Top class city skyline view from €495k Wellington Road home 

Roymont in Sidney Park is a short walk from Cork city centre and a gaggle of reputable schools

Roymount, 26 Sidney Park

Wellington Road, Cork city
€495,000
Size	116 sq m (1249 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	F

SIDNEY Park flies under the radar compared to some of the older cul-de-sacs off Wellington Road. While three-storey period townhouses form the backbone of terraces such as Charlemont and Wellesley, homes in Sidney Park are neither as old nor as tall. Instead of mid-1850s rows of uniform builds, you have homes that date from the 1930s, of varying size and type (detached and semi-ds). Each has the benefit of exceptional cityside convenience and all have expansive views.

Top class city skyline views from Sidney Park Picturef: Dan Linehan

Cork city’s rooftops and skyline, its river and inner harbour, fill the vista from the south-facing windows of tiered Sidney Park.

Sitting mid top tier is Roymont, aka No 36 Sidney Park, and through its bay windows you can see out to the hills, many miles across town. 

Picture Denis Minihane.

You can also see just how handy the location is if you work in the city, or if it’s where your kids attend school. CBS is next door (its sports hall is literally over the wall). There are two girls’ schools nearby: Scoil Mhuire on Sidney Hill/Wellington Road and St Angela’s secondary school on adjacent St Patrick’s Hill. You need never drive your child to school again. You can walk to work in the city in a matter of minutes. You can leave your car, parked up at home, for weekend use.

While Sidney Park’s 43 homes have undergone some generational change in recent years, homes tend to be “keepers” for those who settle there. For instance Roymount has been in the same family ownership for 50 years.

A “house of substance” is how Peter Skuse of Cahalane Skuse auctioneers describes it, and he says the property is already under offer at €535,000, from a guide price of €495,000.

“The parties looking would be owner/occupiers working in the city and this is the ideal set up for them,” the agent says.

“Certainly anyone concerned about their carbon footprint may have an interest as it is really less than a 10 minute walk from Patrick Street,” the agent adds.

At 99sqm and with three-bedrooms, Roymont might seem on the small side for a growing household, but there is scope to do more.

 The garage adjoining the semi-d could be converted and accommodation added overhead. Lots of Sidney Park homes have been tweaked over time, with hardly any two houses now the same, thanks to extensions, upgrades and makeovers.

Roymont is in overall good decorative condition, Mr Skuse says, although some upgrades are probably on the cards, including improvements in energy efficiency as the current BER is an F. It’s a light filled property, as it faces south, and it’s not overlooked to the rear. 

Right behind it are lands controlled by Collins Barracks that include playing pitches, tennis courts and a pitch and putt course. 

The rear garden backs onto the railings of what’s known locally as the Camp Field.

VERDICT: The perfect antidote to city gridlock with smashing views to boot. Not your usual inner city street.