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Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
€575k for a rather grand berth by the Royal Cork Yacht Club
A DEEP, deep love of the sea and sailing, and several downsize moves too, brought the owners to this luxe apartment at the former Grand Hotel in Crosshaven a number of years ago, happily making it a safe- from-the-sea home. Taking in the view from the balcony at The Grand The couple had first moved over 40 years ago — having reared two children — from one of the great Rochestown Road houses down to Currabinny. There, they developed a large dormer house, Strand Lodge, on an acre, over several decades, complete with boathouse on part of its 100m of shoreline directly facing the clubhouse, jetties, and pontoons of the venerable (founded 1720) Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC). Strand Lodge was put up for sale in 2016, guiding €985,000 when it appeared in these pages, later selling in 2022 for €940,000, according to the Price Register. The next downsize move occurred over a decade ago when fine furniture and possessions made the move over the water, from Currabinny's Strand Lodge to No 2 The Grand, on the other side of the Owenabue estuary by the low-slung, navy-hued RCYC footprint. The marina near The Grand No 2 is a very decent-sized c 1,400 sq ft two-bed first-floor apartment, with its own private lift access, and is just one of 12 in the conversion job done in the early 2000s by low-scale developer Val O'Connor, who also did the conversion of the old CBC school in Cork City to apartments a quarter of a century or so ago. No 2 is likely to be the 'Grandest of the Grand', given the quality of fit-out, finishes, and (right now anyway) furniture and fine art, with lots of paintings and prints of Cork harbour, as well as successful race horses. The man of the family was successful in business, as a race horse owner and as a sailor, even having been commodore of the Royal Cork in his day. The place is steeped in Crosshaven history, of course, with the former Grand Hotel built in 1887 (at a cost of £5,300) with a dormer-attic design and undulating bay-windowed façade by James F McMullen, back when Crosshaven was in its (first) heyday as a seaside resort. It's now well into its second wave of popularity, only as a full-time residential location of choice of late. After the Grand Hotel's popularity faded, it was converted to offices for a period, and was owned by the late Denis Doyle , doyen of Cork's sailing, shipping, and stevedoring sector, who also owned Crosshaven boatyard for a period. Despite the changes of use, The Grand has retained its grandeur, with high ceilings and graceful room proportions, while the aspect has only 'filled in' as more and more boats now line the view in front of its principal apartments. From its Lower Road Crosshaven setting, its' still an imposing edifice. Bit of local history? Earlier owners of The Grand were the Hayes family, who gave land in front of the hotel so that the RCYC could move from Cobh to Crosshaven in the 1960s. Among those who worked there were Bob Geldof's parents, with the singer's father, Robert Geldof, managing it for a period. Belgian-born Zenon Geldof, Bob's grandfather, was chef and manager here from 1919 to 1921, also working at the Hydro in Blarney, the Plaza Restaurant in Dublin, and on the Cunard Line and the ueen Mary. Selling agent for the immaculate apartment No 2 is Malcolm Tyrrell, of Cohalan Downing (who also sold Strand Lodge in Currabinny for the same family) and he guides it at €575,000. It has direct lift access to its long entry hall, and off it are two en suite bedrooms with lots of storage, principal drawing room (not a word used in many apartment descriptions), and open kitchen/dining room with Miele, Gaggenau, and Neff appliances… money wasn't spared. It has a utility area, electric heating, access for balcony for RCYC, estuary, and Crosshaven/harbour/sailing views, and easy parking outside, as well as stair and lift access, with a c €600 pa maintenance charge for the lift, plus fairly substantial €5,700 pa service charges. VERDICT: How Grand is this?
Irish Examiner
01-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Breakfast on the deck where not much can outdo the view from €675k Crosshaven home
FIVE years spent in Greenwich, Connecticut, a favoured New Yorkers summer escape with a 32-mile coastline, left a lasting impression on the couple that bought Waterville on Crosshaven's Point Road. 'We lived on the coast in Greenwich and we loved it and you could say that's what drew us here,' says the owner of superbly positioned, radiantly bright Waterville, a property you'd think could hold its own among the homes that dip down to Long Island Sound. As a couple very aware of life's stages, the decision to buy in Crosshaven 19 years ago was part of a retirement plan. 'When my husband retired, he wanted to move by the sea and I have to say the move lived up to our expectations,' says the woman of the house. She's blown away by the wildlife. 'I think the thing I like most about this house is the wildlife, which I hadn't expected when we came here. We've seen pods of dolphins and seals, we can hear Oyster Catchers feeding in the morning when the tide is out and we see curlews and sandpipers and herons. It's fantastic.' Giving the wildlife a run for its money in the category of most enjoyable aspect is the ebb and flow of the ever-changing seascape. All the moving parts of Cork's inner harbour are visible from Waterville: the yachts that head to sea from the safety of the marina at nearby Royal Crosshaven Yacht Club (RCYC); the giant Rotar blades of a wind turbine powering pharma in Ringaskiddy; the Cork/Roscoff ferry on its 14-hour trip to Brittany. Aerial view of inner harbour Picture: Denis Scannell Not everything in the habour is a moveable feast. The dense green treetop canopy of 35ha Currabinny Woods, on a hill above the harbour, is a fixture of the Waterville vista. Currabinny Woods is directly across the harbour You can drink it all in from the generous timber deck at ground floor level where dining out is an art form, or from the first floor balcony accessible from the study (best home office in Cork?) or from any of the habour-facing rooms in this spacious, 155 sq m property. You can step straight from the home office onto the balcony The crowning glory is the sunroom, wide as the property itself, and deep enough to comfortably accommodate a lounge at one end and dining at the other, with French doors to the deck at the midpoint. Doors lead from the sunroom to the deck De luxe sunroom Overhead, made safe by a glass balustrade, is the first floor balcony. First floor balcony 'The sunroom is terrific because you can enjoy the view whatever the weather. If guests are coming, you don't have to worry about sunshine. They can dine in the sunroom and it's just as nice to look out,' the owner says. Dining indoors with sea view They have a sun nook to the rear of the house, but it doesn't get as much use, because it doesn't have the views. The same goes for the substantial rear garden. Overlooking the rear is the kitchen, which has a sitting room section. Kitchen/living room A sitting room across the hallway is open to the sun room. The main bathroom underwent an impressive upgrade 18 months ago. Despite an obvious love for her home, within a short stroll of Crosshaven village and just a half hour drive from Cork city, the owner is sanguine about selling up. 'We've always moved our lives in stages,' she says. Karl O'Reilly and Michael O'Donovan of Savills are handling the sale and reckon the pretty coastal home will have a broad appeal, from those looking to relocate to the coast, to families trading up, to 'anyone with a boat, into sailing, who can just drop their bags and go'. The agents, who expect domestic and international interest, are guiding Waterville at €675,000. There's been significant price creep recently on Point Road as big names in aviation, pharma and construction bed down. Two Point Road properties sold in 2022 for c€1m. VERDICT: Multiple points of interest at this classy Point Road home.
