Secluded elegance at modern family home in Ballincollig

A modern-day 'Nampara' sure to win hearts

Nampara, 10 Woodberry, Greenfields, Ballincollig

Balincollig, Co Cork
€950,000
Size	234 sq m (2519 sq ft) on 0.3 acre
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	3
BER	B

Fans of Poldark, the historical saga set in Cornwall, will know exactly what it means when this Ballincollig house is described as ‘ansom’ or a ‘proper job’. And those fans will also pick up on the name straight away.

Nampara at 10 Woodberry in the Greenfields development was of course named for the 18th centrury Poldark family estate.

The owner of this five-bed detached house is an aficionado of the Winston Graham books as well as the two TV series that followed.

This 1997-built house is in a rather more sedate and comfortable setting, with Ballincollig’s main street a short walk away; it’s also within walking distance of the appealing Ballincollig Regional Park and it’s a 10-minute walk to the local SuperValu.

The household’s two children made good use of the 0.3 acre gardens which were the setting for numerous birthday parties with 20-30 guests and a bouncy castle.

Built by O’Flynn Construction, there are 10 detached houses in this part of the “lovely friendly and safe” development. This particular house was one of the showhouses so a lot of the planting and trees were in place for viewings.

They have matured nicely now over the intervening three decades giving lovely leafy privacy. A good deal of the attractive decor at this €950k house is down to Joan O’Grady Walshe of Reflect Interiors who “really listened to what I wanted in terms of muted colours with little bursts of colour”, says the owner, who is now downsizing.

The householders took on two significant upgrades of the house, initially around 20 years ago when they extended downstairs and then again in 2018 when they replaced bathrooms and flooring in the upstairs bedrooms as well as redecorating the ground floor and adding solar panels for hot water.

“It’s great to have the open-plan kitchen with the sliding door opening to the living room so you can have it open and listen to music or watch TV while you’re working in the kitchen and then in the evening you can close it up again.”

Cornicing, ceiling roses, integrated cabinetry, built-in shelving and lots of light make good accompaniments to the airiness and space downstairs where the garden room addition earns its keep by bringing the outdoors in.

Upstairs one of the bedrooms has been put to better use as a dressing room/walk-in wardrobe with natural light but could be easily switched back to a bedroom by new owners. There are four other double bedrooms and the main one has its own bathroom.

“The two different extensions have brought this home to the perfect layout it has today. And you’re adjacent to the bypass which means you’ve got minimal travel time to CUH, the city or Cork Airport,” notes agent Norma Healy of Sherry FitzGerald.

“And the garden is a key feature here — it’s so big and private and you have a detached garage too,” adds Ms Healy.

The block-built garden workshop or hobby space is a handy addition too, it currently houses a rowing machine, treadmill and bike, but could be repurposed as a home office or den too.

VERDICT: A ‘proper job’ family home offering modern comfort, leafy privacy, and an unbeatable location for people seeking extra space without going too far from Cork city.