Home of Eileen Nolan, founder of the Montforts, is ready for its next act in Ballyvolane

Home of the late Eileen Nolan, founder of ‘The Montforts’, is for sale for €345k

Montfort, Gordon's Hill, Cork city

Ballyvolane, Cork City
€345,000
Size	141sq m (1,518 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	E

What’s in a name? In the case of Montfort, the house featured here, it meant a great deal more than the name of the homestead, as the woman who lived there was the founder of the generation-spanning Montfort College of Performing Arts.

When enterprising Eileen Nolan opened her original dance studio in 1962 in the grounds of her home at the bottom of Gordon’s Hill, she never envisaged how integral her students would become to Cork’s entertainment scene, taking part in musicals, cabaret, the annual Summer Revels variety show and, still, to this day, the Opera House Christmas pantomime, as well as the Montforts’ own pantomime in the Firkin Crane.

Although Ms Nolan passed away in 2024, her spirit lives on, as very much evidenced by the enquiries estate agent Fiona Waldron of DNG O’Connor Finn is fielding in relation to Ms Nolan’s now up-for-sale three-bed, semi-detached home, where the nameplate, Montfort Studio, remains on the separate studio unit. (South Ring Business Park is where “the Montforts” are now based.)

While the 141sq m 1950s home does need modernisation and energy improvements (BER is ‘E’), it may be eligible for a vacant property grant. Montfort has a south-facing back garden, and is in a very good location, just as Gordon’s Hill swings around towards Ballyvolane, close to the shopping centre, to the North Ring Road network and just a 10-minute walk to St Luke’s Cross, and another 10 minutes into the city centre.

Given the price point of €345,000, Ms Waldron says it’s “all first-time buyers”, more than a few of whom had connections with ‘the Montforts’.

VERDICT: A home with lots of memories, ready for its next act