Tasty catch for first time buyers at €260k townhouse beneath the goldie fish

Irish Examiner

15-05-2025

SPECIFIC city quarters have begun to emerge in recent years, largely as part of a branding exercise within the wider context of marketing Cork. Take the Victorian Quarter with MacCurtain Street at its heart, or the Marina Quarter (self-evident) or the Cultural Quarter, earmarked for South Main Street, under the stewardship of new Cork City Council chief, Valerie O'Sullivan. All are planned quarters, managed from the top down.
Arguably, the city has other quarters, organic in nature, also with their own specific characteristics. Take the area between Shandon Street and Leitrim Street, with Pope's Quay to the South and Cathedral Walk to the north – the street names alone kinda lend themselves to branding it the city's historical Ecclesiastical Quarter.
No 3 Upper Barrack View is in the halo of the North Cathedral
Bolstering the argument is the presence of one of the city's most evocative ecclesiastical landmarks — St Anne's Church, better known as 'Shandon Bells' — not to mention the North Cathedral, St Mary's Church on Pope's Quay, and the myriad of buildings in between with historical links to monks, friars and nuns.
In the midst of this clerical territory, tucked up a little laneway called Upper Barrack View (with line of sight across the valley to Collins Barracks) is a greatly-cared-for cosy Victorian townhouse, that any first-time buyer would bust a gut for.
Smartly presented on the outside, matched by great interiors flair, with cityside convenience to boot, it's a guaranteed box ticker for any young person/couple starting out.
Compact kitchen No 3
Sarah, the owner, bought it 20 years ago and reared a couple of kids, but there are no tell-tale signs, no scuff marks, no woodwork dented by height-measurement lines. It's in inordinately good shape for a compact family home, with a new kitchen, new flooring, a new front door, new windows and a new combi boiler, producing instant hot.
'I've spent 20 years making it into a home, so it's bittersweet to be selling up. I bought it from a very good friend and she felt the same when she sold it to me,' Sarah says.
'It's been a safe haven and it's been a joy to live in a lovely community. I'd be delighted if it sold to an owner occupier.'
No 3, off Cathedral Road, isn't a large home (61 sq m) but Sarah has wrung the maximum out of the space available.
Kitchen dining is open-plan and there's a decent double-aspect living room across the hall, fetchingly decorated.
Overhead, a bathroom and two bedrooms are also attractively turned out.
The main bedroom, over the living room, is surprisingly roomy.
The view from its rear window is of the famous goldie fish on top of Shandon Bells. Out back, which faces south, Sarah created a very pretty space, with some small raised flower beds, mirrors, and a covered in seating area, decorated with outdoor lights.
Look up and you will see the North Cathedral towering overhead.
Selling No 3 is Paul Fenton of Sherry FitzGerald and he says first time buyers will love the house itself and how close it is to the city. The Butter Exchange, now a museum, and the Firkin Crane dance centre are also in the neighbourhood.
Mr Fenton says a five minute walk will get you to Pope's Quay and that the terraced house is 'on the right side of the city for anyone working in the Heineken Brewery or at Apple in Hollyhill'.
No 3, which has a D1 energy rating, comes to market with a guide price of €260,000. Parking is on street.
VERDICT: The answer to some first time buyer's prayers. Commendably presented townhouse.