Latest news with #JohnO'Sullivan
Irish Examiner
21-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Full of the joys of Springduke, a €635k Bantry home with secret patio
SUPER GARDEN hopefuls could mine a few ideas from the deep seam of creativity that runs through the lush half-acre at Springduke, an architect-designed Bantry home named in honour of the Dungarvan townland its occupants hail from. When Kate and John O'Sullivan relocated from Waterford to Seskin in West Cork in 1999, they brought more than the Springduke name with them: they also brought the design of their Dungarvan home. Having rented initially, they bought a house in Dromleigh, which they then sold to drive ahead with their plans for Springduke. Bantry-based architect Ted Daly of Daly Barry Associates was drafted in to assist. 'We told him what we wanted and he worked around that. We wanted as much light as possible,' Kate says. The house was delivered by John's brother-in-law, Derek Delacey, who built Springduke. A pitched ceiling and double height windows make the hallway an impressively bright space. A piano sits under the open-tread staircase. The towering window looks down over the magnificently landscaped gardens. The couple moved into Springduke in 2004 and set to work on the half acre. Two decades of green-fingered effort shows in every detail. The scene-stealer is the secret patio, tucked away at the bottom of steps that lead down from the front terrace. It's as secluded a nook as you could wish for, set up perfectly for dining out and hosting barbecues or even warming yourself on chilly summer evenings by the open-air fireplace. 'We had built up the wall around the fireplace using stones from the site and we decided a few years later that we needed to do a proper job. So we got a local chap called Tim Welly to do the outside fireplace for us,' Kate says. A friend of the family laid the patio slabs, and the couple's son built a pergola over it. The seasonal wisteria canopy sprouted from a Future Forests voucher, gifted to the couple for their 25th wedding anniversary. 'It's our favourite spot. We've had many's the good party here,' says Kate. Because they get such good use from the secret patio, she hired a chap to build a garden shed to store the outdoor furniture. 'I didn't want to be hauling garden furniture up and down steps to the garage. So a guy dug out the site and built what I call my hobbit house,' she says. It's as whimsical as a fairy tale and kids will certainly love it. There's a great deal more to the outdoor space: a cobble-locked terrace surrounds the house and is a glorious, south-facing sun trap to the rear. There's a herb garden, a polytunnel, and more than 40 types of trees, shrubs and plants, from fruit trees to magnolia to weeping willow, silver birch, camelia, clematis, and contorted hazel. You name it, it's there. Overlooking all of this lush growth from its elevated perch at the rear of the site is the house itself, a spacious, 210 sq m, five-bedroom dwelling, thoughtfully designed for relaxed family living, with the cosy comfort of underfloor heating. Provision has been made too for guests — there's a ground floor bedroom with adjoining shower room. Kitchen/ dining is open plan with patio doors to the rear courtyard. A sunroom, open to the kitchen, gets terrific natural light. The main living room has an extra high ceiling. Overhead, the main bedroom has a vaulted ceiling and skylights are plentiful throughout the upstairs. Kate says it's 'a fantastic house, really well built, and we will miss it terribly'. 'It's just so convenient to everything, about a quarter of a mile from the new primary school, from the secondary school and the hospital, as well as Bantry town itself. Our kids could all walk to school. And it was a brilliant place to be during covid, with the hills up behind us for walking, and the water nearby and Bantry Bay Golf Club. Everything you could possibly want is in the town.' The agent selling Springduke is Denis Harrington of Harrington Estates and he says the area the house is in is a much favoured spot in Bantry town. 'Seskin is beautifully located just on the outskirts. When Springduke was built, two neighbouring detached homes were built around the same time and the three houses were the talk of the town. People would be waiting for one to come on the market,' Mr Harrington says. Now that one of them is up for grabs, interest is coming from several quarters, including local, national, and international (UK and USA). The agent's guide price for Springduke is €635,000. VERDICT: Ideally located, spacious family home with blooming marvellous gardens
Otago Daily Times
14-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
NZONE scoping Kingston drop zone
Queenstown skydiving operator NZONE could move south to Kingston. Its parent company, Australian adventure tourism operator Experience Co, has been talking to the township's community for nearly a year about shifting from its Jack's Point airstrip to one on Kingston Station. Its current site, where it has operated since 1990, sits on land owned by Australia-based RCL Group. The Hanley's Farm developer is seeking consent for a 2800-home Homestead Bay subdivision, under fast-track legislation, that would eventually rub out the airstrip. Experience Co boss John O'Sullivan says it has a lease and resource consent to operate at Jack's Point until mid-2031, and intends to stay until then "at a minimum". He reckons with massive developments like Homestead Bay, "planning's one thing and delivery is another". Kingston's just one of "a number" of potential sites it's looking at in the Whakatipu Basin, O'Sullivan says. He's not divulging the others "out of respect for those communities we're talking to, and because of competitive pressures". The Wollongong-based company bought NZONE in 2015, before purchasing Skydive Wānaka the following year. It also operated from a drop zone near Glenorchy — for which it still has a lease and resource consent — until a Covid-induced shutdown in 2020. He says it's engaging closely with Kingston's residents because it's "critical to have a social licence" wherever it operates. Tandem skydiving has a low impact on communities, with aircraft take-offs and landings, and parachute drops, able to be done on a "small footprint", he says. "We're good for the communities in which we operate. "We have a positive economic impact, we create jobs, and we bring visitors to the region that otherwise might not have been there. "That supports other tourism operators in those communities." Kingston Community Association chairwoman Kimberley Marshall says Experience Co's skydiving operations boss, Ken Stone, made a presentation at its annual meeting last July. NZONE's since carried out twosimulated parachute flights, while an actual parachute drop's inthe works. A residents' survey after the second flight prompted 40 responses and generated a series of questions — most have focused on the aircraft's engine noise and flight path, as well as the volume of customers' shouts and screams as they parachuted down. Stone's answers have been informative, she says. "Everything we've requested, they've been happy to do and provided us with information. "Not everyone's going to be happy about it, but I think the general sense is people are OK with it."
