Two retired gardaí found themselves living in a former RIC barracks which they turned into a delightful €400,000 home

A surprisingly big garden is an added bonus at this lovely Durrus village property

Church Road, Durrus, Sheep's Head Peninsula

Durrus, West Cork
€400,000
Size	130 sq m (1,400 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	2
BER	C2

THE epic tale behind this Durrus townhouse helps explain why it looks so physically different to its Church Rd neighbours. It was originally an RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) barracks that became the scene of a dramatic siege in 1920, when bombs were hurled, bullets flew and terrified women were ordered from their beds under threat of death by masked rebels.

Captured brilliantly in the Cork County Eagle of April 3, 1920, the “sensational affair” became “almost the sole topic of conversation throughout west Cork”.

Church Road, the scene of the 1920 rebel raid

In the lead up to the attack, telegraph wires were cut, trees were felled and trenches dug, to prevent the arrival of reinforcements or military ambulances and the villagers were left “in a state of extreme trepidation”. One man, Mr John D Sullivan, had “scarcely got out” of bed when it was “literally riddled by bullets” and a Mrs K Daly gave “a thrilling account” of how “three tall men and three medium sized fellows” entered the bedroom she shared with her two daughters at 2am in the morning, with masks and blackened faces. They were ordered out of bed and one daughter, a nurse, “became nearly hysterical and ran into the garden screaming”.

The village of Durrus

“We asked the men to give us time to dress, but their leader sternly said ‘No, and if you leave the house you will be shot’”, she said. The raiders, concerned that the daughter’s screams would raise the alarm, shot at her with pellets. Mrs Daly recalled how “not one of them spoke with a Cork accent...it was a strange Irish and apparently educated accent”.

The Dalys' home, next to the garrison, was left with a gaping hole in the bedroom roof through which raiders got onto the roof of the neighbouring barracks that contained six apartments.

The policemen – mostly Irishmen – put up a good fight and when called upon to surrender by the rebels, shouted “Never”. The battle lasted two hours, before the raiders departed. One policeman, “partly dressed and minus his boots” set off looking for a priest to minister to injured colleagues, one of whom had to have a hand amputated. It was indeed a “sensational affair”. The account makes it clear that the villagers’ sympathies were with the men stationed in the barracks.

It seems fitting then that exactly a century later, the property landed back where it started, in the ownership of members of the police force — albeit retired members.

This time though, hostilities are consigned to the stirring accounts of the Cork County Eagle. In fact, the couple who bought it in 2020, Aideen and Gerry Lee, two retired gardaí who were stationed in Beaufort, Co Kerry, only found out about its exciting history after they had purchased the property.

“It was just a coincidence,” Gerry says.

When the couple bought it, it was in need of much TLC and they did a sterling job of both home and garden.

“The attention to detail in this house is as good as I have seen in my 30 years as an auctioneer,” says selling agent Denis Harrington of Harrington Estates, who adds that it “could win RTÉ’s House of the Year”.

“It looks like a house that you would find in the middle of the country, yet it’s smack bang in the middle of a village,” the agent adds.

The amount of land that comes with it is probably down to its RIC lineage — none of its Church Rd neighbours have anything to match it out back.

Half acre back garden in the middle of Durrus village

 Immediately to the rear of the house, off the kitchen/dining room, is a gorgeous courtyard to sit out in.

It’s sheltered on one side by a lovely old two-storey outbuilding (storage/workshop/conversion possibilities?), while a lane that runs alongside it brings you to a wide parking area, and beyond it, a huge back garden. The couple did much work to bring the overgrown plot under control.

Inside a large polytunnel, you’ll find everything from aubergines to chillies.

 Outside the polytunnel (30 ft x 12 ft), vegetable beds produce a variety of edibles: Potatoes, cauliflowers, broccoli, sweetcorn. There’s also a potting shed.

“We’re amateur gardeners, so we were learning as we went along,” Gerry says.

The Lees left no stone unturned, removing Virginia Creeper from the front of the house to reveal some lovely stonework; landscaping the small front garden; re-decorating the interior from top to bottom to create a warm, inviting home.

Kitchen dining room

 They did a lot of practical work too, installing a new boiler, a new water tank, dry-lining exterior walls, adding more insulation to the roof, replacing external doors, re-wiring and re-plumbing.

Accommodation at their superbly finished home includes: A living room with bay window and restored original door, a study/den with solid fuel stove, a large country-style kitchen to the rear with a door to the courtyard/sun terrace, four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a utility to the rear.

 The improved insulation raised the energy efficiency rating to a C2, which is good going for a property that’s more than a century old.

Having created quite the village centrepiece, the Lees are now moving on.

“We reckon we’ve another project in us and we are hoping to move out to the countryside as we have two big dogs,” Gerry says. “We’re hoping to stay around Durrus though as it’s a lovely spot, with lovely people and we’ve made some great friends.” Mr Harrington says the 130sq m, two-storey, south-facing home has “immense character” while the garden is private and bounded by woodland.

“The house is impeccably presented, a step back in time, with all the benefits of modern trappings. It’s one of the finest I’ve seen. It’s a unique composition of a property,” the agent says.

Mr Harrington is guiding this historic home, on almost half an acre, on the beautiful Sheep’s Head Peninsula, at €400,000.

Sheep's Head Peninsula

He’s already seeing interest from ex-pats and from people downsizing, looking to retire to west Cork.

Durrus “a thriving little village, picturesquely situated at the mouth of Dunmanus Bay, with a peaceful population” (as per the Cork County Eagle) is just seven miles from Bantry town and about an 80-minute drive from Cork Airport. A post office, shops, a pizzeria and three pubs are among the amenities.

VERDICT: Likely to be besieged by viewers given the wonderful condition of this property. A rare opportunity to gain a house with this amount of ground in the centre of a village.  Dinner parties will never be dull given its fascinating history.