€540k Bandon five-bed combines town proximity with green living

Spacious B3-rated West Cork family home has a lush garden in 'sit-down' condition

5 Dunmanway Road, Bandon

Bandon, Co Cork
€540,000
Size	213 sq m (2293 sq ft)
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	2
BER	B3

A green to the front, a school playing field to the back and a ‘green mortgage’ energy rating too, this Bandon cul-de-sac home shows it’s easy to be green.

No 5 Dunmanway Road scores other eco-friendly points too as it’s only a gentle downhill stroll to the centre of Bandon.

Built in 1974, it was bought by the current owners in 2019 and they put a bit of effort into modernising it — a new boiler, plumbing upgrades and A-rated glass blocks in the front porch as well as triple-glazing in the windows by the front door.

One of the owners estimates they spent about €80k on these improvements: “It’s a fantastic home with lots of space and plentyof light. My wife did a great job with the decorating as she has a background in that area — she picked out the Farrow&Ball paints including the Inchyra Blue in the front room and different shades in the hall and each of the bedrooms.”

Outside it was more a case of appreciating the hard work that had already been done: “The gardens had been professionally planted and by someone who definitely knew what they were doing as all the trees and shrubs are mature and work well exactly where they are. All we had to do is tidy it up and we added a small bit of planting but as we’d previously had four-five acres it was a very easy job.”

The gardens have an impressive magnolia tree, cordyline palms, bottlebrush, a fire tree and acers, as well as variegated and green holly trees which produce plenty berries.

The owners are now relocating to be nearer to family, but say this house has been great for having relatives come to stay: “We would have comfortably had ourselves, our children and partners, and five grandchildren staying here.

“The living room is set up with the couches and TV at one end and the dining table at the other so the children could be playing at the table or watching something and the adults at the other end.”

This south-facing room has views over the town but maintains a calm, secluded air thanks to the house’s elevated position and all the planting to the front.

The ‘den’ or study at the front of the house comes in for a particular mention from agent Majella Galvin of DNG Galvin who notes that it has its own entrance at the front which could be handy for hobbies or teenagers.

There has been good interest in this B3-rated property guided at €540k and it’s coming from three distinct ‘tribes’ — people already living locally, people interested in moving from Cork city to a rural setting but with good town access, and people keen to make a move out of Dublin.

VERDICT: You’ve heard of turn-key properties, well this one has a sit-down ready garden with lots of mature evergreen planting.