Former Council house expected to top €1m — but then it is Kinsale
6 High Road, Kinsale
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Kinsale, Cork |
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|---|---|
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€1.35m |
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Size |
89 sq m (958 sq ft) |
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Bedrooms |
2 |
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Bathrooms |
1 |
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BER |
B3 |
FINNISH idioms come in many shapes and sizes but here’s one that's true in Kinsale: “Money is a bit like snow, it gathers in heaps”.
For sure, the cash piles are high and getting higher in this photogenic coastal town where members of the global elite have been snapping up properties. Latest in the line of uber-rich buyers is US billionaire James Berwind, fifth generation heir to a family that made its fortune in coal mining. Mr Berwind bought Sprayfield, the Sandycove waterfront Georgian home of former UCC president Gerry Wrixon in June, for €3.8.
In Kinsale town, the former home of food entrepreneur Colum “Cully & Sully” O’Sullivan sold last year for €4.75m to an international buyer, while on the hill rising up from Scilly, Travis Knight, heir to the Nike fortune, bought modern mansion Ocean Breeze earlier this year for upwards of €4.5m.
No-one should be too surprised therefore that a former council house in Kinsale can command the kind of sale price that the local authority that built it must weep at. No 12 Fr McSweeney Villas in Ardbrack, a council semi-d built in the 1940s, sold in 2021 for €1.45m, €100,000 above the asking. It had been extended from a 650 sq ft to a 2,000 sq ft home, from two bedrooms to five.
Such extravagant sale prices bode well for the house featured here.
On Kinsale’s High Road, No 6 is part of the Fr McSweeney Villas 14-home former council scheme that starts at Scilly (just beyond Travis Knight’s new home) and runs into Ardbrack. When the houses were built 80 or so years ago, the area in question was considered a bit out-of-town, and so local authority tenants were housed there. No-one foresaw just how much Kinsale would grow and perhaps no-one gave any great thought to how superb the views were. Fast forward to 2023 and everyone can see that the vista, taking in inner and outer harbours, James Fort, the town of Kinsale, marinas, you name it, is to die for and that as a result, house hunters are disposed to pay top-dollar for these homes.
In 2016, No 9, a 650 sq ft home, sold for €920,000.
No 6 has been extended by c300 sq ft and it’s the extension that makes it.
The owner added on a sun room with a glass back wall.
It means views of the habour are on permanent display: glittering water by day; by night, flashing buoys and twinkling lights. It can be opened to the elements via Munster Joinery French doors or viewed from behind that glass wall, while cosy-ing up to a wood-burning stove.
The design-mind behind the extension was Celine O’Donovan, who, along with her husband Miles, moved to Kinsale in the ‘70s, living original in Summercove and then Kilmacsimon.
“Dad was from Cork originally and Mum was from Dublin and when they moved here, Kinsale was a happening place, although I think quite a bit cheaper than what it is now,” says their son Morgan. He recalls a childhood of sailing, canoeing and parties on The Dock beach near James Fort.
His father had a shop in Kinsale, selling everything from beanbags to curtains.
Celine had a talent for interiors – at one stage, she had a shop called Material World in Bray, Co Wicklow. A few years after buying No 6 in 2006, she set about extending it, coming up with the design herself. As well as adding the sunroom, she had the house insulated and then set about decorating it. She did a fine job. A cosy living room has an inset stove and built-in shelving; the kitchen has an open fireplace. Upstairs, the main bedroom of two has harbour views, as has the bathroom.
The front of the house, which faces onto High Road, has authentic sash-style windows and a cheerful yellow front door. Parking is off street and there’s a storage shed to the side of the house. Out back, running down towards the harbour, is a long, south-facing lawn, with a well-chosen patio area.
Morgan says his Mum did the landscaping herself and had plans too to add a second floor extension over the sunroom, while also pushing the house out at the side, but she never got around to it. A new owner looking to pursue this option will see plenty of precedent in the neighbourhood.
Selling No 6 is Ron Krueger of Engel & Võlkers and he says it’s a fantastic opportunity to buy a property with stellar views, within walking distance of Kinsale town.
“The property also offers huge potential for further extension or re-development, subject to planning consent,” he adds.
The house is only being sold as Celine has passed away and her sons Morgan and Charles are based overseas.
“We had great times travelling along the coast as far as Kenmare with my Dad in his boat, and we learnt to sail in the yacht club. Mum had visions of watching the grandchildren doing the same from the sitting room window and so did we.
“When mum passed away, we had high hopes of spending lots of time there, but I live in the UK and my brother lives in Oz, so it's just really hard to,” Morgan says.
Mr Krueger, whose guide price for No 6 is €1.35m, is expecting interest in the 958 sq ft home from both domestic and overseas' buyers, given Kinsale's profile.
"The house is in very good condition throughout and would make a fabulous holiday home and would also be ideal for downsizing.
"At the same time, we are expecting buyers with the intention of extending the house to put their own stamp on it, as many other houses in this row of houses have been extended over the years," Mr Krueger says.
Four Kinsale homes have already breached the €1m mark this year - will a former council house be fifth on the list?
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