Homes at Youghal, Model Farm Road, and Kildinan — from €185k

An Youghal apartment located on the spot where Perks Funfair once operated; a family home on Model Farm Road; and an online auction coming up for a cottage on nearly half an acre near Rathcormac

Left: 43 Strand Palace, Youghal; top right: Bushy Park, Kildinan; lower right: 5 Avondale, Model Farm Road

Youghal two-bed apartment

Youghal, East Cork
€185,000
Size	65 sq m
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	2
BER	C1

Corkonians of a certain vintage will recall that Perks Funfair once operated from the very spot where this Youghal apartment is now for sale. Prior to the redevelopment of Strand Palace ballroom around 1999, the location was better known for its helter-skelter slide, dodgems, ghost train and amusement arcade.

Replacing all the fun of fair with apartments was a blow to the generations that grew up making memories at Perks on the seafront, but it did deliver a residential scheme in a prized location, next to Youghal’s Blue Flag beach, and within a short walk of the town centre.

REA O’Donoghue & Clarke are currently selling Apt No 43 Strand Palace, a 65 sq m, two-bed on the second floor. Agent Suzanne Keating says it’s in “excellent condition” and “would make an ideal starter home (guiding at €185,000), investment property or holiday retreat”. 

Picture: Larry Cummins

While it doesn’t have a seaview, it’s a stone’s throw from the water and comes with private parking and a management fee of €1,500pa.

VERDlCT: Youghal is on the up with new Greenway connections, an improved boardwalk and a beach that has retained its Blue Flag status.

Model Farm Road five-bed in a cul-de-sac

Model Farm Road, Cork
€850,000
Size	182 sq m [1960 sq ft]
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	C3

Any family living at this address could hope their children set their sights on gaining a place at either UCC or MTU as the house is almost equidistant from both.

This detached home at 5 Avondale is at the end of a small cul-de-sac.

“It’s a lovely quiet cul-de-sac and you’ve got a south-facing back garden so this is a real family home,” notes Kevin O’Sullivan who, along with Stella Troy of Barry Auctioneers, is handling the sale. “This house has plenty of room, with the option of a fifth bedroom downstairs too,” he adds.

The house, Mount Carmel, is under offer at the moment. Previous sales at this development include two neighbouring homes for €730,000 and €785,000 in 2023.

Downstairs there’s a kitchen and utility room with three separate living rooms. Upstairs there are four bedrooms and the main one has an en suite.

There are ample dining-out options, with The Rendezvous gastropub just across the main road. Ballincollig is a 5km spin away and it’s 3.5km in the other direction to Opera Lane in the city centre.

VERDICT: A versatile four-bed detached property perfectly positioned between UCC, MTU, and Cork city centre.

Cottage on nearly half an acre near Rathcormac

Kildinan, Co Cork
€200,000
Size	130 sqm [1400 sq ft] on 0.49 acres
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	2
BER	E1

View at your leisure but you’ll have to put the auction date in your diary to be in with a chance to be the new owner of this ‘room to improve’.

This property, a two-bed standalone cottage on just under half an acre at Bushy Park, Kildinan, Co Cork, is in need of full upgrading and modernisation.

Situated about 15km from Fermoy and 4km from Rathcormac, it has three primary schools within about 5km.

Bushy Park, Kildinan, Co. Cork. Image: Google Streetview [July 2009]

A glance at the ‘streetview’ part of a popular map app shows the 130 sq m house as a pretty blue and white country cottage with flowers in the garden back in 2009.

The original stone cottage part likely dates back to c1900 and it was extended around 50 years ago with blockwork. “It has huge potential as it’s on a very big site, there’s plenty room to work with here,” notes Stephen Clarke of REA O’Donoghue & Clarke.

As the house has been unoccupied for a number of years there’s a good chance it will qualify for a Vacant or even Derelict Property Refurbishment Grant.

There’s a large Steeltech shed on site and the house has oil-fired central heating and a bored water well.

It’s up for public online auction on Thursday, August 20 at 3pm, with a guide of €200,000.

VERDICT: A classic fixer-upper on a generous footprint — bring a vision, a builder, and your grant application.