€425,000 home of Old Head of Kinsale caddy easily makes the cut

PAUL CRAFT’S day job takes him around Kinsale’s most exclusive acreage, but he’s unfazed by rubbing shoulders with the likes of former US President Bill Clinton.

While he enjoys his life as a caddy at the spectacularly scenic Old Head of Kinsale Golf Course, where he once caddied for Mr Clinton, his real passion is spending time with his family and rescue greyhounds on the beach at nearby Garretstown. Hence the decision to relocate there, after more than 20 years of life in Kinsale.

“Myself and my wife Nicola had our wedding reception in Acton’s (Hotel) and we loved Kinsale,” says Paul, who started work in the Old Head in 2000. They moved to the pretty coastal town in 2002. Five years later, they bought No 5 Abbey Lane, which Paul jokes was at the time “the cheapest house in town”.

Nicola was impressed by how convenient it was to pretty much everything: a short stroll from the town centre, near creches, primary schools, secondary schools.

Down at heel when they bought it, No 5 is now the sweetest of bungalows, thanks to Nicola’s good eye for interiors. 

It’s roomier too: the couple extended it in 2017, as their own family expanded. 

The extension, to the rear, added a lounge area, open-plan to the kitchen. As well as creating a better layout, it boosted natural light as the extension has two skylights and French doors to a cosy rear patio garden.

 Having created a new lounge area, the couple turned the original front sitting room into a third bedroom, where the fireplace and stove were retained.

Their son’s bedroom, a long room with more French doors to the patio, and a beach-side feel to reflect his passion for surfing and skimboarding at the numerous beaches in the wider area, could, the owners say, make a nice home office for the next set of occupants.

 Or it could be a creative studio or a games room, while still retaining two double bedrooms.

Selling this impeccably presented semi-detached property is Gobnait O’Connell of Engel & Völkers and she says it’s going to appeal to a range of buyers.

“I think we will see first time buyers, downsizers and investors,” says the agent, who is guiding at €425,000 — so not the cheapest house in town, but definitely at the more affordable end of the scale by pricey Kinsale standards.

Paul, who raised his family on Abbey Lane, reckons it’s a pretty flexible property, suited to both owner occupiers or buyers in search of a holiday home. “Potentially retirees as well, as it’s all on one level,” he says. The low maintenance back patio, which is enclosed and faces south east “is a nice little suntrap in the summer”, he adds. Off-street parking is close to the property in this quiet residential part of town.

Kinsale, with two marinas and highly-rated eateries, is a mecca for yachting enthusiasts and foodies. At the gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way, it’s just a 20 minute drive from Cork Airport.

VERDICT: A petite and pretty bungalow, at the more affordable end of the scale for Kinsale, where property prices can be as prohibitive as paying for a round of golf.