Latest news with #CohalanDowning
Irish Examiner
08-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Expensively done up in 2007, classic No 29 Richmond remains a sign of the times, then, and now
A 'NO expense spared' deep retrofit, and polished reordering, was done to No 29 Richmond, a discretely hidden bungalow between Cork City's Blackrock Road and the Boreenmanna Road. That was back in 2007, at a time when the property market was at its zenith, and builders felt free to charge as much as they liked … a bit like now?? Timeless 29 is listed with Cohalan Downing's MD Brian Olden Now a superbly finished three-bedroomed dormer, on a screened, low-maintenance corner site within the 1960s estate of detacheds and semi-detacheds of some design aplomb, with partial cedar cladding, brick and reconstituted stone and latter-day earned charm, No 29 Richmond was taken by the scruff of the neck before 2007 by the late Kate and Tom Burke, who at the time were planning a downsize move from a large, detached period home called Parkhurst on the Victoria Road. First appearances deceive... Built for a city solicitor Barry Galvin way back in 1890, on extensive gardens and the only detached along Cork's Victoria Road, Parkhurst sold at the time for the Burkes for €2.5m: it was described in these property pages as 'a museum piece.' Some of the leftover 'museum quality' pieces have ended up happily here at 29 Richmond, itself some 70 years Parkhurst's junior, along with a range of feature stained glass panels, and magnificent Georgian and Victorian furniture. Glass act It was a classic downsize or rightsize move for Kay (nee Lyons, a retired physiotherapist) and Tom Burke: he'd been a general surgeon in Cork hospitals, such as the Bon Secours and South Infirmary: he also operated, literally as well as figuratively, at the army's Collins Barracks, where he railed against forced army marches (and, marathon running) due to the number of knee surgeries he was had to do, recalls his brother in law, Diarmuid Lyons. No 29 Richmond is now an executor sale, following Kay Burke's demise in January after a period in a nursing home in Kinsale; she was predeceased by her husband Tom, who died aged 95 in 2013. Easy-keep grounds perfect for downsizers The couple's pristine, lightly lived in, and proudly maintained home at 29 is listed this weekend with agent Brian Olden of Cohalan Downing, who says it is elegant, in one of Cork's most desirable suburban enclaves, and was extensively upgraded almost 20 years ago, to a very high standard throughout, from the roof, down to the floors and out to deliberately planted low-maintenance gardens, full of colourful trees and shrubs and birdlife. Mr Olden can expect downsizer/rightsizer interest from the get-go, but it may also suit a single person, a couple or relocators to Cork: less likely is a younger family. A lot rides on the current layout now with the very best of the three bedrooms downstairs, with walk-in dressing area, plus separate en suite bathroom with shower, and quality throughout, including granite tops to the bathrooms' vanity units. En suite ground floor bedroom with robes/dressing area off All internal joinery is quality hardwood, with stained glass panels inside a number of doors, both internally, in the main front door and side panels, with more coloured glass sections in the bright and warm south-aspected sunroom, utterly private. A carpeted stairs, with hardwood rails, leads to two plushly carpeted attic-style dormer bedrooms with eaves storage plus bathroom with shower/bath and heated towel rail, the latter a feature in the en suite's bathroom also, both also fully tiled in neutral shades. Dormer vous? The hardwood joinery, stained glass, matched with gleaming mahogany Georgian and Victorian furniture, stunning fireplace, black kitchen Aga, displayed books and bookcases, art, sculpture and fine prints and 19th century silhouettes givesNo 29 the air of an older era home, but the comfort factor of modern and efficient central heating, high insulation standards, double glazing, new floors indicates otherwise. As does a B3 energy rating. Aga can? Kitchen with Aga, painted units, hardwood tops and overhead rooflights No 29 has a bright kitchen, with painted units topped with oiled hardwood tops, Aga, and marble-tiled floor, with two overhead rooflights, with access to a patio, hall, and to a dining nook linked to the main reception room, with its end wall surrounding the fireplace and hearth in a crimson red hue. Elegance... Overall, there's just