A couple made a home from two derelict fisherman’s cottages in a cove with a history of shipwrecks

Asking price: €1.5m

Agent: Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill (023) 8833995​

Shipwrecks were the Ikea of Irish coastal dwellers in the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly those living near perilous coastlines.

Sunken ships provided roof support beams, wood for making tables, chairs and beds.

Even household items like pots and pans from cargoes were salvaged from shorelines, along with dinner plates, which were routinely shipped from places like China.

“There were an awful lot of shipwrecks. People salvaged everything they could,” says Beatrice Dougherty who, with her husband Hans Englert, have restored and rebuilt the ruins of two adjoining former 19th century fisherman’s cottages at Rocksavage near Clonakilty, aptly named for its historic propensity for shipwrecks.

And in keeping with that salvage tradition, Dougherty’s Fisherman’s Cottage itself has a fireplace mantel that came from a shipwreck.

The earliest references to Simon’s Cove relate to shipwrecks, including the Barque Mary en route from Brazil to Liverpool in 1839, laden with valuable goods, which the countrymen assembled to ‘salvage’ before the authorities arrived.

In that year, hundreds of boats and ships around Ireland and Britain were lost in one terrible storm alone — the Night of the Big Wind — on January 7. In one night, 14 ships with the name Mary were wrecked.

Simon’s Cove is just one of many beaches in a rocky coastline full of inlets: Dog’s Cove, Barrel Cove and Bathing Cove are all nearby.

Despite massive emigration, fishing around the cove supported around 80 people in the 1800s, all eking a bare living from the sea and tiny vegetable plots.

Local lore suggests that “60 boats used to go out from these little coves”. By the census of 1901, only five local families had a fisherman down as ‘head of the household’ in Rocksavage — most called Donovan or McCarthy.

At low tide, Bathing Cove is a beach two minutes’ walk away. But when the tide comes in, “it’s like a private swimming pool,” says Dougherty.

“It’s gorgeous. And I used to take my children swimming there throughout the summer. Once I brought my future husband and he looked across the cove and saw two derelict cottages… and he said: “That’s where we need to live.”

The couple set about a daunting challenge. “The cottage was derelict with just the remnants of the roof. Looking back, I don’t know how we took it on,” she says.

The pair enlisted a local builder who showed her now-husband Hans how to rebuild walls like the fishermen used to do, using the flat stones that abound locally. These can still be seen in the partially stripped-back walls that showcase this ancient stonework.

“Our ethic was to keep it as close to the original as possible, using reclaimed wood and natural stone on the floors.” Here, Dougherty brought up her children with the Atlantic Ocean on her doorstep in all of its often-awesome moods.

“Sometimes on a sunny day, the sea is sparkling like diamonds, winking at you. Sometimes it’s whispering to you and sometimes it’s roaring in a storm.

“But in the cottage perched up here on a rock, you seem invincible when the seas are raging. At the beginning of May, there was an incredible day with 40 basking sharks who stayed the whole day in front of the cottage, cavorting in the water. It was incredible.”

And while beams were often washed up from shipwrecks, the exposed versions in this home comprise a different type of salvage. They came from a Cadbury’s chocolate factory in London via a local antique reclamation yard in Skibbereen.

During renovations, Beatrice found many, surprisingly resilient, old glass fishing buoys from that era. The lower renovated cottage is the main residence with 1,206 sq ft of living space.

A porch that’s handy for discarding sandy shoes and swimming togs leads directly to the main living area with flagstone floor and vaulted ceilings.

The centrepiece is an original ‘inglenook’ fireplace with a modern solid-fuel stove and the aforementioned shipwreck-salvaged mantle.

Steps down from the living/dining area lead to the kitchen, which has a south-facing window overlooking the gardens and the water beyond.

There are bespoke units, granite countertops, a Belfast sink and an electric AGA range, all appropriately ‘cottage style’.

Above the kitchen, a mezzanine provides a nice office space with sea views from a picture window. Off the main living area are two large bedrooms and a family bathroom. The main bedroom has a large window with views over the garden out to sea.

The bathroom has a walk-in double shower with underfloor heating. The second cottage isn’t much more than half the size of the first, covering 787 sq ft, with a front door leading directly to the main living area.

This also retains its original character with a flagstone floor, vaulted ceiling, inglenook fireplace and part of the distinctive local stone wall exposed.

The cottage-style kitchen also has bespoke units, granite countertops, a Belfast sink and an AGA range. There are two double bedrooms and another bathroom with a walk-in shower.

Hans’ handiwork is apparent in many dry stone walls, while Dougherty’s creative skills are on display in an archway made of driftwood that became part of her son’s wedding celebrations. Another patio area with a stone-built barbecue lies between the two houses in an elevated site with sea views.

Dougherty also believes the third cottage on the site, currently a ruin, has the potential to be made into “something special”.

With her children grown up, she is now moving on “for personal reasons”, but the decision was ‘bittersweet’. She will miss taking her dog for a walk, “morning and evening, rain or shine” along the storm-swept shoreline that holds so much history and happy memories.

Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill is seeking €1.5m.