THE village of Eyeries is celebrating a major boost with the opening of a new 13-house development – the first in the village for 17 years – which has been described as a ‘game-changer’.
The Oval was officially opened by Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy last Saturday, and comprises six social houses and seven private houses. All of the houses will be fully occupied by the end of August, the estate’s developer, local man Colman O’Sullivan, said.
‘This is a huge boost for a village like Eyeries, having all these families coming in,’ said Mr O’Sullivan. ‘We haven’t seen a housing development in the town for a long time. We were delayed a bit by Covid and it’s been a long time coming, but we’ve got there and it’s a fantastic development.’
An overhead view of the new development at the Oval (Photo: Sean Moriarty)
The 13 houses, consisting of semi-detached, with one detached house, were valued at €250,000 to €350,000 each.
The houses are finished to a high spec, ‘A’ rated with high-speed broadband, and close to the GAA pitch, the playground and a multi-use games area.
For Colman, the project has emotional attachment, having been developed on land which belonged to his late father Frank. Colman’s family, including his mother Mary, were at the opening.
Cllr Murphy paid tribute to Mr O’Sullivan and said the development is already having a transformative effect on the village.
He said Eyeries National School is already looking forward to the enrolment of eight new students, while the ripple effects will benefit all aspects of village life, from schools to businesses to sport.
Cllr Murphy, who is himself originally from the area, said: ‘We see big announcements, big numbers, for places like Kinsale and Carrigaline, but in a village like Eyeries, where the primary school was under pressure for numbers, this development is a game-changer.’
The Oval isn’t the only new development on the way to Eyeries with Mr O’Sullivan revealing his plan for 10 permanent mobile homes available for tourists to purchase in the picturesque village. ‘The mobiles won’t be seasonal, they will be open all year around and will also have high speed broadband.’ This will make them more attractive for prospective tourists interested in purchasing, he said, with the possibility to ‘work from home’ at the mobile site.
Locals were joined at the opening by Cork County Council chief executive Tim Lucey, and the day featured music, entertainment, and food provided by the Chef’s Table from Casletownbere.
Meanwhile, the village of Eyeries will be in party mode again later this week. The Eyeries Family Festival gets underway this weekend, beginning on Friday, bringing further life into the town.
The festival boasts a programme to attract all ages running across the weekend, including live music, DJs, a vintage rally, yoga, cookery demos, puppet shows and children’s events, barbecue and sports day. The festival also includes a ‘Windows of Eyeries’ art trail throughout the village. See eyeries.ie for more.
