38 holiday homes for grounds of Cork castle

Dunboy Castle on the Beara Peninsula in west Cork: 38 terraced and detached holiday homes for short term holiday lets planned for grounds of Capella Dunboy Castle hotel

DUNBOY CASTLE on the Beara Peninsula in west Cork is seeking planning permission to build a development of holiday homes on its grounds, writes Edel Morgan

The owners of the former Puxley mansion , now the Capella Dunboy Castle five-star resort, have submitted a proposal to Cork County Council asking to build 38 terraced and detached holiday homes for short term holiday lets.

The homes would be a mix of terraced and detached. Also part of the proposal is an estate management office and a new access route to include a bridge, four new walkways and 84 car-parking spaces.

Developed by Dublin-based accountants Michael Humphreys and Adrian Dunne, the €60 million refurbishment of the Puxley mansion built in 1829 by the Puxley family has been billed as one of the longest running and biggest restorations of a large mansion.

It has been reported that costs exceeded the restoration of both Powerscourt and Kinnity Castle.

The hotel, run by the Capella Group, has a grand reception hall, main diningroom, private dining room, a 279sq m (3,000sq ft) presidential suite, bar, and a luxury spa, pool and treatment facilities next to the castle.

Last year the hotel put over 70 ocean-facing suites on the market ranging in size from 42 to 73sq m (452 to 786sq ft) with prices starting at €425,000 and connected to the main hotel by a bridge.

The hotel says the proposed holiday homes are intended for short term lets.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times