Kinsale's 'Millionaires Row' isn't all glass boxes: here's a period €1.85m harbour home that's seen a tide of cash flood in

Ringcurran House, near the Bulman Bar and Charles Fort at Summercove/Ardbrack dates to the 1800s

Fri, 29 Apr, 2022 - 17:00

Tommy Barker admires this refurbished period home overlooking Kinsale, harbour and ocean Pics: Tom Lawlor

Ringcurran, Summercove/Ardbrack, Kinsale
€1.85m
Size	323 sq m (3,480 sq ft)
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	4
BER	D1

IT was a case of tenth time lucky for the couple that last bought Ringcurran House in south Cork’s Kinsale – lucky in love, that is.

Period roots at Ringcurran House, Kinsale

The house followed the natural path of next and later steps in life for the very close duo.

The couple, with English and Irish roots, had met overseas years back, and after they’d fallen in love. As they were making life plans, they realised that their paths had nearly crossed a number of times before – nine times, at least, they reckoned, in various places across Europe and even Dubai, before they finally bumped into one another, and to introduce themselves, in a sort of revolving doors ‘what if’ scenario.

They’d spent much of their married life since in the Gulf, and elsewhere in sunny climes, but Kinsale always had a draw for the woman of the house.

After all, she grew up in the town back when it was a whole lot smaller and less of an international property hotspot: she recalls walking out Kinslae's old 'High Road’ long before it became the super-expensive Millionaires’ Row, along Ardbrack, out to Summercove.

Back then, there was hardly a house along the hilly and high Ardbrack ridge, and Ringcurran House was one of the few along the c one-mile stretch high above Kinsale harbour, with ocean, harbour, estuary and river Bandon views.

Ringcurran House dates most likely to the 1800s, and appears Victorian, though some locals say it may well have had longer links as an officers’ house for British military stationed at the nearby 17th century ‘star’-shaped Charles Fort, which it holds in its expansive views still.

Colourised photos of it from the mid-1900s show it as a much more slender home than it is today, while back then it stood on several acres of sloping ground, with orchards and paddocks, and early owners were the Bleazby family (and, had had family links to Ballinacurra House further upriver); a few decades back it was the family home of the local Kinsale GP.

It changed hands a few times, and much of the grounds it once controlled got built upon, as is the way, with its neighbours now a mix of detacheds, some slate-hung like Ringcurran itself, other contemporary, and pretty much all of them are aligned to make the best of the harbour and water views, to the south and west.

When it was last for sale, a couple of decades back, it was bought almost sight unseen. Today’s woman of the house knew the setting, knew its charms, and as she was overseas at the time, she told her husband to go buy it if he liked it, that she didn’t care what it was like inside, that she’d make it work.

Slate, stone and brick exterior fabric is authentic

True to her word, then. He bought, and they made it work.

They got planning for a modest, sympathetic side addition which brought the size to almost 3,500 sq ft and, as it’s two-storey, it enabled the delivery of a really excellent main bedroom with very large private bathroom, with corner multi-jet steam shower, cast iron roll-top claw foot bath, large dressing room and even a Juliette balcony for views, down over Summercove to Charles Fort.

It's the departing vendor’s favourite ‘red spot’ room in the exceptionally comfortable and luxe home, which bears the signs of world travels, voracious reading habits, quiet sanctuaries, and of having been made a much-loved home, on exotically-landscaped gardens (overseen by consultant Liam Griffin), with almost tropical planting en masse, including tree ferns and banana plants and which have survived Irish winters, and coastal gales.

While much has changed internally with rooms reordered for light and connection, there’s no mistaking that this is a home with period era roots, with (typically Kinsale) slate hung exterior walls amid revealed old stone and brick window reveals, plus plaster detailing to old encaustic tiles, fireplaces, some original windows, several of them unusual eight-over-two pane arrangements in sashes to the rear.

Aiming to trade down now, Ringcurran House is fresh to this Bank Holiday Weekend property market in chi-chi (but not cheap) Kinsale, and is price-guided at €1.8 million by Johnny O’Flynn and Sheila O’Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald and who have a pretty impressive track record at this sort of price level in the leading gourmet and sailing tourist town which is a start/end point for the Wild Atlantic Way.

It's set above the road just before it dips precipitously down to Summercove, the pier there and the Bulman bar (a two-minute walk), and across the road the views are framed by majestic Scots Pine trees, at the southern end of the Scilly waterside pedestrian walk out from the town, a hugely popular and scenic amble.

The three-storey house shares a private access section at a junction by the national school, where a modern build on a compact corner site has just gone sale agreed, likely to have tipped close to the €1m level.

Ringcurran House itself has more ground and better views, with a super-large triple garage and workshop by its entrance, as well as very good parking for a small fleet, or a boat.

The home has got three entrances, one by a sunroom, the other the main or more formal one, and a third to a viewing patio to the south, with a circular patio and sit-out area, screened from the breeze now by recently added tall baluster glazing and quality stainless steel supports, and easy inside/outside entertaining area.

Inside proper, there’s a double reception room with bay window and lovely original marble fireplace, used as a mix of formal drawing room and dining room with bookcase; there’s a sun-basking glazed room off next, in a corner by the patio, linking back into to a very comfortable evening or winter rooms with fireplace and insert stove.

Then, there’s a breakfast room, kitchen with granite-topped units and Stanley stove, second sun-room/rear entrance, utility, guest room, pantry and boot rooms.

Above, over the next two levels, are up to five bedrooms, all of them doubles, though the owners used one as a private study: next occupants, if inclined to ‘work from home’, will keep it this way? Many of the rooms are double aspect(one up on the top floor has a balcony, with the very best of the views), and the landscaping ensures even views without water are engaging and pleasant to the eye.

Part of the grounds are likely to be kept by the vendor who aims to build a low-slung, unobtrusive trade-down home to the back/side.

The 2022 buyer profile is likely to be international, and mobile, who’ll get a full-time Kinsale home, or a base for part of the year, within 30 minutes of Cork city and airport, five minutes from the town itself and its marinas, with now-mature gardens full of year-round colour, good parking, privacy, views, and a house in immaculate condition, after a not inconsiderable spend down the most recent decades.

VERDICT: Ardbrack and the wider Kinsale hinterland has plenty of ‘flavour of the moment glass boxes’ popping up like daisies: Rincurran House’s roots go deeper.