THERE was no standing on ceremony at Loughcarrig House, a handsome Georgian home in Ballinacurra, outsideMidleton, where easy-going B&B hosts Brian and Cherry Byrne formed lifelong friendships with many of their guests.

Among them was the late broadcaster Derek Davis, a passionate angler, whose visit to the waterfront property in the 1980s helped set in motion what would become a successful angling business.

The late Derek Davis was a regular visitor to Loughcarrig House where he enjoyed going out fishing with skipper Brian Byrne Picture: Billy HigginsThe late Derek Davis was a regular visitor to Loughcarrig House where he enjoyed going out fishing with skipper Brian Byrne Picture: Billy Higgins

Brian says: “At the time, I had an egg business that wasn’t working out. Derek came down to visit with his best friend, Dick Collins, who was also in the poultry trade in Midleton. Derek said ‘This is the ideal location for anglers’.”

Brian knew his way around a boat, “but not a whole lot about fishing”, so he went to Dartmouth, in Devon, where he mastered the art of anchoring offshore wrecks, a boat-handling skill where the vessel is positioned precisely over the wreck, allowing anglers to fish down into it.

“A wreck is the equivalent of an oasis in the desert for fish. It’s like a coral reef and you get big fish out there, but you’ve got to get it right, in terms of wind and tide.”

Brian had a knack for it, because the business took off and, for the next two decades, he and Cherry ran Loughcarrig as a guesthouse for anglers, hosting groups of up to nine at a time, mainly from Britain and Ireland.

For Derek Davis, who had been instrumental in encouraging the venture, it remained a favourite destination, and Brian and Cherry got regular on-air mentions during his Live at 3 RTÉ afternoon TV show with Thelma Mansfield in the 1980s and 1990s. Says Brian: 

If I caught a big fish, I’d send him a photograph and Derek would get it in the newspaper. He gave us great publicity and became a lifelong friend 

Brian, a self-confessed adrenaline junkie — in his earlier career, as an amateur jockey, he rode over the banks in Punchestown — pioneered modern wreck fishing off the south coast, aboard his boat Lagosta 11. He credits much of the operation’s success to good service for visiting anglers, who fished wrecks sometimes detected by magnetometer (a marine metal detector).

DRINKING IN THE VIEW FROM LOUGHCARRIG HOUSE

Before the anglers set out for the day, Cherry would serve breakfast in the elegant dining room, where tall sash windows look out over the estuary towards Rathcoursey, East Ferry, Cobh, and the wider sweep of Cork Harbour. 

Dining roomDining roomElegant drawing room with French doors to walkwayElegant drawing room with French doors to walkway

In the evenings, guests could enjoy the same view from the elegant drawing room, where French doors open out to the landscaped grounds. 

Walkway at sunsetWalkway at sunset

These were reached via a small walkway above the basement level, where the couple lived.

Brian bought Loughcarrig House in the 1970s with the help of his mother, Daphne Newsom, of Newsom & Sons tea-and-coffee merchants, a notable Cork family with roots in Tellengana House on Cork City’s Blackrock Rd. By coincidence, Cherry also grew up on Blackrock Rd, but moved to East Ferry, aged about 12.

We got it for €4,300 and you couldn’t even get down the laneway to it, it was so overgrown

Nowadays, the approach to Loughcarrig is via a well-tended driveway, where trees form a natural canopy.

Dappled drivewayDappled driveway

 It’s at its finest when the Irish Examiner visits, on a sun-drenched day in May. At the top of the dappled drive, the estate grounds widen out and the full beauty of Loughcarrig is revealed: Against a calm backdrop of glinting water stands a graceful period home, as comfortable in the landscape as Mystic Maisie, the mare that grazes the 10-acre waterfront property, which includes four stables and two ancient, walled gardens.

Mystic MaisieMystic Maisie

Those outbuildings and the land around them — including a sheltered glade behind the stable yard complex — look ripe for re-purposing, perhaps as additional AirBnB accommodation, or as part of a glamping campsite with waterside activities, as the estate includes about half a kilometre of coastline.

Stable complexStable complexLoughcarrig is right on the waterLoughcarrig is right on the water

 It could be a niche entertainment setting, too: The Dubliners came to play in a marquee set up in the grounds in the 1970s and singer Jim McCann became a lifelong friend. 

Joe Mac (of Joe Mac & The Dixies) was a regular visitor, too: “He’d come down with his grandchildren,” Cherry says. American oceanographer Robert Ballard — credited with discovering the wreck of the Titanic — met with Brian to quiz him on his knowledge of wrecks.

After almost 50 years at Loughcarrig House, the warm, down-to-earth couple are ready to downsize and have handed the task of selling their inviting, four- to six-bed home (four en-suites in the main house, potential for two in the basement) to Lawrence Sweeney, of Savills.

“We’ve had a massive response,” he says, with four enquiries from the US alone — via Savills US offices — in the first few days.

“We are seeing local interest, too, including from businesspeople looking for property with land and flexibility.” There’s potential for a hobby farm; for rewilding; for equestrian use; for converting the outbuildings (eg to artists’ studios), subject to planning consent.

Angling was a favourite pastime for guests of Loughcarrig HouseAngling was a favourite pastime for guests of Loughcarrig House

“I think a lot of people have seen this house from across the water in East Ferry and have wondered who lives there or even how to get to it. Actually, it’s less than 4km from Midleton town, out the Whitegate Rd, and the new cycleway will be accessible pretty close by in Ballincacurra, and from there you can cycle to the train station, or link to the greenway to Youghal,” Mr Sweeney says.

He describes the property — which dates to the early 1800s and had a kitchen/sunroom added during the Byrnes’ time — as “elegant and versatile”, while the basement “offers excellent potential for additional self-contained accommodation”.

The price for this unique property, 23 km from Cork city, is €1.25m.

VERDICT: Historically associated with horse training and angling, the estate retains its appeal for either activity and much more besides. A compelling lifestyle property in a remarkable waterfront setting.