House of the Week may just be the Marble Hall of your dreams

Slievenamon is a quality family home, in a highly convenient location 

43 Marble Hall

Ballinlough Road, Cork city
€575,000
Size	121 sq m (1303 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	2
BER	F

THERE are some houses you can’t wait to get out of and others where there’s an instant chemistry and No 43 Marble Hall Park is in the latter category.

The polished gloss of those Edwardian hall tiles will get you straight away.

 Then there’s the warm timber floors and the slightly dated but eclectic kitchen and the lovely flow between kitchen and sitting room, under an open archway.

Living room and kitchen

And if you think the inside is warm and individual, wait until you see the back garden - an intriguing mix of shrubs, trees, paving, pergola, rockery - all enclosed in a very private, southwest facing rear, more country cottage garden than manicured urban lawn.

It’s a home that’s been in the same ownership for quite a while, 40 years or so, occupied by a family, and it has all the hallmarks of being loved and well cared for. It comes to market as its owner gets ready to downsize.

Marble Hall Park itself is a kind-of cul de sac (it does have two entrances, but sections within it are sort of cul-de-sacs in their own right). One entrance is at the start of the Ballinlough Road where it parts company with the Douglas Road, the other is off the Douglas Road itself, just beyond High Street bridge, which crosses over the South Link road. It's a mature, residential area, dominated by owner-occupiers.

A quick google of the name of the park throws up a reference to a town in South Africa that grew out of the commercial success of a marble lime mine and was said to be an adaptation of “marble hole” - although it seems a bit of a stretch that this might have had a bearing on the naming of a cul de sac in Ballinlough.

At any rate, it’s a name that brings to mind a certain aria, just as the name of No 43 - Slievenamon - brings to mind a well-known Irish folk song, named after a solitary mountain peak in Tipperary, near where the owner of No 43 grew up.

Having sung its praises, what else is there to say about this fine, detached 121 sq m four-bed that comes to market with a guide price of €575,000?

Stuart O’Grady of Sherry FitzGerald is the selling agent and he says it’s well-presented and in good condition - but might benefit from modernisation.

“Cosmetically, it’s in need of a pick-up, but it’s a home that will come up very well.

“It’s in a great location too, just a stroll to Cork city centre, yet if you stood out in the back garden, you could think you were in the heart of the country, it’s so peaceful and quiet,” Mr O’Grady says, adding that it's "an excellent opportunity to acquire a family home in a sought-after area".

Even though the park is very close to the South Link, it’s a tranquil spot characterised by a good mix of very individual-looking house types - detached, semis and some terraced homes, mostly dating to the 1950s, some with modern makeovers.

Near the HSE’s St Finbarr’s hospital campus, it’s well served by bus routes and Douglas village is a very walkable 20 minutes away. If you’re driving, that’s ok too - No 43 has a detached garage out back and parking on the driveway out front, which is bordered by low maintenance flower beds and a gravel area.

Back indoors, there are two decent reception rooms (a living room as well as the sitting room) and a utility off the kitchen that is a kind of galley kitchen in its own right.

Utility

Sitting room

 There’s a guest bathroom downstairs too and another room which could be a study or home office or fourth bedroom or playroom - whatever your needs dictate.

A window midway up the stairs lets plenty of natural light onto the landing and there are two double bedrooms, a single and the main bathroom.

Mr O’Grady is expecting interest from trader-uppers, perhaps families looking to switch up from a three-bed semi to a four-bed detached home.

"The location gets no better than this, the city centre is on your doorstep, Douglas village is closeby, and there are plenty of schools, both primary and secondary. It's a fantastic opportunity," he says.

VERDICT: If it's Marble Halls you've been dreaming of, now's your chance. Fine family home in great location.