about 1,750 sq ft here, all spotless and well detailed, so it's not overly large and if bought by a single buyer or a couple, they could quite happily only live downstairs, apartment style, and keep the first floor for guests/family member visits. Richmond, which connects to the Clanrickarde estate by the Boreenmanna Road, has long been associated with Cork builder Barry Burke, whose family sold 4.82 acres alongside back in peak times of 2007 to O'Flynn Construction, for a €15.8m — some €3.25m/ acre for the site now fully developed as Belfield Abbey: it's a price per acre not seen since 'the boom'.... Richmond Estate Other and older homes in adjacent Richmond show a variety of life stage owner-occupiers, from older long-time residents to more recent arrivals with some considerable extensions on both bungalows and semis. One, No 30, sold nearly 20 years ago on a far larger quarter acre site (for a reported €730,000, 50% over its guide: how very 2025), was demolished and replaced with a very large two-storey detached home. Back in January 2007, we noted here that No 29 Richmond had sold for c€575,000 figure as 'a three-bed home in need of upgrading, it had been price-guided at €485,000-plus in late 2005, when it hit the market. It now is being significantly upgraded.' And so it came to pass. It's reckoned that on top of the c €585k purchase price back almost 20 years ago, a further €400,000/500,000 was then invested in it — again, shades of 2025 costs — so it stood the Burkes €1m, or perhaps just over it, to get it to a perfect fit for their advancing years. Parkhurst, Victoria Road, in 2007. Pic: Denis Scannell Their subsequent strong €2.5m sale of their long-time previous Victorian home Parkhurst in 2007 must have taken the sting out of those costs for the Burkes. And,as for the buyers who paid them so handsomely? Well they are getting much of their outlay back out of it this year as they are selling a 0.85 acre plot with full planning for nine new builds behind the original (and also upgraded) Victoria Road detached Parkhurst for over its €1.55m AMV. VERDICT: For mostly coincidental reasons, No 29 Richmond itself aligns with a number of signature and landmark mid- 2000s Cork City property market moves: what will its sale now tell us in years to come, about the 2025 market?
Irish Examiner
18-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Never a cross word? Glenaeagles is a home for the well-clued in
ONLY the long-time owners of rock solid Gleneagles, the Conway family, might have liked seeing it described as 'a flimsy home' – that spurious description is an anagram of 'family homes,' and this sure was an engaged one, happy but deeply, serially afflicted with cross words. Five children were reared here at Glenagles, right by the roundabout on Cork's Well Road by Woodview and Hettyfield, two top Douglas locations/addresses, were thanks an uber conventinal competitive streak, two identical daily newspaper were delivered for a time, simply to keep the peace. Too cryptic for words? Turns out the couple, Rory and Jean were Irish Times crossword aficionados, and raced each other every day to finish boththe Simplex and, more taxing, 'the hard one', the legendary Crosaire, with over 14,000 grid challenges done by setting John Crozier, from 1948 to 2010….thousands of which found their way to Gleneagles. Gleneagles For many years, Rory Conway, a solicitor, would fax a copy of the Irish Times Crossword home to his wife Jean each morning and they would compete to see who could finish it first,' says estate agent Jackie Cohalan giving clues as to the nature of family at this home she is now selling. In an instance of a homely firm (approximate anagram here of family home, for the sharper eyed) 'Rory's office would fax two copies of the crossword to the hotel if they were away on holidays. And, in later years, they had to have two papers delivered to the house, as they couldn't agree to share!' Ms Cohalan reveals. Gleneagles is now an executor sale after Jean (nee Daly) passed away in 2024, five years after her husband Rory, and agents Cohalan Downing (aka a candle honing now?) guide the 2,250 sq ft five-bed home on a prime 0.3 acre corner site next to a vey contemporary metal-clad one-off rebuild by the roundabout at €925,000. 'Think of this home as a crossword in progress – with the location already filled in, the structure in place, and the remaining clues just waiting for your imagination to complete them,' proposes Jackie Cohalan. VERDICT: A Well Road home for the well-clued in.
