Pick of the crop as period home with fruity past has price tag halved - but you get less land

Parklands House, once the centre of Rathcooney Fruit Farm, has its price guide slashed from €2m to €985,000 - but you get seven acres then, not all 4 acres

Sat, 30 Mar, 2024 - 08:00

Property Editor Tommy Barker reports

Rathcooney, Cork
€985,000
Size	248 sq m (2,670 sq ft) on seven acres
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	2
BER	E1

OPERATING on the principal that there are more people with up to €1m to spend on a period country property than there are with €2m to hand, there’s been a dramatic price shift at Cork’s quite historic Parklands, the Victorian home at the heart of the widely-known Rathcooney Fruit Farm on the fringes of Cork city.

Fruit pickers at Rathcooney fruit farm in 1956

The 1860s five-bed property with farm buildings, yard and lofted stone barn, plus some exceptional trees and basic outdoor swimming pool had been home to the Newenham family for decades: it came for sale on 40 acres last May 2023 via estate agent Malcolm Tyrrell of Cohalan Downing, with a €2m price guide.

Coming up to a year later, there’s been a ‘repositioning’ as there wasn’t enough of a bite at the former fruit farm (it employed many hundreds of young pickers back in previous decades), split into smaller lots.

Now, for €985,000 or so - under €1m anyway - buyers can get the essence of the package around the main house, minus the bulk of the land with a smaller/neater offer up for grabs on seven acres,with old stone buildings with further potential, paddock and more.

Likely to be seen as a more manageable proposition for non-farmer types (though rewilding/tree planting and long-term prospects as a land bank had been options on offer since last May) it’s already getting traction, with a current offer of €925,000, according to Mr Tyrrell.

Reached at the end of a long private avenue, near Old Christians RFC and looking down on the Glanmire valley), the house has charm, five bedrooms, three reception rooms, cosy kitchen with Aga and lots of period era details, including stained glass window on the stairs and easy scope to.