A man limited only by his own imagination, Patrick Rogers spends his days transforming a modest bungalow in Glengarriff into his dream home, complete with an eco-friendly heated indoor pool, gym, sauna and conservatory.
But nothing he did could compare to the view at Llynneador, but Patrick didn't realise it until he climbed a tall tree at the site: beyond the lush vegetation stretched the whole of Bantry Bay, including Whiddy Island, Sheepshead Peninsula and the Caha Mountains beyond.
He bought the house on an acre of land from a German woman in 2006, and spent the next 17 years landscaping, renovating, expanding and remodeling until the house and gardens were just how he wanted them—although this work would probably continue indefinitely if he wasn't summoned by the Grand Chief of DIY in 2023 (he created the world in seven days, remember?).
One of seven children, his daughter says he was a “workaholic” and “a jack of all trades,” including building pools. Luckily, as owner of Little Island-based Standard Engineering Cork, he had the skills to help him, the contacts to ask for advice when he needed it, and he knew which experts to call on for the bigger jobs.
“My father built the pool and commissioned professionals to do the work. He designed a pool heating system and installed more than 20 solar panels that constantly heated a large tank of water,” his daughter said.
“It was a very efficient system. We needed electricity for the pumps and the air conditioning unit, but there was no cost to heat the water. My husband designed the heat exchange unit himself,” says the daughter. Not content with just building an indoor pool, her husband also added a gym, snooker area, sauna and shower room to the pool house.
He even considered turning the attic into a bowling alley, but never went ahead with it.
“The plan was to build a bowling alley in the entire attic space. My dad was limited only by his imagination,” his daughter said.
At times his imagination ran wild, as when he took to his brush and daubed garden railings, garden statues and lampposts with purple paint.
“It looked like Barney the Dinosaur,” her daughter laughs, but says she got used to it and now the colour really stands out.
Her father had always wanted to be based in west Cork, so he built the four-bedroom house as a summer home (he has lived there permanently since 2012), but the family also loved east Cork, especially Yougall, where he built a little cottage.
Once they got started on the Glengariff project, the children came to help every weekend, splitting their time between Glengariff and the family home in Ballyvolane, on the outskirts of Cork city. They spent entire summers there as Llynnadwir took shape. The house grew over time, and an extension was added around 2010 that now measures about 3,500 square feet. A spacious patio area and a Standard Engineering steel-framed greenhouse were also added. “Anyone who likes gardening will love this greenhouse,” their daughter says.
Patrick especially enjoyed having his siblings visit – as the youngest of a family of six growing up on Mount Agnes Road, Churchfield, he was keen to show them his work, and was also generous in hosting friends for overnight stays.
“Over the years, lots of friends would come and stay for a week here and there,” his daughter said.
“When the weather is good, there's no other place quite like it – as beautiful as the Balearic Islands. On a warm day, loading the car to head west felt like we were heading to the Costa del Sol,” she adds.
The selling agent is Olivia Hanafin of Sherry Fitzgerald O'Neill, who says the views from Llynnardwar “maybe the most spectacular I've seen in that area (Derryclera) recently”.
Hanafin hopes the property will attract both holiday homes and permanent residences, and there has already been interest from British buyers. Srineadwar's guide price is €895,000.
Cork city and airport are just over an hour's drive away, as is the stunning village of Glengarriff, and the towns of Bantry, Kenmare and Castletownbere are all within a 30 minute drive.
verdict: It's hard to beat a location like this, with stunning gardens and the luxury of an indoor pool, gym and sauna that's perfect whatever the weather.