Ringside seat on ‘Millionaire’s Row” to the Cork Summer Show

IS there a kid in the city who hasn’t discovered the real joy of farmyard animals at the Cork Summer Show, having been reared on a TV diet of anthropomorphic Peppa Pig?

You’ll find the showiest of ponies at the showgrounds in Curraheen, where exhibitors go goat-to-goat, sheep-to-sheep and pig-to-pig for the rosette that says their animal is best-in class.

Alongside these hotly-contested agri-battles is an array of family-friendly entertainment which regularly pulls in upto 40,000 visitors over the two-day festival.

With a ringside seat, and free entry to the Cork Summer Show year-on-year, is the family that live at River’s Edge, a five-bedroom detached property on Clash Road, known in the 1980s as “Millionaires Row”, on account of a proliferation of large, swanky, bespoke homes. Behind these homes is the Curraheen River, and beyond the river is the showgrounds.

“We’ve had tickets for the summer show hand-delivered to us every year because our road is an access point to the top of the showgrounds for horse boxes,” says Anna, the owner of River’s Edge. The goodwill doesn’t end there. Homes on the road are also given year-round access to the 11-acre Munster Agricultural Society site for dog walking or kids to play in, as a reward for their co-operation over two days in June.

When the owners of River’s Edge bought their home, which was built by a carpenter in the 1980s, they made a couple of changes, remodelling the small, basic kitchen into a bright and roomy open-plan area, incorporating the sunroom with pitched roof and several veluxes. 

It has access to the rear garden, which faces south east and has a raspberry patch and large patio, surrounded by stone. 

There’s access to the river for fishing and a separate area to the side of the property with potential parking for a trailer or small boat. A 248 sq ft garage offers lots of storage.

Back indoors, accommodation includes an inviting drawing road with double doors to the open-plan area; a utility; a guest WC; a downstairs en suite bedroom and a home office.

 Anna says when they moved in the downstairs en suite bedroom was part of a two-bedroom annex built with the idea of renting it out to students of CIT/MTU, but they knocked a wall and made it one large suite. It has separate access, which might suit an au pair or someone working from home.

Anna says for her, River’s Edge USP (unique selling point) was the location.

“We’re a minute from the motorway, so I could get into work near UCC in 12 minutes off-peak. Yet you could sit out in the morning with a coffee and it’s pure countryside. It was a real find in that respect,” she says.

Selling River’s Edge is Norma Healy of Sherry FitzGerald and she says the location “on the ever popular Clash Road, close to Bishopstown and the Ballincollig bypass, with easy access to UCC, MTU and CUH, is a key feature”.

“It would suit anyone looking for a family trade-up with a rural feel, yet near the city,” Ms Healy says.

The guide price for the 218 sq m home is €800,000.

VERDICT: Potential buyers include medics as location is on the right side of the city for hospitals. Quality trade-up home.