Four Cork homes in Glounthaune, Glanmire, Ballinlough, and Macroom from €350,000

From village A-rated homes to hidden bookshelves, there's a wide selection here

Tue, 05 May, 2026 - 06:00

Glounthaune, Co Cork
€795,000
Size	174 sq m (1873 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	4
BER	A2

Home decor and renovation shows often lean into the concept of ‘zoning’ but the layout at this Glounthaune home actually delivers. No. 12 The Cedars is all about life in a home where the ‘messy’ functions are physically decoupled from the ‘living’ areas.

By pulling the ‘high-friction’ elements of busy family life — the laundry, the muddy boots, and the grocery overflow — into their own dedicated spots, the L-shaped living area is freed up to be serene and welcoming. Instead of the kitchen table or island becoming a depot for groceries, brushes and chargers, there’s a separate pantry and utility room for all this. “There’s a lovely flow and proportions here. This really is a beautiful A-rated home with a south-facing back garden so we’ve had lots of interest already, ” says Garry O’Donnell of ERA Downey McCarthy.

Upstairs are four double bedrooms, two of which have their own bathrooms — with the option to use the small family room/study off the downstairs hallway as an extra bedroom.

VERDICT: A class-A home that’s a stroll from Glounthaune village itself or a short drive to Glounthaune train station connecting to Midleton or Cork city.

Glanmire, Co Cork
€360,000
Size	95 sq m (1023 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	C1

There's a reason Glanmire is so popular with househunters — it’s got that connectivity to Little Island or the city that’s so important, and it’s on the right side of the city for heading to Dublin too.

No 7 The Maples would be ideal for a couple starting out says Stephen Clarke of REA O’Donoghue & Clarke. “It was rented out for some time so it’s ready for someone to make this their home and put their own stamp on it. There’s always interest in houses, the Castlejane estates were built by O’Mahony Developments around 20 years ago and this is an ideal starter home in a cul-de-sac.”

As the house is on an elevated site it’s got a split-level ground floor and there are great views out over Glanmire from the back bedroom upstairs. The main bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and another bedroom is L-shaped which lends itself well to creating lots of storage.

There is a regular bus route to the city, and there are several primary and secondary schools within a kilometre or so.

VERDICT: Prime spot for commuters and for getting out of town too. Will likely catch the eye of first-time-buyers.

Ballinlough, Cork
€595,000
Size	104 sq m (1119 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	E2

Home renovation TikTok and Insta accounts are great but with so many based in other regions there’s always that gap between the overseas transformation and local reality. Thankfully when you’re dealing with a 1960s semi-d in Ballinlough there’s very real inspiration right on your doorstep with Beeches at 45 Ardfallen Estate. Many neighbours have tastefully extended and modernised similar houses.

The lifestyle value of this already under offer Ardfallen home is a strong feature. Backing onto a primary school and being minutes from Douglas is a massive stress-reducer for a family. Over the back wall you have Eglantine school and you’re only a short distance from several other primary schools, notes Kevin O’Sullivan of Barry Auctioneers.

“This home needs investment but there’s plenty room for extension and it’s got a south-facing back garden,” he says.

Mr O’Sullivan sold a nearby home (without even being able to show it in person during lockdown) for €400k and once it was renovated and beautifully extended it sold recently for more than 730k.

VERDICT: All the inspiration you’ll need is right on your doorstep.

Macroom, Co Cork
€350,000
Size	222 sq m (2390 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	B3

Appropriately for a house with the same name as the father of evolutionary theory this Macroom home is constantly evolving.

Built in the 1970s, Darwin House at Raleigh North on the west/Killarney side of Macroom was once a popular restaurant in the 1980s. Then it was a family home for the last 20 years — current owners are on the move now so it’s on the market again for €350k.

“The house is in excellent condition and is in a really lovely beautiful scenic area of Macroom,” notes Killian Lynch of Killian Lynch Auctioneers. As it was initially a restaurant it still has some handy features relating to that — all the downstairs doorways are extra wide and wheelchair friendly. It’s attracting quite the amount of attention too, he adds: “On our first open viewing recently we had 20 couples, mainly first-time buyers.”

There are some unusual features such as a kitchen- adjacent dining room with its own sink and worktop.

The three bedrooms are downstairs and the biggest one has an ensuite bathroom. A wrought-iron staircase leads to the upper level where there are two more rooms, one of which has its own bathroom. There’s room to replace the staircase with a more conventional stairway... potentially officially reclassifying these rooms as bedrooms. The house is on about 0.7 acres of gardens with mature trees and a 30sq m block shed.