Singing surgeon's Cork family home in rude good health

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

A MEDICAL career that moved around Ireland and the UK ended up with a return to Cork and a medic's local reputation as the Singing Surgeon as only part of the story of 1 The Grove.
1 The Grove
The substantial detached family home was bought brand new back around 2004 by Dick (Richard) and Sheila Creedon after they returned from Manchester.
Having started a family of three youngsters, they flitted from Drogheda and London also: sons Oliver and Richard and daughter Sinéad only slowly warmed to the notion of rural life back in Ireland, first in Innishannon and then here, closer to Cork City at Crossbarry.
The couple met when Inchigeela native and orthopaedic surgeon Dick Creedon met Navan woman Sheila (nee Roberts), a nurse, back in the 1990s. Their careers followed medical postings that eventually saw the Bon Secours (and, later the Mater Private) lure them home.
Homecoming
A love of sport helped their children settle in and make new friends after uprooting from Manchester, and sport also rears its head in that No 1 The Grove was built by the highly regarded local builder Fachtna Crowley, father of Munster and Ireland professional rugby player Jack Crowley.
On the ball
No 1 is in the front row of six houses in The Grove, home to a mix of families of several ages and it was a perfect place to grow up, with rural freedoms, yet local conveniences and easy proximity to the city, says son Oliver.
The blues
He and brother Richard trained as engineers, sister Sinéad is a writer and works in publishing (she co-produces the literary and creative writing magazine Sonder). Oliver admits that it was their father Dick who got the reputation as a bit of a rocker, singing and performing in bars including regular gigs at local Barrett's Bar in nearby Killeady, playing a mix from Neil Young to country and the likes of Glen Campbell and John Denver.
Case notes
The Singing Surgeon's many, many guitars, amps and the odd banjo still adorn rooms at No 1, now for sale after the passing of the Inchigeela-born man in 2017, predeceased by his wife Sheila in 2013. Tasked with the sale is estate agent Norma Healy of Sherry FitzGerald, listing it at €695,000 and expecting interest from trade-up and relocating families.
It's spacious, with four first floor bedrooms of which two are en suite with walk-in robes, and there's a second floor with two more rooms, one used as a home office up to now with adjoining bathroom. Ms Healy there's scope for two more bedrooms here, subject to planning.
At ground level is a good floorplan, with reception rooms left and right of a central hallway, each with bay windows (finished externally in brick), with a wider kitchen/dining room behind, linking to a sun room, also has a utility and guest WC.
There's also a large attached garage, and an overall good mature site with rear patio by the sunroom, and there's a C1 BER.
Just in need of a décor update and possible change of wall colours now, No 1 The Grove's within a two minute walk of the local Crossbarry shop and filling station, with easy access to the N70 West Cork route as well as to Halfway, Killumney, Waterfall and Wilton/Bishopstown.
VERDICT: Family home of 'the Singing Sawbones' has good bones itself.