From retro to retrofitted: €595k Gougane Lodge is Ballygarvan brilliance

A triumph of stylish renovation and retrofitting

Gougane Lodge, Killanully, Ballygarvan, Co. Cork

Sat, 31 Oct, 2026 - 17:00

Caroline Delaney

Ballygarvan, Co Cork
€595,000
Size	147 sq m (1582 sq ft) on 0.3 acres
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	A

A complete overhaul — right down to the house name — has brought this Ballygarvan detached home to the bright, energy-efficient, and modern state it’s in today.

It definitely wasn’t the swirly carpet or thick wallpaper that drew the current owners to what was a pretty standard 1980s bungalow back in the winter of 2015. Yvonne and Keith and their two children were won over by the convenience of the location and the vista: “The views are just magnificent here. And the location is superb, you’re only 10 minutes from the city but with a real country feel.”

The couple brought the house, which overlooks valleys to the front and back, right back to bare walls and also had the foresight to create three decent-sized bedrooms instead of the original rather tight four bedrooms, while they were gutting and reworking.

Then a few years later “covid times made us realise the value of space and we blew out the back of the house and created an open-plan living area put up a wall to make the front room a proper room of its own, and extended the bathroom and added a bath,” notes Yvonne.

This A-rated 147 sq m home also got a new name along the way, going from ‘San Giovanni’ to Gougane Lodge. “We got engaged at Gougane Barra so we gave our home a name that relates to a beautiful area and that means something to us.”

Inside, laminate flooring was used throughout most of the house, with a switch from herringbone format to straight-lay for the front room to help create a different feel. They also added sound-proof and decorative panels behind the television as that wall backs onto the other living room.

Favourite spots include the green armchair in the back room: “That’s my ‘reading chair’ and I have a view out into the valley”. And the front room is a rainy day favourite: “It’s just so cosy here when the fire is going and it’s wet outside.”

There’s oil-fired central heating but also 15 solar panels on two aspects of the roof, with an Eddi solar hot-water diverter system and a 10kw battery.

Our bills have gone from around €300 every two months to actually being in credit over the summer and now it’s about €50 for two months.”

A pretty patio and garden make for attractive spots at the back of the house. And if new owners fancy adding any shrubs or planters, or even just having a nice lunch out, then the Pavilion Garden Centre and Restaurant is only a 2.2km spin down the road. And heading towards Cork Airport, you’ve got the super Amberley Italian shop, bakery and restaurant at Farmers Cross.

Agent Jeremy Murphy of Jeremy Murphy & Associates describes Gougane Lodge as “an absolute cracker of a house”. He was speaking as he headed out to show the €595k property to 10 separate viewers with more again booked for later in the week.

“It’s been completely modernised, a beautiful job and you’re only seven minutes from the Kinsale Road Roundabout but it’s so peaceful in a rural setting, it’s great.”