Somewhere over the rainbow could land you at €750k Rochestown Road home

Scandinavian touch adds warmth to No 11 Manor Close

11 Manor Close, Thornbury Heights, Rochestown

Rochestown, Cork city
€750,000
Size	146 sq m (1572 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	C1

IN tech, work isn’t tied to a desk. Armed with laptops, cloud tools, and wifi, the world is your oyster. Given the mobility of the workforce, house moves are often on the cards. It’s why a Scandinavian couple ended up in Cork City five or so years ago.

Their first stop was a rental on Rochestown Rd, where they familiarised themselves with the neighbourhood and grew to like it. When a house came up for sale three years into their overseas stint, they didn’t hesitate.

“We loved the Rochestown area and when No 11 Manor Close, Thornbury Heights came to market, we saw that we could turn it into our dream house.

“We bought it and did all the renovations to make it perfect for a growing young family,” says the man of the house, adding that it had the flexibility to accommodate two people engaged in remote working.

 As an employee of a US company, he needed a home office in the evenings to sync with colleagues across the Atlantic, while his more regular workday was spent at a company office in Mahon Point.

“In addition, we had a second [home] office, allowing my wife to work for a firm in Dublin remotely from Cork,” says the owner.

It was a bonus that their home offered a walkable route to his Mahon Point office, via the Cork Harbour Greenway, a picturesque waterfront pathway that doubled as his daily dose of exercise.

The route took him past artisan takeaway deli and bakery Cinnamon Cottage, where the weekly treat was a homemade lasagne.

“On Fridays, on my way back home, I could buy fresh lasagna for dinner and the kids loved Daddy’s Lasagna Delivery,” he says.

The location of their home within Thornbury added to its appeal. Up on a height on a corner site tucked in at the end of the Close, it looks down towards the estuary, and beyond, towards Cork City.

“We loved our Sunday lunches with a view from the dining room over Cork City and if there was a mild rain, we were rewarded with a magnificent rainbow,” says the owner, adding that they even considered registering the house name as The Rainbow View.

True to the Scandinavian love of the outdoors, the owner made full use of the garden space, where he recharged at the weekends.

 His legacy includes a black cherry tree, a fig tree and apricot tree, as well as roses out front and seasonal flowers to the rear, which is west-facing, and has a cobblelock patio.

In the house itself, the couple put down new wooden floors and tiling, and upgraded the bathrooms and the energy efficiency (new radiators, new attic insulation). They had planned to stay until retirement age, but opportunity came knocking, and a return home is on the cards.

Selling this detached, four-bedroom house is Lawrence Sweeney of Savills. He says there’s a healthy appetite for viewings. “We have had mainly first-time buyers and traders-up so far and there has been a good number of viewings and offers.

“There has also been interest from medics, tech, and pharma workers. The house is ready to move into and while located so close to the city, funnily enough, it has a county feel because of the amazing city, river and county views you have from the property. It’s fab,” says Mr Sweeney.

His guide price for the 146sq m house is €750,000.
VERDICT: Forget somewhere over the rainbow. Your forever home could be right here at Thornbury Heights.