Super sea views and a great garden are part of Almeira's €530k package
Almeira, Cobh
|
Cobh, Co Cork |
|
|---|---|
|
€530,000 |
|
|
Size |
TBC |
|
Bedrooms |
4 |
|
Bathrooms |
3 |
|
BER |
Pending |
PALE pink Almeira blends so seamlessly with its next-door neighbour that you could easily mistake it for another large, detached Cobh home. A shared entrance gate from Lake Road and out-of-view front doors give the impression of an individual house, but actually Almeira is one of two semis, built in the 1930s for two spinster sisters.
What the sisters did have the good fortune to share was the wonderful view, right out to the mouth of the harbour, taking in Roches Point, and, closer to land, directly ahead, the imposing presence of Haulbowline Naval Base.
Nowadays, you could add the Port of Cork, with its deep-water berth, into that view, where rows and rows of spanking new cars await onward distribution. And then there are the liners, the gigantic, graceful cruisers, that glide into the harbour from April to September – you see them clearly from Almeira, just as their back end turns.
Knowing those views, it’s no wonder Eileen Donohue (née O’Loughlin) couldn’t wait to get back to Cobh from London, to where she had emigrated in the late 1950s. Born on Harbour Hill to Ann and Jim, a tailor and a garda, she left for London with her husband in 1958. He was James Donohue, a Kildare man whom she met at a dance hall in Cobh, while he was on shore leave from the navy. They married in St Colman’s Cathedral and subsequently moved to London where they stayed for about 30 years.
“She always wanted to go home,” says her daughter Suzanne Donohue “so she bought Almeira in the ‘80s”. A get-up and go person, like her mother Ann, whom Suzanne says”made everyone’s wedding dress in Cobh and all the Confirmation suits”, Eileen went about opening the first fitness studio in Cobh, called Shape Up. She was also very involved in Cobh Chamber, in the local Tidy Towns committee and in reinvigorating the town’s St Patrick’s Day Parade.
When she eventually retired, she devoted herself to painting, exhibiting her work in venues such as Lynch’s Quay Art Gallery and the Sirius Arts Centre, both in Cobh. To indulge her passion, she developed a studio to the rear of Almeira, which can be accessed up steps off the dining room. While it’s a storage area currently, it’s a generous space that could be turned into a more modern studio or home office or kids’s den.
Other changes were made to Almeira too, over the years. Beyond the original galley kitchen, down a step, a dining area was added that has a snug cottage feel.
On one side is a guest WC and on the other, a sunroom. To the front of the house is a large reception room, which used to be two rooms, with dining on one side and lounge on the other.
The views are tremendous.
Overhead, a fourth bedroom was added to the existing three, two with harbour views.
Suzanne says her Mum, who passed away last October, was a terrific host who loved entertaining and made good use of the garden and patio when doing so. “She turned it into the most beautiful garden, there was very little when she moved there originally,” Suzanne says. The was an apple tree, which is still there, and its output is prolific every year. There are buddleia bushes too (butterflies’ favourite) and lots of mature trees and shrubs, spread over about half an acre.
Almeira is up for sale now that Eileen has passed on and Johanna Murphy of Johanna Murphy & Sons is selling with a guide price of €530,000. Ms Murphy predicts interest from Cork City "as per the current trend among trader-uppers in Cork.
Super view, great garden.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
