Haul the decks, this €1.1m Fountainstown home is in unseasonably good shape

A cracking balcony and stunning vista are part of the nautical but nice charm at Whistler, below the Coast Road

Fri, 12 Dec, 2025 - 00:00

Catherine Shanahan. Pictures: John Roche

Fountainstown, Co Cork
€1.1m
Size	223 sq m (2400 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3+1
Bathrooms	3+1
BER	C1

WHISTLER wasn’t just some random house name chosen by the couple that built this attractive coastal home in Fountainstown 20 years ago. It was a reminder of the location of their second date, amid the dramatic ridgelines and alpine powder bowls of North America’s most celebrated snow haven.

Scenic Whistler village with snowy Blackcomb mountain in background.

And even though ski resorts and coastlines are very different environments, they share certain characteristics and qualities: Both have landscapes shaped by powerful natural elements; both boast views that are jaw-droppingly good, and either environment can make everyday routine fade into the background. What’s not to like?

Each also attracts a certain kind of person — the active, outdoorsy, spend-time-in-nature type — qualities the owners of Whistler possess in spades.

Whistler in Fountainstown has exceptional sea views

One half of the couple that built Whistler (the house, not the ski resort) is Paul O’Brien, who spent his childhood in this part of County Cork, as a son of the couple that bought much-loved (and now-closed) Bunnyconnellan in 1976, a bar and restaurant high above the beach in Myrtleville, where generations of Corkonians celebrated countless milestones over the decades.

Paul enlisted a company called Coastal Designs to bring his own home vision to life, and the result is a property that maximises enjoyment of long horizons and endless skies.

“We wanted a funky, upside-down house that would make the most of the views. It was a bit unusual at the time — it was built in 2000 — and from our point of view, we wanted as much glass as possible,” says Paul.

Main open plan living area opens to a south-facing balcony

It’s safe to say the architect listened to his clients. Nature looms large at the front of the house, which is essentially all glass.

From both the upper floor open-plan kitchen/dining/living room and the main downstairs bedroom, the views are cinematic in scope.

Windows are wall-to-wall, double height, and south-facing. You can see the sea, in all its moods, from these two rooms.

“You can sit up in bed with a coffee and watch the sun rise from the main bedroom,” Paul says.

There’s no shortage of vantage points around the house: A vaulted ceiling in the first-floor living area rises above a large apex window, and set in this glazed wall are sliding doors that open to a generous south-facing balcony.

The views back towards Fountainstown and Ringabella and the wooded headland opposite are glorious.

Views back towards Ringabella and Fountainstown

Looking out to sea, towards the outer harbour, tankers and seasonal cruise liners share the shipping lanes, creating a dynamic, ever-changing scene.

Coastal activities — swimming, boating, kayaking, and more recently, sweating it out in a beachside sauna — have been integral to life at Whistler, where the couple raised two boys.

“We were into swimming and boating, so were our lads, and we hope a similar family will take over the house,” Paul says.

Given Whistler’s many talking points (did we mention the large south-facing, seaward-looking deck to the rear? Or the separate one-bed studio with its own private patio? Or the low-maintenance, utterly private rear garden with raised flower beds?), it’s already attracting interest from couples returning from abroad.

Selling agent Scott O’Sullivan of Sherry FitzGerald notes enquiries from house hunters who were originally targeting Kinsale, “but are expanding their search to coastal properties in general”.

“It fits the profile of the large, detached coastal home with terrific views, and, like Kinsale, it’s close to Cork Airport [c19km],” the agent says.

Priced at €1.1m (down from €1.3m with a previous agent), the 223sq m property offers a good deal of house for the money. As well as the bright and spacious open-plan living area, there are three bedrooms, all on the lower floor. The main bedroom comes with walk-in wardrobe and en suite.

The rear annex contains a fourth bedroom, along with a fitted kitchen and a bathroom. It comes with a range of options: intergenerational living/ remote working/Airbnb/kids’ den.

Outdoors, to the front of the property, is a driveway and, lower down the slope, screened by hedging, is a double garage. A pedestrian gate to the rear gives direct access to the Coast Road, where two properties sold for more than €1m last year.

With so much going for Whistler, why sell?

The O’Briens are merely swapping one fabulous site for another — moving from their home below the Coast Road to cliff-set Bunnyconnellan (aka Bunny’s) in Myrtleville, on a five acre slice of paradise, with almost half a kilometre of coastal frontage.

They plan to convert Bunny’s into three apartments, one for the couple and one for each of their two sons, one of whom — coincidentally — has just returned from a two-year stint in the real Whistler in British Columbia.

“We’re sad in one way to be leaving our home — we’ve had fantastic neighbours, and it’s such a quiet and peaceful spot — but we are moving somewhere really special,” Paul says.

Nothing in the Fountainstown/Myrtleville nexus could compete with the ‘Bunny’s’ site, where the bar/restaurant has been vacant for a couple of years. The O’Briens’ return to a location with which they share a 50-year history, will give it a new lease of life.

It will be, as Paul says, “like a renaissance for us”.

For the buyer of Whistler, schools and retail are within easy reach, in Carrigaline and Crosshaven. There are several beaches nearby (Fountainstown is a three-minute walk)and Cork city is just a 25 minute spin. It’s an easy commute to Ringaskiddy too.

VERDICT: Nautical and ever so nice, Whistler is both a home and a lifestyle. Ideal for lovers of the great outdoors.