Take your pick for a dip in Cuskinny: outdoor pool or bottom of garden in €675k South Bank
South Bank, Cuskinny
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Cobh, Co Cork |
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€675,000 |
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Size |
232 sq m (2500 sq ft) |
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Bedrooms |
4 |
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Bathrooms |
2 |
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BER |
E1 |
TONY Murphy wasn’t looking for romance when he fell in love shortly after moving into his new home as a newly wed.
Fortunately for his new wife Madeline, it wasn’t another woman that caught his eye. It was an attractive piece of land that ran right down to the shoreline on the southern shore of Cobh’s Great Island, in an area known as Cuskinny, which skirts along Cuskinny Bay.
“We had just moved into a house on the other side of town when this site came up for sale. We both fell in love with it,” Tony says.
The year was 1974 and the builder who did the honours for their first house (John Jeffers) was re-hired to build on the Cuskinny site, guided by a design devised by Tony and Madeline.
They threw in an outdoor swimming pool for good measure.
“We built it when we were building the house and it was the best thing ever. It was a focal point for the kids in the neighbourhood and it was everyone’s summer.
“We never regretted it for a minute. Once the kids were around the pool, we always knew where they were,” Tony says.
They got great mileage out of the 30ft × 14ft pool while their son lived at home, but not so much after he flew the nest. He’s now in Aberdeen, Scotland, which is why they are selling up, relocating to be near him, to the bank of a river.
“It’s quite like what we have here, if you substitute the river for the bay. My son has sort of replicated what he had during his childhood, a site near water, most of it natural, as is the case at Cuskinny,” Tony says.
The natural world is an intrinsic part of the wider Cuskinny area where Cuskinny Bay falls within the special protection area of Cork Harbour, designed to protect an annual influx of 20,000 wintering waterfowl. It’s bordered by the c 12ha Cuskinny marsh nature reserve, managed by Birdwatch Ireland and dedicated to nature conservation.
Tony loves the swathe of his own site where nature has had its way. The land is banked to the front of South Bank — which is the name of this 2,500 sq ft bungalow — and the bank closest to the house is more cultivated, with lots of mature shrubs reaching up to a paved terrace, whereas the lower bank, leading to the bay, is less domesticated.
As the 2.5-acre site runs to the shoreline, it’s possible to moor a boat close by, or to go canoeing (Tony used to take off regularly on canoe trips). He also had a boat and a moorings and would use a small punt to get out to it. He moored his cabin cruiser close to the steps that lead from the site to the beach. He built the steps himself and he also planted the garden.
“It was a blank site when we bought it and very steep, difficult to build on, but the location was unbelievable and really private too,” Tony says.
Auctioneer Dónal O’Mahony, who is handling the sale of South Bank, echoes this sentiment.
“It’s in complete wooded seclusion, facing out to the harbour and Roches Point, and to Crosshaven and Currabinny. It’s rarely you will get a property running right to the seashore,” Mr O’Mahony says.
Its orientation means they get full-on cruise ship exposure.
“The ships look like they are coming straight for us because they turn right in front of the house,” Tony says.
The property itself has a seaside feel to it — bright and airy, with lots of timber-panel ceilings, painted seaside white — and all of the main living accommodation is water-facing.
The entrance porch has two round-arch windows (rounded arches are a feature) and leads to a wide, well-lit hallway.
On one side a big, bright lounge has a harbour-facing bay window and double doors to a sheltered side patio.
At the other side of the hallway is a forward-facing living room with built-in bookshelves and open arches to the kitchen diner.
To spoil you for choice, there’s a conservatory too.
Of four bedrooms, one is ensuite. Bedrooms and the family bathroom are to the rear. There’s a utility room and a boiler room too.
Tony says there’s great space in South Bank, with scope to extend. Or if a buyer wanted the option to build a second dwelling on the site, there is precedent — the couple previously had permission (now lapsed) to build a second home; a two-storey, in a walled-off section that is now home to apple trees.
Himself and Madeline are downsizing and relocating to a holiday home which they built in Aberdeen and which is now set to become their permanent dwelling.
Mr O’Mahony’s guide price for South Bank is €675,000 and he’s had a pretty busy first week of viewings. A local couple has shown strong interest as well as a Dubai-based couple with Cobh connections.
He says the house is in very good order, although new owners might choose to upgrade the kitchen and reinstate the swimming pool — it needs a new liner, but he believes the pump, filter, and heater are sound.
“It can be put back into use with very little effort,” he says.
Location-wise, South Bank is about 200 yards from Cuskinny Beach, a popular area for swimmers and kayakers, and Cobh town is 10 minutes away.
Terrific trade-up for a family with an interest in water activities and the great outdoors. Possibility of building a separate dwelling, subject to planning.
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