Fully renovated €625,000 Victorian charmer part of graceful pair

After four decades of renovation, this vintage Cobh home is in its prime

2 Lakeview, Carrignafoy, Cobh

Cobh, Co Cork
€625,000
Size	160sq m (1722sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	E1

Just six months after No 1 Lakeview in Carrignafoy sold for comfortably above its €635,000 asking price, its neighbour in the graceful Victorian pairing, No 2 Lakeview, is now up for sale, high above the seaport town of Cobh.

The houses both date to 1902 and were rescued from dereliction about 40 years ago by young couples starting out.

At No 2 are Anne and Mervyn Burke, who met in Cobh as 16-year-olds, and bought their Lakeview home when they were 21. They’ve been steadily improving it ever since and it’s in tip-top shape for its next owner.

“We spotted the ‘For Sale’ sign one afternoon when out for a walk, and decided, out of curiousity, to have a look,” Anne says.

“At the time, the house was in severe disrepair. We couldn’t even see into the kitchen, because the bathroom floor had collapsed down into it.”

Fortunately, youthful enthusiasm prevailed over common sense and, undaunted by the enormity of the undertaking — or perhaps oblivious to it — they bought the house.

“Mervyn’s dad, Jim, was a carpenter and draughtsman and he went along for the second viewing and reckoned, between himself and his son, they could make it into a fabulous home,” says Anne.

Tragically, Jim passed away suddenly the same year and Mervyn threw himself into the project to deal with his grief. The couple got married the following year and moved into Lakeview, which was “only barely habitable”.

Renovations were carried out as needs, tastes, and finances allowed. The house evolved, its original character intact and best bits enhanced. As the household expanded— from one child, to two, to three — so did the kitchen, which had been a galley. The galley is now a dining area with feature red-brick walls and an open arch to the country-style kitchen, which was formerly a yard.

To the rear of the kitchen, accessed via double doors, is a cosy family room, while the opposite view, from the kitchen sink, is of a garden in its prime. Divided into sections, it includes a patio close to the house, below a manicured lawn, and, tucked away to one side, a room for all seasons, built by Mervyn. More of his handiwork is on display at the end of the garden, where he did a clever extension to the garden shed; it’s now a workshop and home office, fully powered. A concealed lean-to is a store for the garden tools and at the top of the garden is another home office option, block-built, and in use as a utility. The entire rear is a private green sanctuary, screened by high hedging and given a nice finish by a stone mason.

Indoors, the main upstairs bathroom has been newly upgraded, new sash windows were installed over the years, chimneys were relined; the attic was fully renovated to create more storage and includes an en suite; the boiler was recently serviced; the roof was replaced and plumbing and wiring upgraded. Mervyn’s carpentry skills are evident in bespoke shelves, forged out of salvaged scaffolding boards. He also built a much-used window seat into the lovely bay window in the living room, which has an original fireplace.

Upstairs, three bedrooms, all doubles, have high ceilings, and overlook lushly planted gardens and countryside.

The Burkes have loved their Carrignafoy home: “We still pinch ourselves every time we walk in the front door,” Anne says. They were fortunate, too, with the location: A two-minute walk to the nearest bus stop to Cork city, Carrigtwohill, and Little Island, and not far in the opposite direction to the nature reserve of Cuskinny. The train station, in Cobh town, is a 20-minute walk.

Having achieved a sale price of €655,000 for No 1 Lakeview, Johanna Murphy, of Johanna Murphy & Sons, is back now with the 160sq m No 2, a smaller property than its neighbour. Her price this time is €625,000 and she expects local interest, mainly from families.

VERDICT: Charming home, lovingly upgraded by dedicated owners. Garden is a gem, too.