Build it like Beckom? US basketball star David Beckom's family home is a tall order slam dunk

Ex-basketball star David Beckom's family home is fit for purpose, with extra high ceilings and an American-style 'Great room'

Tall stories? Donoughmore family home of David Beckom is a slam dunk for families looking for space: agent Jason O'Regan of O'Mahony Walsh guide at €375k

Donoughmore, Co Cork
€375,000
Size	217 sq m (2,320 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	C1

FAMILIES looking for a spacious home, with a court-sized enclosed patio, and internal room heights to spare plus a ‘US-style Great Room’ thanks to the man David Beckom who fashioned it to suit his frame, should cast an eye out Donoughmore way.

Worth the weight: David Beckom. Pic Darragh Kane

Freshly up for sale after a 20-plus year spell as a very accommodating family home is this one-off 2,300 sq ft home at Meenachoney, a few miles out from Donoughmore and an easy commute from Cork city, Blarney, and Ballincollig.

Looks small? But it ain't

It can hardly be said to be remote, at least to the well-known sporting figure David Beckom, a former Allstate American basketball player who has criss-crossed the Atlantic from the US to Ireland and back, over the past 40 years or so.

A lofty 6’6”, and quite unlike a certain English soccer player with whom he shares a similar-sounding surname (Beckham vs Beckom,) Cork’s David Beckom is a Pittsburgh, USA, native who had a quick-started professional basketball career Stateside before moving to Ireland in 1980, joining Blue Demons in Cork, as one of the first vanguard of American stars making waves in the then-nascent Irish basketball scene.

Blue Demons

He subsequently wen t to play with Corinthians in Dublin and Galway Democrats up west and returned to coach at the North Mon in Cork in 1987. After a spell back in the US Dave returned to Cork in 1999 with his Cork-born wife Liz, and they went on to build their family home at Donoughmore.

“I had it built in 2002 and, being a tall guy, I wanted tall ceilings, so they are nine-feet throughout the entire house, except in the great room behind, which is even higher,” David says.

“In Ireland they say the kitchen is the centre of the home. Well, in America it is the Great Room, one large enough to hold all of your family and friends for the holidays,” David points out of a room that has hosted all sorts of family events, Christmases, and, of course, Thanksgivings.

Rural Donoughmore views

“The view of the beautiful countryside is always a highlight to all who visit our home,” he continues and says the Beckom clan “have had wonderful neighbours”.

One of the four bedrooms

“Donoughmore has been a great place to raise a family. But now that kids have grown, and that I have retired, it is time to move to the city,” he explains.

In later years, the very well-known Beckom has worked as a fitness instruction in the likes of the Silversprings Leisure Centre, Brookfield Holiday Centre, and as a rehabilitation instructor for the National Learning Network/Rehab-group in Cork’s Hollyhill from which he has recently retired.

Gym'll fix it?

Oldest son David Beckom jr works in Boston for Air Lingus, stepdaughter Amy works in London, James plays basketball with Blue Demons, and the couple’s youngest, Jasmine, is in UCC, so the nest has indeed been emptying.

The detached, airy four-bed family home on 0.6 of an acre runs to a surprising 2,300 sq ft plus, with a real feature the c 73 sq m/750 sq ft rear ‘Great Room’, described as an “entertainment space” by Jason O’Regan of O’Mahony Walsh Auctioneers in Ballincollig, who guides the property at €375,000.

He says the great room can be accessed from up to four sets of double doors “to create a vast open-plan area, and externally has panoramic countryside views, an expansive, south-facing front lawn, drive and enclosed patio, and al fresco recreational area to the back.”

The comfortable, C2 energy-rated home is “unique to the Irish market and should be seen to appreciate the space,” says Mr O’Regan adding, “it’s perfect for families who love comfortable living, socialising, and outdoor fun”

VERDICT: A slam dunk for those who want space in a welcoming community and at an affordable price point.