Serenity and sunshine at €695k Midleton home

A cosy family home at Ballyannan is ready for new owners and a new lease of life

Staffa, Ballyannan, Midleton, Co. Cork 

Midleton, Co. Cork
€695,000
Size	C3
Bedrooms	6
Bathrooms	3
BER	C3

The tree-lined driveway to this spacious, six-bed home at Ballyannan, outside Midleton, is an inviting arrival point.

And the views from inside the sunny, light-filled house are a treat, too.

Those trees are a mature mix of lime and maple and were planted by the owners when they moved in 29 years ago. They bought the saplings for £100 (€126) and did the planting themselves.

And this busy family home has seen “great gatherings here”, says the female owner.

“It was a great party house and we always had a bed ready for everyone, so they didn’t have to worry about getting home,” she laughs.

Well, it’s easy to host guests when you have two living rooms, a home office, and a large recreational room, as well as those six bedrooms.

And you could even pop up a yurt or two too on those 9.2 acres.

The owner, a former school principal, had entertained colleagues as well as family graduation parties and other celebrations. And one of the biggest celebrations in recent years was a two-day party for a milestone birthday when the number of guests matched the number of candles on the cake.

Staffa is next to Ballyannan Woods, so tranquility and birds are almost ‘extra features’ on the listing.

“My favourite room is the yellow living room with the yellow couch, as it had windows to the front and side and you can watch the birds feeding. There are some gorgeous goldfinches here.”

That mellow yellow colour, predominant in the living room, continues throughout the house, with sunshiny shades in bedrooms, in the kitchen, and in the hall.

So much light floods the home that electric lights have barely been needed in some areas. “We have three recessed lights in two separate areas and the same lightbulbs have been in them since 1997 and still work,” says the owner (who will indeed be leaving these six bulbs for the new owners).

“This is a superb detached residence, offering space, privacy, and lifestyle in equal measure,” says James Colbert, of Colbert & Co, who is joint selling agent, along with Suzanne Tyrrell, of Cohalan Downing.

The house was innovative for its time, with its timber-frame construction on the site of an old cottage.

The family completed the 1997 build using direct labour and even pegged out the site themselves to ensure they maximised the aspect. Despite some initial confusion when some parties used metric and some used imperial measurements they sorted it all out and ended up with impressive views out over the water and over the countryside.

Indoors, too there were happy revelations when what was initially thought would be storage room on the top tier turned out to be so spacious it ended up as a top-tier rec area, complete with table tennis set-up.

 

As well as a two-car garage, there is a substantial detached shed (1886 sq ft) — which could be converted to stables. And the 9.2 acres could have equestrian purpose or be used for hobby farming.

Heating is by way of oil with two tanks located in the garage, and water is provided via a private well, with waste going to a septic tank.

Midleton is just a short drive away, offering everything from schools, shops, and restaurants, to the popular farmers’ market. You’re also around 20 minutes from Cork City, and Cork Airport can be reached in approximately 25–30 minutes.

VERDICT: From the lime and maple-lined driveway to the views over the water, this isn’t just a house: It’s a 9.2-acre retreat.