Irish Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Were the IRFU right to cut the men's Sevens?
Nearly a week on from the IRFU's decision to cut the men's Sevens programme, Gordon D'Arcy and John O'Sullivan join Nathan Johns to debate the merits of the decision. Gordon, as a former Sevens player, is well placed to offer insight on the merits of Sevens for players moving into 15s. John has covered the Sevens team as extensively as anyone in recent years and he offers his experience as he dwells on the decision. Do rugby's financials leave the IRFU with any other choice? Is Sevens simply a luxury which cannot be afforded? Why cut the men's team but not the women's? Does this move place too much faith in Ireland's academy structures, narrowing an already small talent pool? Was this decision handled in the best way possible? READ MORE Produced by John Casey. Survey link is here .
Irish Independent
06-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
South Kerry secondary school students win big cash prize for environmental project focused on Kenmare
A team of students from Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine won the Mixed/Large Group Environmental Prize at the 2025 AIB Future Sparks School Impact Awards, winning €2,000 for their school. The winning team was recognised for the positive impact it made on the local community through a project focused on the problem of unsustainable pair trawling in Kenmare Bay. The students were announced as award winners at the 2025 AIB Future Sparks School Impact Awards ceremony at Croke Park on April 29. Patricia Holbein, teacher at Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine, said it was great for the students' hard work over the last two years to be recognised. Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine teacher John O'Sullivan said the project 'really inspired and empowered students, giving them the self-confidence and belief in their own abilities'. The AIB Future Sparks School Impact Awards celebrate schools making a positive impact on their community, centred on three key pillars of activity: Environmental, Social, and Financial. These pillars encompass a wide range of activities that contribute to the betterment of communities, including volunteering, fundraising, awareness campaigns, mentoring, peer education, skills-sharing, and environmental conservation. Orlaith Ryan, chief customer officer at AIB, congratulated the winning Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine students and other award winners, selected from 124 submissions. 'We are delighted to celebrate the outstanding contributions made by schools and young people across Ireland through the AIB Future Sparks School Impact programme,' Ms Ryan said, 'These awards not only offer students a chance to engage in a new form of learning outside of the regular syllabus, but also inspire students to continue to make a positive impact on their local communities.'
Irish Independent
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Listry dig out extra-time win over Glenflesk in East Kerry minor league division 2 final
Listry 2-21 Glenflesk 1-19 After a thrilling 70 minutes of football, Listry climbed the victory in the East Kerry Minor League Division 2 final with a strong first period of extra-time crucial to the win. After Listry saw an early goal by Tom O'Dowd ruled out for a square ball, Glenflesk got the opening goal of the game with a terrific finish from captain John O'Sullivan. Listry fought back well from this setback, with a run of seven points in a row, with James Clifford and Killian Fitzgerald doing the damage, with a two-pointer from Clifford the pick of the scores. Two late James Kelly points kept Glenflesk within two points at the break, despite being well outplayed. Glenflesk started the second half well, with points from John O'Sullivan and Dylan Bowler. Clifford then goaled for Listry, with Sean Clifford providing the assist. Back came Glenflesk with four more points, with Bowler getting the last as they went ahead again. Listry again responded well, and a Ryan Carey score put them two points up as injury time approached. Glenflesk created one more opportunity. James Kelly was the one to take on the shot, firing over with his left foot from behind the arc to send the game to extra-time. After having victory stolen away from them, Listry got on with the business of winning the game again. Killian O'Donoghue's early goal was followed by a pair of '45's from Fitzgerald. Listry had earned a nine-point lead by half time. Despite Glenflesk's brave efforts to come back, which included another Kelly two-pointer, Listry had done enough to secure the win. Elsewhere in the Division 3A final, four goals for Firies proved crucial in their 4-14 to 0-13 win over Beaufort. In the Division 3B final in Currow the home side beat Gneevegulla by 3-14 to 2-13 where two late goals helped Currow to a four-point win.
