HOUSE OF THE WEEK: Three-bed in scenic Schull for €465,000

A new chapter for Derryconnell home

A HOME designed by celebrated artist John Verling which also operated as a book store is on the market in Schull and will make for keen viewing for lovers of art and literature.

Verling had a love of the West Cork’s landscape, and in the 1990s built this impressive home at Derryconnell.

The three-bedroom house has features which illustrate his architectural vision, like the imposing vaulted ceiling of the main living area, the library room, and a mezzanine-style master bedroom.

Jack and Barbara O’Connell lived there, running a book business from the library room in the property for four decades, selling and publishing books and specialising in books of Irish interest and in military history.

Jack and Barbara were well known and highly regarded in the Schull and Ballydehob communities. Jack died in 2017, while Barbara passed away earlier this year.

The property is surrounded by woodland and has access to a pond via a jetty.

Set on one acre, the house is a three-bedroom property, with the three bedrooms upstairs, the master bedroom en suite.

Downstairs is the main bathroom, kitchen, and open living/dining room. The downstairs office could also function as a fourth bedroom.

John Verling had a love of the West Cork and Mizen peninsula and its landscape is reflected it many of his works. A renowned feature of the Mizen landscape, Mount Gabriel, can be seen from the house’s sunroom.

Verling was a talented artist who worked in a variety of fields – as a painter, printmaker, architect, artist, art teacher and author.

Originally from Portlaw in Waterford, he studied in the Crawford in Cork, and also lived in London before eventually settling in Ballydehob in West Cork with his ceramic artist wife Noelle.

In the 1970s he also worked in the architect’s department of County Hall, where his work included the construction drawings for Bantry Library, designed by the Ballydehob-born architect Patrick McSweeney. The house in Derryconnell is on the market with auctioneers James Lyons O’Keeffe.

For viewing details contact selling agent Colm Cleary at 028-28122.