Victorian looks, modern energy efficiency on Cobh's upmarket Knockeven Avenue

No 3 Knockeven Avenue is a spacious, tastefully decorated home in Rushbrooke

Sat, 01 Nov, 2025 - 00:00

Catherine Shanahan

Cobh, Co Cork
€795,000
Size	233 sq m (2510 sq ft)
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	4
BER	B2

THE origins of Knockeven Avenue stretch back more than two decades, to 2004, when the late John and Pam Mulhaire successfully applied for planning permission to build four lookalike homes in the grounds of their own Victorian property, Knockeven House.

The couple had bought Knockeven House in 1986, having moved to Cobh in the 1970s to run a Londis supermarket in Newtown. Set on three leafy acres and sheltered by mature trees, it was an idyllic spot to raise a family.

The original Knockeven House with Knockeven Avenue to the rear

When the kids grew up and moved on, the enterprising pair converted the splendid period property into a fine guesthouse. It opened its doors in 2004, the same year the planning application was lodged for houses on Knockeven Avenue — proof of the Mulhaire’s entrepreneurial flair and ability to find new ways to make their home and land work harder.

In 2007, the couple were photographed outside the newly completed No 4 Knockeven Avenue, alongside builder Kevin O’Rourke, a moment captured in the Irish Examiner archive.

The late Pam and John Mulhaire pictured with builder Kevin O'Rourke outside No 4 Knockeven Avenue in 2008

Another image from the same source shows all four houses finished by April 2008. Even those with the flimsiest grasp of what came next in Ireland’s economy will recognise how unfortunate the timing was when the houses were launched on the market in April 2008 at €790,000 apiece.

The property register records bargain-bin prices when the houses sold, with a builder’s finish, in 2014 and 2015. No 3, featured here, sold for €280,000. It was a “shell” when the current owners bought it and they’ve spent the last decade turning it into the impressive home that it is today.

Modelled on the original Knockeven House (bay windows, portico, entrance columns), No 3 Knockeven Avenue has an outwardly Victorian appearance but, internally, none of the draughty drawbacks of a period property. Matter of fact, its energy efficiency is a very modern B2, aided and abetted by a well-insulated attic and both PV panels and solar panels that heat the household water.

As well as investing in its energy efficiency, the owners put a lot of time and effort into creating a warm, inviting home.

“We have grown from muted tones and playing it safe with colours and textures to standing back and realising we didn’t want to adopt the norm of keeping everything grey,” the woman of the house says.

“We chose dark, bold colours and totally transformed our home to reflect 100% us.

“Our aim was that in autumn/ winter, my favourite seasons, you light the stove and candles and the rooms naturally wrap around you, creating a sanctuary from the harsh outdoors.

“However, we have been given the luxury of bright, airy rooms, so that even in spring and summer, the rooms do not feel heavy or dark,” the owner adds.

Both of the owners were raised in Cobh and were delighted to have the chance to buy a home on Knockeven Avenue, “a stone’s throw away” from where they grew up.

“It instantly felt like home,” they say, adding that the security of living in a quiet, gated cul-de-sac while raising their kids “made the decision easy”. It was copper-fastened by the convenience of the location, close to the playschool and primary school.

“Knowing our kids could walk to school safely was a huge selling point,” they say, adding that they could leave the car at home and walk to the playground.

Knockeven Avenue is near Rushbrooke Tennis Club

The kids had other outlets too, like collecting shells at nearby White Bay or Cuskinny or playing tennis at Rushbrooke (450m away) or going for walks in Marlogue Woods. The house has easy access to public transport as the nearest train station is just 300m away, where trains to Cork City, a 25-minute trip, are on the half hour.

Lawrence Sweeney of Savills is the agent handling the sale of No 3 and he says it’s a “turnkey family home of outstanding quality, just moments from Cobh town centre”.

He’s expecting plenty of interest in the 2,500sq ft, detached five-bed, which should appeal to families trading up, who want to avoid spending an arm and a leg upgrading one of the many large period properties that Cobh is known for.

No 3 has plenty of accommodation by any standards, including four double bedrooms upstairs, with both walk-in wardrobe and en suite in the main bedroom.

Main bedroom with walk-in wardrobe and en suite

Downstairs, a guest bedroom to the rear is currently in use as a home office/gym, but other homes in the row have kept it as a guest bedroom with Jack and Jill access to a stylish en suite, which can also be accessed from the wide entrance hall.

A formal sitting room on one side of the hallway is flooded with light through the large bay window and made cosy by a solid-fuel stove.

Across the hallway, a dining room of similar generous proportions, also with a bay window, is open to the bespoke, solid oak kitchen with Angolan granite worktops, Belfast sink, and central island.

It’s an impressive entertainment space for family gatherings or casual dining.

The overall impression is of a spacious, well-thought-out home, with good room sizes, lots of storage space (utility and under-stair), and a very large attic with potential for conversion.

Outside is fairly low-maintenance, with a cobble-lock driveway and an electric car charger out front, a private patio area to the side, and pretty landscaping to the rear, where the site is tiered, built up beneath what used to be the orchard wall of nearby Knockeven House, now on reduced grounds of 1.7 acres (the original period house is also for sale with Mr Sweeney, guiding at €950,000).

The asking price for its younger facsimile, No 3 Knockeven Avenue, is €795,000, almost exactly what the houses first came to market for in 2008, the difference being they were a shell back then, compared to the polished product now up for grabs.

Earlier this year, neighbouring No 4 sold for €1.1m, more in line with the expectations of the enterprising Mulhaire couple, who didn’t live to see the record price achieved

VERDICT: Victorian class wrapped in the perks of modernity. Stylishly comfortable family home in convenient setting.