Inside €875k Cork home bought by pioneering sisters Máirín and Ita Quill on Wellington Road

The Wellington Road had an open door policy and it was where Máirín had her constituency office

1 Wellesley Terrace, Wellington Road, Cork

Wellington Road, Cork city
€875,000
Size	325 sq m (3498 sq ft)
Bedrooms	5 / 6
Bathrooms	5
BER	Exempt

OWNING a substantial home on Wellington Rd in the 1970s at a time when property ownership was still largely a male preserve speaks volumes about the Quill sisters. They were, without question, trailblazers, untroubled by conventional expectations of what a household should look like. Well-educated and professionally established, they forged their own path, training asteachers and relocating from their native Kilgarvan, Co Kerry, to Cork early in their careers, where they rented a first-floor flat at No 1 Wellesley Terrace on Wellington Rd.

When the entire building they were living in later came to market, the two sisters made the bold decision to buy the house themselves, a groundbreaking move for women of their generation, who were often expected to become homemakers, their identities tied to what their husbands did for a living and what property he owned.

View from No 1 

A clue to where Máirín and Ita picked up their trailblazing instincts hangs at the top of the first flight of stairs at No 1 Wellesley Terrace. It’s a portrait of their Kerry-born uncle Michael J Quill, founder of the Transport Workers Union of America. A committed advocate for racial equality, Mike founded the union in 1934, after years working on the New York subways, a hotbed for racial discrimination. Throughout his life, he was a staunch defender of the underdog and when he died in 1966, among those to pay tribute was one of the most influential civil rights leaders in history, Martin Luther King, who hailed him as “a man the ages will remember”. Mike was also active in politics and in 1937 was elected to the New York City Council for the Bronx on the American Labour Party ticket, further cementing his reputation as a voice for working people.

Sisters Ita and Mairin Quill at Declan Hassett's play Sisters in the Everyman Palace Theatre, 2007 Picture Richard Mills.

Máirín’s own political career began with Fianna Fáil and Cork City Council and she contested her first general election in the 1970s when fellow Corkonian Jack Lynch was party leader. According to her nephew Brian Quill, the twice-taoiseach was a regular visitor to the
Wellesley Terrace house. He said:

They were very friendly over the years and any time he came to Cork he’d call to the house on Wellington Rd, 

Máirín later helped found the now-defunct Progressive Democrats, formed in 1985 by a group of former Fianna Fáil members who broke away over ideological and leadership disagreements. Having moved into full-time politics — and elected to the Dáil in 1987 — she left her teaching role at St Vincent’s girls’ secondary school in Cork City, where Ita was a teacher in the primary school. A room on the ground floor of their Wellington Road home became her constituency office.

Second floor living room

Their nephew Brian says the door was always open at No 1, that his aunts were a warm, hospitable pair who had a welcome for everyone, from youngsters from Kilgarvan arriving to work in the city and in need of temporary accommodation, to an artist from Kinsale who used the top floor as a studio for several decades.

First floor Kitchen/dining

It’s still laid out as a self-contained unit and might suit a buyer with an au pair to consider, or, in the context of the current housing crisis, as accommodation for an adult child. Views of the city are at their most expansive from this upper floor eyrie.

Whoever buys No 1 will inherit a property reflective of the late Quill sisters’ impeccable taste and understated elegance, nowhere better captured than in the first-floor drawing room.

Here, three tall south-facing windows frame sweeping city views. It’s a gorgeous room with a high ceiling, original fireplace, and great light. To the rear and open to the drawing room, is a kitchen-cum-dining room. A short flight of steps leads to the first-floor return, where a corridor links to two double bedrooms and a bathroom — the only extension added during Máirín and Ita’s near half-century in residence. 

Each of the four floors has bedroom, bathroom and living accommodation, adding to a sense of scale and flexibility. There’s also a ground floor utility, and a second floor living room and separate study, both with city views. For a house that dates to the 1880s, No 1 has beensurprisingly agile.

Doorstep politics

Behind its sunny yellow door and bright, generous hallway lies a home of character, dotted with many period features and awash with memories of debates about politics, education, the arts and Cork City’s cultural development during the sisters’ lifetimes — both passed away in the past two years. No doubt similar intellectual conversations were taking place in other homes on this notable Victorian row where the late renowned sculptor Séamus Murphy lived just a few doors down.

Wellesley Terrace is well hidden from public view and unseen to all but those who live there or pay a visit, so even though south-facing front gardens — bounded by redbrick and cast-iron railings — are separated from the houses by a road, there’s a good deal of privacy. 

There’s outdoor space to the rear too — a courtyard/patio at ground level and a grassy area up a series of steps.

Brian Olden of Cohalan Downing is overseeing the sale of this BER-exempt graceful period home, and he is keen to highlight how close it is to buzzy St Lukes Cross and Cork City’s equally vibrant Victorian Quarter, each about a three-minute walk away. ‘Good’ schools are on the doorstep too, as are Kent Station and Parnell Place bus terminus.

Mr Olden reckons it will appeal to both owner occupiers who value period homes or an investor who could easily convert it into self-contained units. He brings 3,500 sq ft d No 1 to market with an AMV of €875,000. Homes on the terrace don’t often come up for sale: No 4 made €565,000 a decade ago.

VERDICT: A home that meant a tremendous deal to its owners, reflected in the great care they took of it. A delightfully inviting property in a central yet private location. Ideal for a family that wants to be close to schools and city workplaces.