Verdella Cottage (Church Road)

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Shops and apartments built on site of Verdella Cottage

Image by Colin Love

This was a detached single storey house was built c1890, with central door flanked by a bay window to the south and a square headed window to north. May have been two storey to the rear as several cottages in Greystones church road were designed in this way. Located where Boots Chemists is located today. The house contained two sitting rooms, five bedrooms, maids, bathroom, two w c’s and a kitchen.

Verdella was built by Patrick Flynn, who built six houses in Greystones. He also built Waverly and Menlo on Church Road. In 1894 the home of Thomas Jefferson Thomson CE. Thomas was the assistant engineer on the Armagh and Monaghan railway. He was made Superintendent and chief engineer of the Bahia and Sao Francisco Railway in Brazil. Between 1881 and 1885 he was involved in the construction of the Denver and Rio Grande and other railways in America. He returned to Ireland and worked for Board of Works on various harbour works, prior to retiring in 1897. In 1910 Verdella was the home of john McGonigal BL, also of Mount Street Crescent. He was married to Margaret Mary. In 1939 he became county Court Judge for County Down.

In 1935 Bride O’Mara died at Verdella. She was the mother in law of Dr. William J Cussen, who was living at Verdella. Bride was the widow of Joseph O’Mara, who was a noted opera singer from Limerick. Joseph was chief tenor at Dury Lane and in Covent Garden grand opera. He was the lead tenor of the Moody Manners Opera Company, before he founded the O’Mara Travelling Opera Company. By 1958 the home of John P Elliott. Verdella was demolished c1970 and a supermarket was built on the site.