Say a prayer for Marian Park home - it's entry level to Cork's Blackrock at €325k for a 760 sq ft two-bed

Irish Examiner

29-05-2025

THERE's a bit of a difference in the positioning of the last three letters of the address of this property sale —No 55 Marian Park in Cork's chi-chi suburban Blackrock is not to be confused with Blackrock's Marina Park, a rapidly evolving public space, green lung, and eco-park in the making.
55 Marian Park has off street parking and faces west to the back
'This is entry level Blackrock,' says the selling agent of No 55 Marian Park, a mid-terrace, original-sized two-bed mid-1900s home, newly listed, with a €325,000 AMV.
No 55's a former local authority home, just east of Beaumont and near a 1950s era Marian shrine off Church Road, and it has just 760 sq ft as it's currently configured.
But, hey, don't be too sniffy about origins or size: just compare this to the listing of a similar era and similar-sized former Co Council home at 3 Fr McSweeney Tce in Scilly/Ardbrack Kinsale: that's a one-bed, 750 sq ft semi, with a whopping €1.35m price tag.
No 3 Fr McSweeney Terrace, Ardbrack, Kinsale is a one-bed with a €1.35m AMV
As it's Kinsale, it's likely to get close to this lofty sum, as neighbouring No 12 Fr McSweeney Tce (albeit slightly larger) in the same Scilly location fetched just last year — 'cos of the setting and the Kinsale harbour views.
Well, back in Cork, Marian Park doesn't have water views. Here, the value of No 55 is underpinned by the Blackrock location and 'address' — none too scanty, and it's already over €1m 'cheaper' than its Kinsale cousin.
It's in Cork city's southside suburbs, right on Church Rd, 150 metres from Blackrock's hurling heartland, the GAA club, function room, and pitches.
It has the main Blackrock Rd a kilometre or so due north, where Church Rd meets the Circle K and convenience shop and the access point to the massively popular Blackrock greenway along the old rail line route.
Blackrock village then is another half kilometre or so from Church Rd, whilst Skehard Rd is to the south, giving access to Mahon Point and the south city ring road/N40: it's a location for life?
Clean condition
Selling No 55 is Brian Olden of Cohalan Downing and it's been a well-kept rental for a number of years, but now is certain to find a private buyer who can just move straight in — it's clean and tidy — and they can make plans for upgrades at whatever pace suits them and with any future or further budget they might have.
Rear view of 55 Marian Park
Homes on No 55's left and right hand sides (pictured here) have both previously extended to the back, all sharing a perfect westerly aspect, and the garden is long and can take a sizeable add on: Google Earth shows a mid-terraced home four or five doors away on the Skehard side with an extension that may have trebled that one's accommodation?
Adding on to the back of No 55 will take some thought, however, given the pre-existence of extensions on its immediate neighbours' homes and any impact doing similar will have on them … nothing a good architect can't deal with.
Right now double-fronted No 55 has a double aspect/front-to-back reception room left of the central hall, and on the right is a tiled reception room/ dining room linking to a rear kitchen with back garden access.
Both reception rooms have black fireplaces, one fancy, the other plainer, and above are two bedrooms (one with a fireplace) and a bathroom with shower over the bath.
The BER's an F, windows are aluminium and heating is via gas, while the back garden has a steel shed, a tiny timber shed and a concrete-built outhouse handily plumbed as a laundry/storage space along the boundary with the right hand neighbour.
Prices at Marian Park over the past decade have ranged from €150,000 to €560,000 (for No 38 in 2023), depending on size, aspect, and condition.
VERDICT: Entry level indeed now for Blackrock.
Prices at Marian Park over the past decade have ranged from €150,000 to €560,000 (for No 38 in 2023,) depending on size, aspect and condition. What is unvarying is the ever-strengthening appeal the Church Road setting has, as Blackrock's appeal and amenities such as Marina Park continue to soar.