Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford was one of many writerly figures to pull up a pew at this €360k Kinsale home
The late Aidan Higgins, Alannah Hopkin and Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford on the garden deck at No 2 Higher O'Connell Street, Kinsale (2007)
|
Kinsale, Co Cork |
|
|---|---|
|
€360,000 |
|
|
Size |
72 sq/780 sq ft |
|
Bedrooms |
2 |
|
Bathrooms |
1 |
|
BER |
F |
KINSALE is a town with swagger, bolstered by superb coastal setting and a successful, hospitality sector. Ask anyone what they love about Kinsale and answers will invariably include the food and vibrant pub life, The Dock beach, scenic Scilly Walk and historic Charles Fort.
The town centre is pretty: tasteful shopfronts line narrow streets, where cafés and art galleries proliferate, and a busy marina is at the heart of it all. Then there are the many fabulous homes that regularly attract big-name, cash-splashing buyers, prepared to pay way over the odds in an already expensive neighbourhood.
Into this frothy market comes No 2 Higher O’Connell Street, attractively priced by Kinsale standards.
Although not a trophy home, it too has attracted its share of pretty big names, such as Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer Richard Ford, (for Independence Day) and other luminaries such as writer Edna O’Brien and poet Paul Durcan.
The literary motif extends to the homeowners themselves, both accomplished writers, who first met, appropriately, through Kinsale-based poet Derek Mahon. It’s safe to assume that there was plenty robust debate inside the thick walls of this 200-year-old home through the years.
No 2’s owners were writers Alannah Hopkin and the late Aidan Higgins, who bought the house in 1986. “At the time, there were only two houses in Kinsale that we could afford, and this was one of them,” laughs Alannah. A compact, 72 sq m townhouse, the big surprise is the back garden.
“Because the garden was a jungle, we didn’t know how much land we owned until we found the back gate, about eight months after we moved in,” Alannah says.
The garden, accessible from No 2’s upper floor, faces south and west, running uphill at length, towards Abbey Lane, with a view towards lovely St Multose Church.
Alannah made it a haven for herself and Aidan, an outdoor retreat for relaxing and entertaining in the middle of a bustling town. A timber deck added to the roof of a rear bathroom extension, created an ideal suntrap.
Patio doors added to the main upstairs living area — it’s an upside down house, so bedrooms are downstairs - lead to a balcony and onto the deck. Beyond the deck, steps lead to that long and lovely enclosed garden.
Adding patio doors also served to greatly increase natural light levels in the upstairs lounge area, which is open plan to the dining area and a small galley kitchen.
The utility is downstairs, at the back of the hallway, as is the bathroom.
Out back is a yard from where steps lead to the upper level garden. The main bedroom overlooks the rear; a second bedroom was converted by Alannah into “a workroom for a writer”.
“It’s a lovely place to work, I spend most of my time in it, so I was conscious of making it really nice,” she says.
No 2 dates back to 1822 and ceilings lined by exposed beams, made from ship’s timber, add to the sense of a bygone era at this warm and inviting home. Selling agent Sinead Sinnott of Sheehy Brothers says it’s “a quirky property” rich in character and literary associations.
“It’s an ideal starter home, a downsizing property or a bolt-hole holiday home and it’s conveniently located in the centre of Kinsale town,” Ms Sinnott says.
For Alannah, No 2 contains a treasure trove of memories, many of which she recounts in her memoir of her late husband, A Very Strange Man. But the Irish Examiner book critic is ready for a new chapter, and is moving across town to Summercove, where her mother hailed from. And so No 2 is up for sale, with a guide price of €360,000.
A bargain by Kinsale standards, given the size of the garden.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
