12-06-2025
Dozens of scale models at builder's €730k Cobh home show a lifelong love of construction
MINIATURES of just about every conceivable construction vehicle are on display at Glenveagh, the Cobh family home of a man who was as passionate about the building industry as kids are about Lego.
'We were not allowed to call them toys,' laughs Aisling Morgan, daughter of the late Kevin Dillon, who had a long involvement with the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and was senior housing advisor for Munster for HomeBond, the structural defects insurance scheme.
Scale models on display at the Cobh home of the late Kevin Dillon
Kevin designed and built the family home at Ringacoltig in Rushbrooke in 1992, and he named it Glenveagh, in honour of the vast and dramatic national parkland of his home county of Donegal. His own father had worked in Glenveagh National Park and Kevin used to accompany him. 'It's where his love of building and old houses began,' Aisling says.
Kevin and his wife Ann Mackey, a native of Kinsale and niece of the late Taoiseach Jack Lynch, reared their two children in Ringacoltig: Aisling, who now lives in France, and Hugh, a musician, who teaches in MTU Cork School of Music.
Glenveagh is a fine, solid home, built to last by its knowledgeable owner, on a private site with a good orientation. It catches the morning sun out front and the best of the evening light to the west-facing rear. A sheltered patio, sandwiched between a rear sunroom and a formal dining room, is ideal for barbeques.
When Kevin bought the site, there weren't many homes on the leafy laneway that forms part of the Rinn an Chabaltaigh/headland of the navy in Rushbrooke. Housing density is still low and all of the homes are detached and bespoke.
Kevin built a four-bed, converting one bedroom to his study, where the windowsill is dotted with scale models of diggers, loaders, drum rollers and bulldozers and where the shelves are lined with various bibles of the building trade.
The long and the short of it is, the man who built Glenveagh knew what he was doing. He even added an independent studio, accessed from the garden. It's been used in the past as a guest bedroom and could easily have an en suite fitted, as it's already plumbed. Alternatively, it could be a separate home office or used to run a business from home.
The downstairs layout of the house was designed for family life, with the option to up the ante when entertaining. An open-plan kitchen dining room opens into the bright sunroom at one end of the hallway.
At the other end, past a family room, is a a more formal reception room with double doors that open to a formal dining room. Entertaining was a feature of life at Glenveagh and having musical kids was a bonus.
Kevin and Ann had lots of friends in the construction industry and they had a whip-around for Kevin when he retired, throwing a surprise party for him and gifting him a cruise. He got to go on the cruise, but didn't get to enjoy his retirement, after contracting a serious illness. He passed away in 2018. Ann passed away early this year and so their comfortable, inviting home is up for sale.
Selling 175 sq m Glenveagh, with a guide price of €730,000, is Johanna Murphy of Johanna Murphy & Sons. She points out that it's on half an acre. 'You feel like you are in the country, yet you are less than a 10 minute walk into Cobh town,' Ms Murphy says.
The house is close to Rushbrooke train station, for access to regular commuter trains into Cork City. Schools and sports clubs are nearby and Cork Harbour — and café Ellen's Kitchen — are on your doorstep.
VERDICT: Robust family home on generous private site with granny flat/home office options.
