€395k country cottage-style home has bloomed and grown on Gardiner's Hill 

WHEN you work in this game, you get to see all manner of houses, some of which are very fine indeed. Those that make a mark though are the homes that catch you by surprise: The tiny inner city home with the internal glass courtyard; the Cobh Victorian time capsule packed to the rafters with Flea Market knickknacks; the ’80s bungalow in the middle of the sticks with a gob-smacking barn-sized extension built by artists from the Low Countries. It’s the unexpected spaces or design twists or unforeseen floodlit rooms that get you every time.

No 119 Gardiner’s Hill slots into the “surprise” category. First off, if you were to view the images without knowing the neighbourhood, you’d probably think you were looking at a charming farmhouse. Its powder-blue facade and cream sash windows look like something plucked straight from a pastoral painting. The aesthetic, as TikTokers frame it, is ‘cottagecore’: a city home that looks like it’s in the heart of the countryside.

No 119 is part of a terrace of homes along a narrow strip of road at the top of Gardiner’s Hill, past The Ashburton Bar, close to the junction with Old Youghal Road. Its current owner says it was once two homes - of the two-up/two-down variety - but the pair was knocked together to make it a four-up/four down home. That’s how it was when she and her husband bought it 28 years ago. It had also been pushed out to the rear, with a 1980s flat-roof extension, added by previous owners.

If you passed along the road that fronts the house, you’d probably think there was no more to the outdoor space than the pretty little patch of garden visible from the curb.

 You’d note that the owner had done a very nice job of making the most of that small space, creating a sweet seating area surrounded by curved stone raised beds. You’d be impressed by the pretty presentation, and curious to know if the rustic charm was fleshed out indoors. It’s unlikely you’d consider the possibility of a large rear garden in this fairly tightly-packed neighbourhood — so prepare to be ambushed.

Standing at the French doors to the rear of the house, the garden drops away below you, deep and long and capable of accommodating the following: A voluminous double-height rear extension that replaced the flat roof add-on in 2003; more than half a dozen steps from the extension down to an elevated ‘suntrap’ patio; steps from the patio down to a gravel path that cuts through grass and runs past flower beds bright with daffodils; a “folly” at the bottom of the garden in the form of half a dozen steps up a bank “that lead to nowhere”; a mix of trees and shrubbery. Who knew?

The woman of the house was the gardener, while her husband was the handyman, building the stone-walled raised beds, front and back. “They were a covid project,” she says.

Her focus was on biodiversity and an element of self-sufficiency. She worked to create a bird- and pollinator-friendly garden and planted strawberries, gooseberry bushes, red and black currant bushes, “and three types of raspberries and three small apple trees”. They also grew herbs and vegetables. A corkscrew hazel tree at the bottom of the steps leading to the garden was planted when they bought the house in 1997, “and has now begun to bear a few hazelnuts every year”, the owner says.

“I love gardening, I’m really into it from a biodiversity viewpoint, although I’d be a lazy gardener when it comes to maintaining a lawn.

“What I like is the country feel and having lots of bees and insects and supporting wildlife,” she says.

Of the patio, she says it’s a suntrap “from Easter to October”.

“It faces west and we get sunshine from midday to sunset,” the owner adds.

The rear extension — replacing the flat roof — was done with the help of the owner’s engineer brother, Eoin Ó Loingsigh, of Midleton-based Foundation and Design, and by East Cork builder Mark Higgins.

If you were to view the house from behind what you would see is a rear extension comprised of two contrasting sections. One half is double height with a smooth render finish and lots of glazing, from Rationel windows, including skylights and a window that rises into the apex. French doors open onto steps to the garden. Glass panels either side of the double doors are fitted with windows that open. Logs for the woodburning stove in the living room are cleverly tucked in to one side of the steps. This section of the extension is home to the light-filled dining room.

The other side of the extension juts out further and has a lower roof. Its natural stone finish forms a nice backdrop to the patio. A little door just above the patio conceals storage space, “a play house for the kids once upon a time”, the owner says. Above this small storage area is the kitchen, which is open plan to the dining area.

 Externally, kitchen/dining looks divided, but inside, they are one.

Two steps up from the dining room is the front living room.

 The owner says a pot-bellied woodburning stove was made in Co Kerry and was “upcycled from a rock hopper... used to protect fishing nets from snagging”. The room, to the front of the house, can be opened up to the dining/kitchen area via bi-fold doors. 

This room was one of the gains when the two houses were knocked together back in the day. Parts of the 2ft thick sandstone walls that once separated them are still visible, along the stairwell and in upstairs rooms, thanks to the work of the current owners who exposed them.

 Whitewashed and bright, the old stone, drawn from local quarries, contrasts beautifully with the restored, original wooden doors and original upstairs floors at No 119.

Downstairs, one of the original rooms was divided in two to create a cosy, carpeted home office and a separate utility. 

The utility, between the rear kitchen and the front-facing home office, has fully glazed doors on either side to let the light through. It can be reached up a step from the kitchen or off the hallway, via the home office.

The owners made other improvements too. Original sash windows were replaced with double glazed replicas from Munster Joinery, roof slates were replaced about 20 years ago. The house was rewired last year.

Having raised a family on Gardiner’s Hill and having loved the location (10 minutes to St Luke’s Cross, 20 minutes to Cork city centre), the couple is now relocating to “the beautiful East Cork countryside”.

They had it handy for the child-rearing years: near a swimming pool and a city library (Mayfield), and the Glen River Park, a fantastic wildlife amenity with walking paths and open-access sports fields.

Schools are nearby too: Gaelscoil Ghoirt Álainn in Montenotte’s Tank Field, St Patrick’s national school for boys and girls on Gardiner’s Hill. The local shop, McSweeny, has been serving the local community since 1950.

Selling this wholesome property is Paul Fenton of Sherry FitzGerald and he says it’s a “gorgeous family home, with beautiful period touches” but also with the benefit of upgrades, such as replacement sash windows and a full rewire.

“This home will appeal to many home buyers given its location, layout, condition, and mature, private rear garden,” Mr Fenton says. The garden is secured with a dog-proof fence.

Mr Fenton’s guide price for No 119 —which has a D2 energy rating — is €395,000.

VERDICT: A warm and inviting property with rustic hints, a real treat in the city. Convenient location, surprisingly good back garden.