Architects Coughlan DeKeyser made this €850k Jacob's Island home so much bigger and better

A well-thought-out extension was the making of this family-friendly waterside home

40 Longshore Drive. Mahon

Jacob’s Island, Cork City
€850,000
Size	227sq m (2,443sq ft)
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	4
BER	B3

Architects Coughlan DeKeyser can take credit for a skillfully executed extension at the rear of No 40 Longshore Drive. It pushed out the back wall and raised the ceiling, transforming the main living space into an airy, light-filled chamber. A previously unexciting kitchen-cum-dining room is now quite the statement piece, with a fully-glazed back wall. On the lounge side, a full height glass sliding door opens to the sandstone patio, on the kitchen side, a half apex window rises into the ceiling above another door to the patio.

Bought as new in 2004, No 40 was one of the early builds on Longshore Drive and the couple selling it say they were among the first families to move in. It was the most upmarket part of what was then a new residential stretch at Cork City’s peninsular tip in Mahon. The houses, which face south, have a waterfront location, close to 18-acre Joe McHugh public park and just a stone’s throw from the shore-skimming, scenic greenway that runs from Blackrock Castle right down to Passage West.

Longshore Drive homes have a good bit of heft and extended No 40 is a 2,443 sq ft five-bed, with two front reception rooms, both with water-facing bay windows. These two rooms have been a bonus with kids — “everyone has a corner”, the homeowners say. One of five bedrooms became a home office and the remainder are all doubles, two with en suites, and one with a walk-in-wardrobe. A first-floor gallery landing juts out at a dramatic angle — ideal for enjoying the views as it overlooks a large picture window.

“When we did the extension in 2018, we replaced the window above the front door with a picture window,” the owners say.

They replaced the kitchen too with an enviably sleek bespoke model, by O’Driscolls of Ballymacoda. A standout piece is the kitchen island overlaid with a slab of marble big enough to be a church altar. You can seat seven or eight comfortably at it. There’s an integrated Denon surround system too and double-depth drawers in the kitchen, along with an integrated larder fridge, two Neff ovens, an induction hob, and a trendy coffee bar.

The utility got an upgrade too during the 2018 overhaul and there’s room to iron and scope to dry clothes.

The patio was done prior to the extension — around 2014 — and Coughlan DeKeyser made sure the extension didn’t eat into it to any great extent. It’s a lovely landscaped private space, with no sound of Mahon’s traffic to disturb the peace.

Additional work included pumping walls with insulation and insulating the attic. The property has a B3 energy rating, entitling the buyer to green mortgage rates.

The owners say it was “a brilliant spot” for raising kids, with lots of young families moving in around the same time, while the greenway was on their doorstep and shops, across the way, in Mahon Point, and lots of sport clubs in the wider area.

Selling this stylish property is Jeremy Murphy of Jeremy Murphy & Associates and he says it combines “modern design, comfort and convenience in one of Cork’s most desirable waterfront locations”.

He brings No 40 to market with an AMV of €850,000.

VERDICT: Game- changing extension, ideal family trade-up.