Urban living in St Luke's or seaside views with €395,000 West Cork home

Buyers can choose from city living on Cork's Military Hill or a scenic bungalow overlooking Dunmanus Bay

Ballincollig, Cork
€299,000
Size	114 sq m (1,227 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	C3

First time buyers are lining up to view No 14 Westcourt Heights in Ballincollig where the guide price of €299,000 is at the more affordable end of the spectrum.

In one of Ballincollig’s more mature estates (built in 1978), it’s on the Coolroe side of town, within a short walk of Inniscarra Bridge and the entrance to the lovely regional park.

Selling agent is Linda O’Donovan of Sherry FitzGerald and she says No 14 comes with the added attraction of “full planning permission for an architect-designed extension” which caters for changes out front (an expanded driveway) out back (an extended kitchen) and overhead (a fourth bedroom over the garage). 

Converting the garage itself might also be an option for new owners. The planning permission has a few more years to run, as it was only granted in the middle of last year.

With the current owner/occupiers relocating to the countryside, No 14 is up for sale. It has been well-maintained and accommodation includes a kitchen diner, living room, utility, and three overhead bedrooms. There is a garden out front and back, with blueberry bushes and strawberry plants delivering in the summer. There’s a patio out back too and some raised beds, as well as a large 8ftx 8ft storage shed.

VERDICT: Solid starter home.

Clonakilty, West Cork
€480,000
Size	145 sq m (1,579 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	C2

The family at 8 Inis Siodha have made full use of their four-bed home — they’ve finished it well inside, made it very comfortable and also really seemed to enjoy the location and the south-aspected back garden, home to football-mad children, going on the presence of goal posts, among other play items.

8 Inis Siodha

No 8, in an enclave above the old rail station in the West Cork town of Clonakilty above McCurtain Hill, is a spring market arrival with agent Andy Donoghue of Hodnett Forde, who guides the 1,570 sq ft four-bed dormer home at €480,000, and he says it has loads to recommend it: It’s got views down towards the harbour, is within a walk of the town, and quite unusually for an estate home, has grounds of almost one third of an acre to disport and enjoy sports on.

It’s one of 13 houses (some very large now after extensions) around a private green, in an elevated corner with the old rail station/curved roof sheds below very recently given an upgrade and conversion to offices, and the rear faces south, so the plot is sunny. Inside is smart, with two reception rooms, kitchen/diner, utility and guest loo and two of the four first floor bedrooms are en suite.

Built about 20 years ago, it has electric heating which can be powered with solar PV panels if new owners want to take this step, says Mr Donoghue.

VERDICT: The aerial shot of Inis Siodha with lots of garden and landscaping variety shows how family-friendly these town-edge homes are.

St Luke's, Cork city
€435,000
Size	180 sq m (1,930 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	2
BER	D1

You’d be inclined to think that Sunmount Cottage didn’t have a whole lot to it, looking from Military Road. You’d be wrong. There’s a great deal more to the rear, where it drops down a floor, to garden level. You’ll be surprised to find too that it has a decent, south-facing garden with patio and mural-decorated walls.

The unusual house design has lent itself well to Airbnb, with a previous owner living at a garden level where there’s a living room, kitchen diner, bedroom, and bathroom. This gave scope to rent out the floors above.

At first floor or entry-level, you will also find a sitting room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom and, overhead again, two more bedrooms. For buyers looking for an additional income stream, it’s possible to earn €14,000 a year tax-free via the rent-a-room scheme.

Sunmount Cottage will appeal to those who desire city living. It’s near St Luke’s Cross, which has a thriving music/pub/coffee house culture and the city centre is 10 minutes downhill. 

It may also appeal to an intergenerational family, given its 1,930 sq ft, with four bedrooms, a decent garden, and top-class views of the city.

Selling agent Scott O’Sullivan of Frank V Murphy Auctioneers is guiding at €435,000.

VERDICT: A home offering good flexibility and fabulous city views.

Durrus, West Cork
€395,000
Size	135 sq m (1,453 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	1
BER	D2

West Cork house sales traditionally pick up after Paddy’s weekend, but while slightly sluggish this year, the market is moving now.

Freshly arrived is this four-bed bungalow in a part of the country as scenic as you could wish for, overlooking the inner Durrus shoreline of magnificent Dunmanus Bay. Between Durrus and Ahakista on The Sheep’s Head peninsula (nearer to Durrus), the coastline is 300m down the road.

Measuring about 135 sq m, an adjoining garage is essentially incorporated into the main house as utility/storage, but selling agent Denis Harrington of Harrington Estates says there’s scope to do more, given the terrific site size of almost two acres.

“It seems to me to be a very attractive retirement offering,” he says, as the house is a bungalow and in an area it would be nice to have time to enjoy.

It could be a holiday home for the same reason, or a family home at that — it just needs modernising and a fresh pair of eyes.

Mr Harrington says the house at Gearhamneen is “extremely well sheltered” and just a 10-minute walk from Durrus village.

“There’s a gorgeous opportunity here to develop the house and grounds and I am seeing more and more people coming to West Cork who are not just interested in gardening, but who are also interested in self-sufficiency,” says Mr Harrington, who is guiding at €395,000.

VERDICT: Glorious site orientation, elevated views.