St Vincent’s Church in Cork sold for over €400,000

St Vincent’s Church in Sundays Well, Cork city, has been sold for more than €400,000 after a deal was reached with another Christian church organisation.

The Catholic‑linked Vincentian Fathers’ former church was the subject of a bidding war involving four religious bodies, but the successful purchaser has chosen to remain unnamed while the congregation is still being informed.

When the 12,000 sq ft sandstone building returned to market in September, Lisney recorded around 50 enquiries and conducted 40 viewings. No offers came from developers, with many potential buyers concerned about change‑of‑use permissions.

The sale includes a lower‑ground hall previously used as a community centre and an 18‑space car park that operates under a revenue‑split agreement.

Heritage features

Built in the 1850s and extended in the 1880s, the protected structure houses painted Stations of the Cross from the Le Dien school in Normandy, a Caen stone and marble pulpit carved by Henry Lane in 1861, and stained‑glass windows by Mayer & Co of Munich and William Wailes of Newcastle‑on‑Tyne. An organ with 36 stops and over 2,000 pipes, installed by Telford’s of Dublin, requires repair.

Architects involved were John Benson, George Goldie and Samuel E Hynes, who completed the façade in the mid‑1880s. The artefacts remain in situ, with the buyer responsible for their future care.

The property was first listed in 2018 alongside a 0.45 ha site formerly used as the Blue Demons basketball court, with a combined guide price of €1.5 million.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: Liudmyla Shalimova / Pexels.