Bantry's €675,000 Lorradelle House is sittin' on top of the bay

The €675,000 home was built with a view to capturing the view

Lorradelle House, Dromleigh South, Bantry

Bantry, West Cork
€675,000
Size	235 sq m (2530 sq ft)
Bedrooms	5/6
Bathrooms	3
BER	D2

WHEN local businessman Brendan Minehane decided to build the family home high above Bantry town in 1975, some questioned the wisdom of it.

“At the time there were few houses up there and the roads were bad,” says his daughter Sharlene.

There was method to this madness though, because Brendan’s goal was to capture the best views and this he managed to do. Bantry Bay, Whiddy Island, and the much smaller Chapel Island, are all visible from Lorradelle House, which has gained several neighbours in the almost 50 years since it was built.

View from the terrace at Lorradelle House

When it came to naming their new home, Brendan and his wife Eileen opted for a blend of their two daughters’ names – Lorraine and Adelle. It became a running joke in the family as two more daughters, Sharlene and Danielle, were added to the brood.

“It was always the joke in the house. There were four daughters, but the house was named after just two of them,” laughs Sharlene.

Her father, who ran both a grocery shop and drapery store in the harbour town, as well as managing Eiranova Fisheries in Castletownbere, carried out substantial upgrades to the house in 2010, five years after his beloved wife Eileen passed away. She had been general manager with Rowa Pharmaceuticals, a Bantry-based company set up by German industrialist Roland Wagner in 1959, with celebrity talkshow host and West Cork native Graham Norton hosting its 60 year celebrations in 2019.

“Mum passed away in 2005 and after a few years, Dad decided to gut the house and do it up, as it needed some work,” Sharlene says.

Brendan, who was Commodore of Bantry Bay Sailing Club for many years,  moved out to facilitate the replastering and alterations to layout. Where once there was a big bathroom, small dining area and larder, there is now a big living room, a kitchen diner, a bathroom and utility-cum-larder. The house was redecorated too.

Today the large living room is in great shape, with feature stone chimney breast and solid wood floor and great big windows to drink in the mountainy and maritime scenery. 

Double doors bring you from the living room to a raised outdoor terrace, perfect for outdoor dining/enjoying sunsets.

From the terrace, the front garden slopes down, beyond a bank of well-established shrubs. 

With more lawn to the rear, the overall site size for this split-level house is a generous 0.625 ha (1.5 acres). 

The Minehane girls are sorry to let the family home go, but jobs and families of their own have anchored them elsewhere.

“We loved the house and the location and being able to see Bantry Bay. It’s a very peaceful spot and as someone who loves hillwalking, Dromleigh definitely delivers,” Sharlene says. Golfing and horse-riding is also strong in the area, and the golf club has "a great juvenile section", Sharlene adds.

View from the kitchen window

Joint agents for the sale are Denis Harrington of Harrington Estates and Ron Kruger of Engel and Völkers and they are guiding the 235 sq m house - where the bedrooms are all in the two storey section - at €675,000. A new owner might like to convert one of the bedrooms into a house office, as it has been in the past, or to create a bedroom suite on the top floor.

Mr Harrington predicts a mix of local and overseas interest in Lorradelle House.

“It’s essentially the most desirable residential setting in Bantry and by that I mean it uniquely gives you the view but is still within walking distance of the new school, Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí and Bantry General Hospital,” Mr Harrington says.

The house  has been immaculately maintained, he adds, and if a new owner wanted room to do more eg create separate accommodation/home office/gym, they could convert the large garage. 

“It’s a real upper-end of the market family home,” Mr Harrington says.

VERDICT:  Glorious location, glorious views. Solid family trader-upper.