Glorious bolthole in magical Adrigole on the Beara Way

Accomplished violinist Leonie Curtin enjoyed childhood summers in her mother's homeplace and she wanted the same for her own children

Seawatch, Adrigole

Adrigole, West Cork
€475,000
Size	162 sq m (1746 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	B3

TREASURED memories of childhood summers spent in magical Adrigole ruled out the need for any great debate when a London-based couple were considering acquiring a holiday home.

“My grandfather grew up in the [now closed] Glenbrook Bar in Adrigole and my mother is from nearby Rossmackowen. My family is deeply rooted in the local community,” says Leonie Curtin, who along with husband, Seamus Crilly, built their own Adrigole bolthole, in a way that blends very well with the rugged West Cork landscape.

Prior to building it, they piled in with relatives whenever they were home, but as their family grew, so did the desire to have their own space. They found what they were looking for in 2014, close to Leonie’s mother’s home.

“It was a half built house – there were a lot of those around at the time [post Celtic Tiger] - and we finished it out ourselves," says Leonie, an accomplished violinist.

They hired a local builder, but instead of pressing ahead with the original plan for a conventional two-storey build, they went with something more ambitious, designed to open up the house to its magnificent surroundings, in the foothills of the Caha Mountains and facing down over Adrigole Harbour.

 The building work took the bones of 18 months.

“My husband had very set ideas about height and light and wanting an L-shape" Leonie says.

The house, called Seawatch, delivers on each of these elements, with a double height, vaulted ceiling to the front of the main living area, into which sits floor-to-ceiling glazing.

It’s the perfect setting for living/dining, big and bold and bright. French doors open onto a patio, which faces south. 

For inclement weather, there's a stove, set against a feature stone chimney breast at the heart of the open plan living space.

To the rear of this great space is a neat kitchen, tucked below the mezzanine. 

Kitchen

There’s a utility room on the ground floor too, and a wheelchair accessible shower room, as well as two bedrooms. One of those bedrooms, says selling agent Denis Harrington of Harrington Estates, could be a home office.

A third bedroom is upstairs, along with the family bathroom.

 The mezzanine, which overlooks the living room, is used as additional living/study space.

“We’ve had wonderful family holidays there,” says Leonie, “ it's a very hard decision to sell up, but the reality is we were not spending enough time down there, and it felt like an indulgence too far,“ she says.

Mr Harrington points out that the house is on c1.05 acres and includes a natural water feature – a stream that runs through the north western corner.

He points out too that when Leonie and Seamus bought the site, it had planning for a second detached home, and while the couple chose not to develop it as their priority was privacy, it’s something perhaps new owners could re-visit.

Mr Harrington, who is guiding at €475,000, says while the162 sq m house has been a weekend retreat, he expects to see buyers looking for a permanent home.

“My gut feeling is that the next owners will probably be looking at living there fulltime, that’s the kind of buyer we are getting more and more of in our corner of West Cork. Beara in particular seems to attract people from overseas, particularly the UK and mainland Europe. In fact the neighbours either side of this home are German and English,” Mr Harrington says.

The seafront at Adrigole Harbour is within 300 metres walk of the house and mooring facilities are available by arrangement at Adrigole Pier. The local community shop, known as Peg's Shop, is open all year around. The village of Glengarriff and Castletownbere are within a 15 minute drive.

VERDICT: Impressive contemporary home in a spectacular setting. Will appeal to both home and overseas market.