Dell-ightful setting at €675,000 Cobh waterside home

THAT charming Italian saying about no-one growing old at the table – a salute to the gratifying experience of good food in good company- feels like it could very much take shape around the dining table in The Dell. Anyone who sits there would be loath to get up because the view is so good.

The house on Pottery Road looks out over Belvelly Channel but because the site is elevated, the road separating water and garden is hidden from view. The upshot is that The Dell feels like it’s floating at the rim of Belvelly Channel. It’s magical.

The Dell is everything that the name suggests: tranquil, idyllic, fringed by trees.

 It was a terrific holiday home for Ballymore-born ex-pat Michael Mulcahy, who left Great Island for London, aged just 15. Years later, he started scouting his native Cobh for a holiday home, and came across The Dell in 1972.

The house he bought was designed by a neighbour, the late architect Stephen Kowalski, whose boatbuilder son Frank is owner of Safehaven Marine, the company behind the Port of Cork’s newest pilot boat, Solas, launched just last weekend. 

Michael, a builder, made a number of changes after he bought The Dell, turning the traditional bungalow into a dormer, adding three upstairs bedrooms and a family bathroom. 

 A carport was added later, as the property extended sideways.

“For years, I was looking at the house, and I couldn’t work out what was wrong, says Michael’s son, Keith, a Dublin-based quantity surveyor.

“But then an architect took a look and he said ‘It’s not facing the sea’, and so the sunroom was added in 2007 and it changed the whole outlook,” Keith adds.

The sunroom was added as Keith’s late parents – Michael and his wife Margaret Mulcahy – retired fulltime back to Ireland, when Michael was aged 75.

Keith has fond memories of summer holidays at The Dell, where they had half an acre to play out. 

The house is in fairly good shape and selling agent Johanna Murphy of Johanna Murphy & Sons says while it would benefit from an upgrade, it’s instantly livable. 

It’s a bright and airy home where the sunroom has a starring role in the main downstairs open plan area. Two ground floor en suite bedrooms, a utility and a workshop are also on the ground floor. 

There’s a sort of American sensibility to the house, reinforced by the carport and Ms Murphy thinks there could be interest from the US market.

“I’ve sold houses to five US parties in the past five months,” she says.

Equally The Dell could be a terrific permanent family home.

Cobh town centre is a 10 minute drive and the little village of Ballymore, Michael’s homeplace, is closer again. Marlogue Woods recreational area is about 3km away.

VERDICT: In a Dell-ighful setting, it’s sure to appeal as both a holiday bolthole and a permanent home.