‘The moment we grasped East Cork really is one of the best places to live'

Irish Examiner

09-05-2025

James Colbert, auctioneer, reflects on some of the reasons why East Cork's popular is steadily rising
In 2006, my now wife and I bought a house in Whitegate, East Cork.
Having spent majority of my life in Midleton which was growing rapidly, it was once stated that I would get a nose bleed if I went over the Cork Road Bridge so a move to the 'country' was a bit strange but it was 2006, things were a plenty and this would only be for a year max before we flipped it and moved on. A stepping stone.
Enter recession.
Lower Aghada. Pictures: Dan Linehan
14 years later and it's 2020, we have grown to love the area and can see our future here. The drive from Midleton is about 15 minutes door to door for me as I have an office on Main Street, Midleton. My wife, not so much as her office is on The South Mall, Cork City — or Town as she calls it, which always confuses the kids, you can take the woman out of the city!
Her drive is a little longer and at the start, when the recession hit and we were not moving anywhere, I always feared for my safety when she would negotiate the traffic each evening and morning. Back in those days there was no easy access via slipway off the Lakeview Rounabaout or the fancy new roadway into the tunnel, was there even a tunnel back then? I googled it, there was, opened in 1999.
Anyway, getting back to my safety, on that journey home from 'town' my wife would grip the steering wheel tight and think of ways to torture me. She would remember our wedding and smile as she passed Little Island bristling with stores like Harvey Norman, JYSK, The Range, Costa plus many more.
She would smile and recall that I'm good for lifting things when she reached Mideton which is abundant with shops like Hurleys SuperValu, Lidle, Aldi (I still cant tell the difference), four-screen cinema, Tesco and here's the jewel in the crown, the only McDonalds between Douglas and Dungarvan! She would finally loosen the grip on the wheel entering Farsid/Rostellan as the water views start on your right-hand side. The manicured entrance to the quiet village, which the locals obsess over and the heron sits upon the fiesta waiting for the owner to return from work with a snack.
The evening sun glistens across the harbour and you can barely make out the cathedral in Cobh. From here until Whitegate it is just head-turning beauty and you can't help but relax. I am safe for another day, plus we have bought a site in the area and we are going to build our dream home, what can possibly go wrong?
Enter Covid.
Lower Aghada in East Cork, where well developed amenities and greenways make the area very popular with local residents.
I'm sure when the kids look back at the pandemic in years to come, they will ask why we complained about staying at home, watching Netflix and doing online quizzes but they were unsettling times riddled in anxiety of the unknown not to mention the countless deaths. The dream build fizzled away when we finally returned to normal as prices spiked and a renewed cost came back a whopping 110% above what was previously quoted.
It did, however, make us all sit up and realise what we had on our doorstep and no place stood prouder than East Cork. As my great late father once said 'If you can't be with the one you love, then love the one you are with' — and that is exactly what we did.
Walking within our 5-mile radius each day along the People's Walk which stretches from Whitegate with its well-equipped Euospar, past the tennis courts to L.A. (Lower Aghada) which has or favourite restaurant Rosies, right down to Rostellan Woods which is home to mountain bike trails and Aghada GAA pitch.
All the while admiring the picturesque scenery over the lapping water and that's just the walks! We also had Whitebay Beach, Corkbeg Pitch & Putt and the popular dipping point Guileen, mirroring an old English seaside village with its thatched roofs. It was a tough time that was made all the better by living in East Cork. Of course, there are great spots all over this island and areas that are beautiful to 'visit', but the majority of us 'live' in areas, so as an auctioneer you can't help to look at what the amenities available are.
East Cork was always the bridesmaid when it came to the marriage of luxury home buying. The lure of West Cork or Town (she got me) would usually prevail but things they are finally changing.
Capri Lodge, which we closed in January just gone, went for €1,100,000; it was a record for the town of Midleton and that has opened up the floodgates with a number of homes since selling for close to the million mark.
However, it's not just about price and East Cork never tried to compete with The West. We are who we are and the area has proven time and again that it is comfortable in its own skin. We liked that we had an area not commonly mentioned every week in the papers, it kept the townies and the Yanks at bay, but the secret is now out.
Waves break on the beach at the front strand beach. Former railway station and the car parking area at the newly opened Youghal to Midleton Greenway at the front strand beach at Youghal, Co Cork. Picture Larry Cummins
The recent greenway, which travels from Midleton past Mogeely, Killeagh and into Youghal, is as good as any. The train network operates from Cork and services Little Island, Glounthaune, Cobh and Midleton. Youghal and Cobh are as pretty a seaside town as you will get and while Youghal prices have not YET grown, Cobh is becoming one of the more popular destinations in Cork, especially for Americans.
It has over 112 cruise liners a year and whereas before the passengers would be whisked off to tours of the City, they now favour to stay put and take in all the town has to offer like the The Cathedral, Titanic Museum and Spike Island Tour which was voted one of the best attractions in Europe recently.
When searching for a home you have to take a lot into account. What are the local job opportunities? Sporting facilities? Places to eat? Road access and networks? East Cork is thriving on all accounts. The new Waterock development will see almost 2,500 new homes built with a new town. Carrigtwohill remains one of the best IDA sites in the country with tenants the likes of Stryker, Gilead, Abbvie and Merck.
The world famous Ballymaloe House is nestled on the road to Ballycotton ideal for the foodies. Midleton's revamped Distillery is awash with visitors, the luxurious restaurant Cush opens next week, Fota Wildlife park is accessible via train and it's sunnier in East Cork! Not sure about the validity of that last one, but it certainly feels it.
House purchase demands have changed over the past number of years and instead of the south-facing garden and unobstructed views, people now look for more substance when buying a home. They want communities, open spaces for their kids to play, neighbours and most importantly a healthy lifestyle. Of course, the house still matters and even better if it doesn't need work, seeing as costs are still rising but when it comes to healthy living, there is no better place than the area we love and now call home.
Enter East Cork.