on launch at €595,000 by auctioneer Johnny O’Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald who had first bookings starting to come in in recent days.

St Lachtan’s shares its name with an Irish saint, the patron saint of Cork’s Cill na Martra area, where there’s also a Holy Well recalling his name and good deeds.

There’s a bit of appropriateness in that right now, as The Lough has been the answer to many a Corkonian’s prayers in the past 18 months as one of the most accessible outdoor amenity areas within people’s 2km and 5km radius restriction during the various Coronavirus lockdowns.

There are full-on Lough views from St Lachtan’s main living quarters thanks to the first floor’s elevation and inverted internal layout, which includes a balcony off the living area, described as “an architectural must-see, with a bird’s eye view of The Lough and city,” notes Sherry Fitz’s Johnny O’Flynn.

The solid build is set near Fairy Lawn, and has the company of just a few other modern houses also built in the past 10-20 years, including one such by the top of Fairy Lawn’s quite winsome cul-de sac setting, just a duck’s waddle from the waters of The Lough, or the traffic lights at Pearse Road and the run-up to Hartlands Road. Given proximity to Cork city centre (within a walk), as well as UCC, the Bon Secours, CUH and shops and schools, viewing activity will high.

A recent indicative instance was the flood of interest shown in the sale of an extended, mid 1900s c 150 sq m semi-d 200 metres to the west at 4 Glendalough Park. In the one family’s hands for decades, that No 4 Glendalough Park had a €425,000 AMV (with Keane Mahony Smith); it got 75 inquiries and very strong bidding, eventually going ‘sale agreed’ at €100k over the guide price, c €530,000, it’s understood.

Now, there’s still a stretch of the purse or the wallet between the €530k being paid for the good condition Lough-fronting semi at Glendalough Park and the Lough Road’s St Lachtan’s with its €595,000 AMV.

But, for those with extra stretch capacity, this is larger, detached, newer, has a B2 BER, and even has planning permission in place for an extension to the back.

St Lachtan’s current accommodation sees four bedrooms, one of them en suite, at ground level where there’s also a family bathroom, utility, and the upper level then has a kitchen/dining area, plus double aspect living room, with fireplace and balcony access.

The kitchen, with painted units and granite tops, is by the well-regarded Linehan Design company, with Linehan family members in the broader construction sphere coincidentally having also having built some high-end houses at the far end of the Lough Road by the church well over a decade ago.

Sherry Fitz’s Johnny O’Flynn says key attributes in this listing include the location, aspect and views, build quality and level of finishes, with triple glazed windows, zinc fascia trim and monpitch roof, good levels of insulation, solar panels, CCTV and alarm, plus electric roller gate access.

There are also easy-keep gardens, stepped up at the back to the slope towards Fairy Lawn, with Ballygarvan stone paving plus shed, whilst the rear garden gets all-day sun and isn’t obscured by the house, Mr O’Flynn adds.

VERDICT: A rare bird, indeed, given the dearth of new-builds in and around The Lough in the past half a century, or longer.