Cross-party partying was par for the course at the up-for-sale home of the late businessman James O’Sullivan

JAMES and Cathy O’Sullivan did things by the book in the early days: they bought a site near Carrigaline in 1985, built a home, got married and moved in the following year. Over the next three years, they added, in order of appearance, a dog, a daughter, Emma, and a son, Eoin.

They were busy people. The late James, Corkonian of the Year in 2016, was an integral cog in the family business, wholesale cash and carry outfit M & P O’Sullivan, which his grandfather Paddy founded in 1905.

Active too in the business life of the city, James thrice served as president of the Cork Business Association. A committed philanthropist, he was highly involved in the Carrigaline & District Lions Club, setting up an annual charity cycle that benefited dozens of good causes.

He even found time to indulge his love of sailing, serving as Rear Admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht Club and chair of RNLI Crosshaven.

In many respects, he typified the kind of individual you might envisage when you hear the phrase: “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” As a canny businessman, he excelled in networking and had friends in high places, some of whom enjoyed his hospitality in the home he built with Cathy – Broncemar, Frenchfurze, about 3km from Carrigaline town.

“I remember one Christmas Micheál Martin, Simon Coveney and Michael McGrath were all here,” recalls Cathy. “It was known as the ‘party house’. And even though we would tell guests the party was from 6.30pm to 8.30pm, people would still be here on the lawn in the morning.

“There were times when we were out in the garden when the sun was going down and we were still out in the garden when it came back up,” Cathy laughs.

James, who died aged 58 in 2017, was “a great party man”, she says, and in 2008/2009 they made a series of changes to their home that greatly enhanced their ability to entertain.

Hiring local builder David O’Callaghan, they blew out the house to the rear to create a smashing open-plan area, which includes kitchen/living/dining. 

It feeds into a large adjoining sunroom on the south side of the house and leads to a limestone patio too via French doors.

 The patio, which faces east, gets the sun “until 7pm in the summer”, says Cathy, and it stays even later in the garden.

At the time of doing the downstairs extension, they also expanded overhead, turning the main bedroom into a suite with walk-in wardrobe, dressing area with nursery and ensuite with jacuzzi bath.

In recent years, Cathy deployed professional help to guide her indoor choices and the credit for much of the downstairs décor goes to interiors expert Sarah Murphy, who advised on paint colour, wallpaper and curtains.

The upgrades enhanced the warmth and quality of her House of Coolmore kitchen. 

It’s a tremendous open-plan space with lots of windows over-looking the bountiful gardens.

Cathy had other work done recently too, re-hiring craftsman David Kiely, who had fitted her kitchen, to install wall panelling in the conservatory and sitting rooms.

The upshot of the upgrades is that almost 40-year-old Broncemar (a name picked up while in the Canaries) is in inordinately good shape. A commendable B2 energy rating will allow buyers to avail of more favourable green mortgage rates.

Outdoors is equally impressive and is all Cathy’s doing. 

She knows every inch of the garden and among her favourites are the burnt orange azaleas. “People have stopped their cars to admire them,” she says.

It’s a garden of immense colour and texture, spread across a magnificently landscaped 0.6 acres.

Selling the 357 sq m, four-bed property is Stuart O’Grady, of Sherry FitzGerald, who says it’s “quality” from start to finish, from the double-height entrance hall to generously proportioned rooms to the fabulous gardens.

“It’s a spectacular home on an idyllic site, just minutes from Carrigaline, Crosshaven, Myrtleville and Fountainstown. What’s more, it offers terrific privacy,” he says.

The main body of interest so far is house-hunters looking to trade up “predominantly from the Carrigaline area but also Crosshaven,” Mr O’Grady says.

The guide price is €700,000; there’s already an offer in of €730,000.

Broncemar comes with a two-storey, detached, block-built garage “which could serve a number of purposes for new owners”, Mr O’Grady says.

Cathy says she considered downsizing to the garage but has opted to relocate to a new-build in Crosshaven, near the water.

VERDICT: Pretty special family home in a glorious setting. Ready-to-go for the next lucky set of owners.