There’s daydreaming, and then there’s visualisation which is more about seeing things as you want them to become. You decide which was at play here when the owners of this idyllic live-work blend first visited the site in 1995. Back then, Dún Árd in Meeleen, Knockraha was a “virtually derelict” cottage with no running water, just one lightbulb, a single socket. and a sacred heart picture. What Brigitte Schorn and Martin Noonan saw was a solid, modern home, a bustling business, and superb natural beauty.
That vision is there for anyone to admire now at this detached three-bed on 1.1 acres with a high-spec dog boarding kennels included in the set-up. “I could see the beauty here — it was like a fairytale forest even though it was very overgrown at the time. It’s been one project after another but look at it now,” says Brigitte. Those projects included renovating and later extending the house, installing a top-rated kennels’ business, adding a log cabin which has potential for guest accommodation
or home office, and helping a beautiful garden and mini forest look its best. Oh, and don’t forget establishing a good-sized pond and a kitchen garden too. Martin, a hurley-maker, describes himself as “a recovering carpenter” so the woodwork is top notch — check out the hefty douglas fir spiral staircase and the sturdy kitchen half-door. “Those stairs were rescued from a big house near Cobh and I treated and restored them and replaced the newel post with a stronger one and cut them to
fit. When I went to a top class wood turner in Cork for materials he actually recognised it as one he had custom made years earlier. for thousands of pounds at the time,” says Martin. The majority of ‘guests’ here were of the canine variety to the gated purpose-built boarding kennels complex which the owners set up in 2008. They had a strong vision on pet comfort as well as ease of maintenance. There are 18 indoor kennels, three special care units and two outside
kennels. “None of the individual kennels face each other so the dogs weren’t stressed or barking at each other and they all have roofed-over outdoor runs which can be opened from the outside. We always hoovered and cleaned up first thing each morning so they were super clean and easy to maintain,” notes Brigitte. There is also a large training/exercise yard as well as a business office and a kitchen especially for dog food and supplies. And a large indoor multi-purpose room has served as
an education and training centre too as Brigitte and Martin, who trained search-and-rescue and other working dogs, also developed and trademarked the Ca-Mo-Fo dog training method centred around keeping dogs calm, motivated, and focused. The dogs all benefited from walks around the grounds which were laid with weaving pathways and carefully cleared with a light touch to let the diverse planting thrive. Circling back through the woodland towards the house brings you to a real little biodiversity oasis — the pond which has several types
of lilies, irises, hostas, ferns and gunnera manicata (giant rhubarb) surrounding it and which is home to fish, frogs and visiting birds. Overlooking the pond is the partially covered terrace off the main living room – the perfect spot to unwind or sit and make lists of more gardening tasks. There’s also a good-sized terrace accessed via the main bedroom upstairs — charmingly, the eaves are popular with some swallows who return annually. Johanna Murphy, of Johanna Murphy & Sons Ltd, notes the sunny location
and the surrounding woodland which help create a sheltered microclimate where plants thrive — as evident from the kitchen garden where the owners have grown herbs, potatoes, carrots, beans, cucumbers, courgette, and jerusalem artichokes. Bee hives add to an air of self-sufficiency. Conveniently, the utilty room opens directly to the kitchen garden, which has a glass house too, so you can top and tail beans before bringing the veg to the main kitchen. There’s plenty storage here too concealed behind tall doors. “You have a
tranquil, ‘get-away-from-it-all’ oasis where you are surrounded by trees and birdsong and truly feel like you are living in the country even though you are only a 25 minute drive from Cork airport and have easy access to the city centre too,” adds Ms Murphy. There’s a downstairs bedroom — of interest to anyone with an eye on future-proofing or hosting guests – and the two main bedrooms are upstairs. One of these bedrooms has built-in storage and an old-style pitched roof with dark wood
beams on the ceiling. The other has the double balcony doors and two angled windows — the bed is strategically placed below one of these to allow comfy star-gazing on clear nights. Dún Árd has a guide price of €820k and could well see a new lease (leash?) of life as a wellness retreat if the next owners opt to not run boarding kennels here. : From fairy tale to furry tale. and on to the next chapter for this charming Knockraha home with views
of Cobh and sea in the distance.
Knockraha, Meeleen, Dún Árd, €820,000, dog boarding kennels, Ca-Mo-Fo training method, pond, kitchen garden, Cobh views