Historical military past recalled at Kinsale's €750,000 Troopers Court

Detached home built on Barracks Hill above top tourist town

Members of the Lord Edwards Own Re-enactment Group as British soldiers re-enact leaving their barracks at a centenary commemoration at Charles Fort Kinsale to mark the handover of Kinsale Barracks from the British crown forces to the Irish Provisional government in 1922.

Barrack Hill Kinsale
€750,000
Size	191 sq m (2,045 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	C2

HOME-HUNTERS looking to trade up in coastal Kinsale could have a well-feathered nest in a historic part of the top tourism town.

Troopers Court is on Barracks Hill,  Kinsale

Already getting enquiries lining up is the 1990s-built Troopers Court, at Troopers Close on Featherbed Lane above Barrack Hill.

It’s on a strategic height above the town and, as the name indicates, the setting is steeped in Kinsale’s long military and defensive past. There had been an evolving British forces barracks by the glen in the town from the 18th, 19th, and into the 20th century, acting as an adjunct and troops’ support base for the spectacularly sited Charles Fort.

Mixed company: Troopers Court is one of a diverse mix of homes on Troopers Close, Barracks Hill

Both structures were handed over to the fledgling Irish State in 1922 and, while Charles Fort is one of Munster’s top tourist attractions, the town-sited barracks bit the dust — it’s now the location of the local Smith family’s SuperValu.

Some original soldiers’ and officers’ quarters and family homes have survived. Other areas were excavated and later built over. And over that is Troopers Close, home to a handful of lofty-sited homes, including a couple of very high-end contemporary one-offs as well as this detached 1993-built bungalow with resonant name, Troopers Court.

Bringing up the rear at Troopers Court

It’s for sale for the first time since it was built, as an executor listing for the family via agent Scott O’Sullivan, of Sherry FitzGerald. He guides at €750,000, reporting preliminary interest from local families in three and four-bed homes and semis around the town, keen for a detached house that could grow further with them.

That’s for a detached 2,045 sq ft four-bed dormer home on a private site, barely even lightly trafficked, with both lane and pedestrian access to the old barracks site below, aka SuperValu.

It’s in good overall condition with bedrooms at both ground and first-floor level: the one downstairs shares a ‘Jack and Jill’ bathroom, which also serves as a guest WC, while overhead are three dormer bedrooms, one with en suite, where two have Juliet-style balconies which open up to reveal town and harbour views.

Harbour glimpses

While it’s freshly painted and presents well, with the addition of a sun room, it’s likely that new owners (only to be the second) will make other decorative changes, perhaps opting to lighten up the interiors with lighter colours on kitchen units, stairs, and other dark hardwood joinery and possibly new carpets or other floor coverings.

Mr O’Sullivan says the C2-rated home on an elevated site and with basement storage has a southerly aspect and some harbour and general Kinsale glimpses.

He adds that it is only a stone’s throw to the centre of Kinsale town whose “ancient and colourful past permeates the maze of narrow streets and colourful shop fronts — you’ll never be far from exquisite food and entertainment.”