Cork patriot Denny Lane is commemorated at €695k Crosshaven home 

WHO knew that five Victorian waterfront homes on Crosshaven’s Lower Road, overlooking the Owenabue River, had a link to the 19th century composer of a famous Cork ballad?

A neighbour of No 1 Ardnalee, the house featured here, knew, and in line with the fine tradition of oral story-telling, passed on that intel to its owner.

It explains why Cork patriot, scholar and businessman, Young Irelander Denny Lane, who penned the lyrics of the famed ballad Carrigdhoun, is immortalised on the gable end of each of these five properties, as a decorative mask head.

 Just as he immortalised both the “slumbering Owen na Buidhe” and the place name Ardnalee in his lyrics —“Bright shines the sun over Ardnalee” — the favour was returned by the builder, who chose it for this enclave of five homes, fittingly in the year of Denny’s demise.

 Denny deserved the tribute having done his bit for Cork City, contributing in no small way to its political, business and cultural life, as a politician, a writer, an innovative distiller, a member of multiple company boards and as secretary and resident engineer for 30 years of the Cork Gas Company, based at 72 South Mall.

A plaque on the wall of No 72 also pays tribute to this “patriot, writer and businessman ... best remembered for his poem Carrigdhoun”.

Such details are grist to the mill for lovers of period homes.

The owner of No 1 has more information to share. The reason he can date the house to 1895 is down to a postcard he found in its walls.

“When I started demolishing the walls, I found a postcard with Christmas greetings from the Commissioners of Irish Lights, dated 1895. The builder had obviously stuffed it in there instead of notching dates on the joists,” he says.

The house was in rag order when he bought it in 2006.

“I didn’t realise what I was getting into. It was in woeful condition, there was a big nest in the attic and the roof was destroyed. I gutted it from top to bottom and demolished all but the front wall and gable,” he says.

With planning consent, he built a two-storey extension to the rear, which added a new kitchen/dining room and a generous en suite bedroom — the width of the house — overhead.

 He added a porch to the side gable and also installed a new roof, putting the natural slate back as well as Fleur de Lis ridge tiles.

“Everything I did was very sympathetic to the Victorian house that it is,” he says.

Indoors, he damp-proofed the walls and replaced the raised timber floor with concrete, before re-laying the original pitch pine flooring in the front living room and adjoining sitting room, linked via pocket doors.

 A local joiner built a handsome staircase. 

Original sash windows to the front were replaced with pitch pine sliding sashes to match the floorboards.

The owner removed original fireplaces from the bedrooms and installed a stove in the front living room. Unusually for a period home, No 1 has a very impressive B3 energy rating — which makes buyers eligible for green mortgage rates.

There’s none of the weary appearance of a rental, even though that’s what it has been for 15 years. Freshly re-painted in preparation for its sale, it’s an elegant-looking, 160 sq m, four-bedroom property in an enviable waterfront location that would delight any buyer, but particularly yachty types, as it’s directly across the road from the Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC). 

Nearby too is the popular waterside walking route along the old railway line to Carrigaline, while a new coffee shop, Priory Coffee Co, recently opened around the corner.

Michael O’Donovan of Savills is selling No 1 with a guide price of €695,000. He says Crosshaven typically attracts buyers returning from the UK, with interest also expected from the US.

“Anyone into water-orientated activities, especially sailing, will love the waterfront/close to RCYC location,” he says.

A low maintenance property with just a strip of lawn to mow as it was mostly replaced by a driveway, with parking for two cars, the vendor believes it could appeal to a professional couple, retirees, or to overseas buyers looking for a holiday home.

Its location at the entrance to Crosshaven village means they can reach shops, pubs and restaurants by foot in no time. Anyone wanting to travel to Cork city can get there by car in under 30 minutes. There’s also a regular public bus service to Carrigaline and to the city.

VERDICT: Not exactly going for a song, but not bad for the waterfront location and quality of finish. Comes with a nice bit of heritage.