First re-sale of €775k Willsford home, next door to College Corinthians 

One-year-old House of the Week has soccer pitches on its doorstep

1 Willsford, Castletreasure

Castletreasure, Cork
€775,000
Size	180 sq m (1938 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	A2

COULD a young footballer’s dreams start here, at No 1 Willsford, built on land that once belonged to College Corinthians and as near to the soccer club’s playing pitches as studs are to grass?

For sure, families with budding Ronaldos or Katie McCabes will have it easy here if Corinthians is their choice of club. Kids can walk to training or matches. Muddy kit and boots need never darken the floors, thanks to a convenient side entrance to the utility room. They take them young at Corinthians: the underage academy is open to six-year-olds. Kids can progress on to play with the schoolboy and schoolgirls teams, and in some cases, go on to play at international level.

The playroom at No 1 Willsford, Castletreasure

Whether or not you’re nurturing an aspiring football star, Willsford looks like a good spot for families as the houses are generous (just under 2,000 sq ft) and come with a fourth bedroom — making them especially appealing to growing households.

Nursery at No 1 

As the same growing household is likely to show total disregard for energy-saving measures, buyers will have the comfort of knowing that No 1 Willsford is A-rated, and will therefore work in their favour when it comes to keeping utility bills down.

Homes at Willford — just six, so fairly niche — were sold as new builds only last year. No 1 is the first resale, as its owners are relocating out of Cork city. They bought it for €720,000, which is what Nos 3 & 4 also sold for mid-2024. Less than two months later, No 6 raised the bar by fetching €776,434, pretty close to the launch price for No 1, new to market with a guide of €775,000.

Herring bone flooring runs from the hallway into the main open-plan area

Selling agent Stuart O’Grady of Sherry FitzGerald says No 1’s owners went above and beyond the original kitchen and bathroom specifications at their detached home on Scairt Hill, Castletreasure, when the house was fitted out.

Italian Calcutta countertops in the kitchen

 Kitchen counters are Italian Calcutta quartz, units are floor-to-ceiling, and flooring throughout the roomy open plan kitchen/dining/living area is herringbone, in uniformity with the hall. 

Roomy open plan living

The utility is off the kitchen and there’s a study/playroom/home office to the front of the property, as well as a generous separate living room.

Trio of windows in the front sitting room

 Extra tall 9’ high ceilings add a good sense of space to the ground floor.

No 1 Willsford is a bright home, with lots of skylights upstairs and a generous helping of downstairs windows. Glazed double doors open from the hallway into the main daytime living space. A picture window in the lounge area frames the garden, and sliding glass doors lead outside.

Sliding doors to the rear garden

 The rear garden is enclosed by a combination of timber fence, wall and hedging, and a small, curved porcelain tile patio is a nice spot for outdoor dining.

 Out front has driveway parking.

Mr O’Grady says No 1, fresh as a newborn, is the “perfect family home”, close to Douglas village, near Donnybrook Hill.

Viewings are busy “every day this week”, Mr O’Grady says, adding that it’s “mainly those trading up, but also some first-time buyers”.

VERDICT: A good spot to kick off family life. Scores big on style and energy efficiency. Plenty of schools in the wider area.