Carrigacunna Castle, 16th-century tower house, sells for about €1.8m

The rebel county continues to steal a march on the rest of Ireland when it comes to country-home and estate sales. After an extended period of radio silence when no new sales appeared on the Residential Property Price Register, one Cork transaction jumped out when the list finally updated, in early March: Carrigacunna Castle, a partially restored 16th-century tower house close to Mallow, appeared sold for €1.485 million.

This unusual proposition on the River Blackwater comprises a restored castle alongside a Georgian manor farmhouse that had been cleverly refurbished and reoriented by a couple from the UK who bought it in 1996, adding a swimming pool and converting a stable block.

It was a relatively quick turnaround in the current turgid country-homes market, given that the property on 20ha (50ac) was placed for sale only last July, seeking €1.85 million.

The joint agents, Michael H Daniels & Company and Ireland Sotheby’s, would not be drawn on the price paid for the entire estate – the register provides the price only for the property itself, not the surrounding lands. But the final price is likely to have been closer to €1.8 million, so not far off the original asking price. The buyer, who is understood to be based in the United States, has purchased it for personal use.

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Carrigacunna's sale follows swiftly on the heels of Kilfinnan Castle, in Glandore Harbour, which sold in February for €6 million, far outstripping any other residential sale price in 2018. The former estate of the late developer Bernard McNicholas, it sold to a UK businessman and his Irish wife, who is originally from the area.

It’s a good start to the year for country sales. Now, with luck, buyers will manage to turn their gaze beyond the charms of Cork and its environs.