A good steer on a €495k Montenotte home with period charm and vibrant style

A moo-ve in ready home with a fun vibe and a pretty garden

Fri, 11 Sep, 2026 - 17:00

Caroline Delaney

Montenotte, Cork City
€495,000
Size	112sq m (1,200sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	D

Here's a good steer on a property for you... check out this Montenotte home with a south-facing back garden and refreshingly bold colour choices.

This three-bed semi- detached house at 30 St Anne’s Drive even had some ‘hidden’ features for the owners. They discovered 1935 original terrazzo flooring in the hallway and kitchen ... under strongly glued down old lino.

Owners Bebhinn and Duncan McKenna who bought this home in 2025 (for €480k according to the Property Price Register) feel it was well worth spending long hours steaming up the adhesive to reveal the classic floor: “We bought this house as our forever home so we put a lot of effort and expense into things such as triple-glazed sash windows and beautiful new carpets, a new gas boiler, zoned smart heating controls and thermostatic radiator valves, and a new shower, but we are now moving to Wicklow for the right special needs education for our son.”

The pair also put good effort into upgrading that south-facing back garden — a friendly-feeling collection of zones including a sunny terrace, a sunken trampoline, a climbing frame, and lots of planting. The garage at the side of the €495k house gives handy back garden access — they added a bright red double door at the rear.

They have put so much personality and work into their 112sq m home that there are several ‘favourite spots’.

“Mine is the kitchen as it’s so warm and cosy and near the garden too,” says Bebhinn.

“I love that slightly higher spot in the garden as it gets that extra 20 minutes of sunset and is sheltered,” adds Duncan.

Both also have high praise for the local area, near to St Lukes with its gastropubs, restaurants, and shops, and also for the great community feel: “There are lots of families here, and at least five with children the same age as our son. At Halloween the place is hopping. And even though the road isn’t a cul-de-sac it’s very quiet so you have children out playing, it’s lovely.”

And it’s only 260m to the much-hailed McSweeny shop (est 1950) on Gardiners Hill: “There’s such a community spirit here and they sell fabulous sourdough breads and homemade lemon drizzle and coffee cake by the slice too.”

Now, to the elephant in the room, or the life-sized blue cow on the doorstep if you will ... Duncan explains: “We’ve had that cow for at least 15 years, since I spotted it at a tech conference in Belfast and asked if I could have it. All I had to do then was figure out how to get it home and now on to our next home.”

Upstairs are three double bedrooms, the main bedroom is at the back of the house and looks right over the city to the southside hills.

“This really is a warm, individual home on a very quiet residential street with very little through traffic. And a particular highlight is the large, private south-facing rear garden with a striking historic stone wall and ample room to play, entertain and garden,” notes agent Paul Fenton of Sherry FitzGerald.