Will actor Robert Sheehan have better luck than fellow Irish actor Saoirse Ronan in West? corkWhat is the exact planning process?
Ireland’s leading actor and movie star , and Netflix is seeking permission to literally raise the roof as part of an extension to the farmhouse it bought three years ago.
Ms Sheehan is also seeking permission for renovations to connect with the adjacent open stone ruins, and has just asked for a postponement of the demolition of a greenhouse attached to the site, which she paid €545,000 for, in 2022/2023.
Sheehan’s home base is Ogredown, between Skibbereen and Ballydehob, while Saoirse Ronan has a home on the water at Roaringwater Bay. A third Irish actor, Paul Mescal, has a home near Schull and forms a niche “craic pack” of top talent.
Ronan and Mescal, who turned 30 last week, are set to star in a film set for release in 2028. as Linda and Paul McCartney. As seasonal neighbors in West Cork, perhaps Mescal and Ronan can rehearse their roles along the scenic N71?
With roots in West Cork, the trio of actors in their 30s are following in the footsteps of Jeremy Irons, who moved to West Cork in 1998 after buying and renovating Kilcoe Castle and building a private home nearby.
Mr Sheehan, 38, has hired Stephen Carr Architects from the University of Wexford to upgrade and extend two acres of his characterful Stream Valley property, according to a planning application. Some work is already visibly taking place, most notably the removal of the solarium, which faces a quiet country road behind a screening stone boundary wall.
Sheehan, who has played and filmed countless roles while living in London and Los Angeles, lives in a mobile home equipped with a stove in a collection of covered, enclosed courtyards beside his farmhouse.
He previously said he and his partner and dog Rory chose West Cork because of their “longing to return to Ireland” after years spent abroad, his dedication to meditation, the slower pace of life and the “community feel” of the wider Ballydehob hinterland.
Given that he paid €545,000 for the property and the size of the planning application, the Laois-born actor and writer’s total investment is likely to be more than €1 million.
Mr Sheehan is hoping to gain more positive planning experience than Mr Ronan, who bought a 1,200 sq ft dormer house near the sea in Ballydehob in 2020 for €650,000.
In 2024, Ronan Approval was sought for the demolition plan. and replace it with a one-story house three times the size.
In rejecting the Star’s plans, West Cork senior planners said Mr Ronan had not provided sufficient justification for demolishing the original house, adding that the location, scale and massing of the proposed new design would not suitably fit into the rural coastal landscape and would compromise the visual amenity of the area.
No new planning applications have been submitted yet… star’s Ronan may continue, husband jack lowdenIt was reported that they married in a low-key ceremony in 2024 and welcomed their first child in September last year.