No Fisherman's Blues at charming €475k Blue Cottage in Blackrock

Picture-book pretty, this well-located former fisherman's cottage will appeal to couples starting out and to downsizers

Blue Cottage, Rope Walk, Blackrock

Blackrock, Cork
€475,000
Size	116 sq m (1249 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	D2

Blue Cottage is charm incarnate, an inordinately pretty home that could have been lifted straight from the pages of a children’s book and magicked into life right in the heart of Blackrock village.

Extended open plan kitchen/dining 

Its inherent good karma owes as much to carefully planned extensions as it does to the exceptional good taste of a female owner, whose association with the cottage stretches back nearly quarter of a century.

That’s no time at all when compared to the lifespan of the cottage itself, whose origins likely date to 1900. It’s thought this house at No 3 Rope Walk was originally a fisherman’s cottage, while the laneway on which it stands probably took its name from the ancient craft of ropemaking, which required long, narrow strips of land to lay out the fibres and twist them into ropes.

It makes a good deal of sense to have made ropes at this location considering how close the cottage is to the harbour — about a two-minute walk— guaranteeing easy supply to the many ships passing through the port, and also ease of access to imported raw materials such as hemp. Nowadays, although the ropemaking industry is long gone from the laneway, its legacy lives on in the placename, while Blue Cottage has also endured.

This cosy home’s staying power, over not just decades but centuries, is surely proof of solid foundations and structural integrity (they don’t build ‘em like they used to), but also of owner attention to upkeep and improvement. Blue Cottage has been extended not just once but twice, starting with a rear add-on that the current owners renovated and remodelled in 2014 (the original extension was already in place when they bought the property in 2001). The remodelled extension faces east, ergo, well-lit breakfasts at a table that can seat eight under a roof-set dome window.

Blue Cottage, Rope Walk, Blackrock

More light floods in through two tall windows and through patio doors that open outwards to an attractive walled patio garden: Part-decked, part-paved, fully enclosed, entirely private, handsomely planted.

Awash with nature’s decorations — lilac, cherry trees, roses, and fuchsias — it’s arguably the best “room” in the house, although there are several contenders.

The open-plan extended country-style kitchen/dining area is up for the title too, with its chances enhanced by how well-connected it is to the outdoor “room”.

A cosy main living room, under original roof beams, with wood-burning stove, is picture-book pretty, while an adjoining, smaller family room with a cute blue fireplace and bookshelves has been a versatile space.

 One corner has been used as a home office and looks out over the laneway through deep-set windows with gorgeous wooden shutters.

To the southern boundary is the other “new” section of the house: A converted side-annexe with storage options as well as a country-cottage style timber-wainscoted family bathroom with attractive cast iron roll-top bath, separate corner shower and overhead velux.

 Beneath the Victorian-style pale floor tile is underfloor heating. This extension was completed in 2005.

Mark Rose, of Rose Property Services, is selling this idyllic 116 sq m, three-bed retreat, and he points out some additional upgrades such as a new roof on the main house, done in 2021 (the east facing flat-roof extension was also redone), and a new high-efficiency condenser gas boiler (BER is a D2, not too bad for a house if its vintage). Viewings started last week, and a bid at the €475,000 asking came in pretty quickly.

“People are loving it, it’s been a real labour of love for the woman selling it, and so far we are seeing mainly young couples and downsizers,” Mr Rose says.

As a move-in ready home, no major changes are likely to be required, although the agent does feel more could be made of the storage space.

“I think someone will look at that and consider changes, maybe replace the teak double doors with a large window. It’s too good a space for storage.”

He doesn’t need to sell the location — it’s one home buyers flock to — even more so since Blackrock village gained a plaza a few years back, and with it, additional cafes and a weekend farmers’ market, while local pubs do quality tapas and pizza options. Then came the overhaul of the Marina Promenade and Atlantic Pond, and really, there’s nowhere in the city to beat it for quality outdoor space (Fitzgerald’s Park is a beauty too, but it’s not on the same scale).

VERDICT: No danger of fisherman’s blues at this cutesy cottage on a quiet laneway in Blackrock. Ideal for a couple starting out or for downsizers looking to stay in the area.