What will €895,000 buy?

A semi-detached in Clontarf or a 12-bed on 20 acres in Co Mayo

Address: 5 Baymount Park, Clontarf, Dublin 3
Agent: Gallagher Quigley

This 120sq m (1,292sq ft) semi-detached house is being sold with planning permission for a two-storey extension. In a cul de sac, the house has three receptions downstairs along with a kitchen. There are three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. The house has a garage to one side and a 40ft garden. BER: E1.

Plus: Leafy surroundings, in a cul de sac opposite St Anne's Park, bordered by the Manresa Jesuit Retreat and surrounded by mature trees.

Minus: The kitchen is small while the house could do with some reconfiguring.

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Address: Stella Maris, Ballycastle, Co Mayo
Agent: Savills

Sitting on 20 acres on the Atlantic, with views of Downpatrick Head sea stack, this 853sq m (9,182sq ft) property has 12 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. On the Wild Atlantic Way at Bunatrahir Bay, the house began as a coastguard's home in the late 1800s. The current owners bought it in the 1990s and refurbished it as a home and country house hotel. The protected structure comprises a two-storey central block flanked by towers. A conservatory off the reception rooms makes much of the sea and the bedrooms look out to sea too.

Plus: The sea, the sea.

Minus: If you want it as a house then some hotel paraphernalia, such as a bar and reception desk, will need to go.

Emma Cullinan

Emma Cullinan

Emma Cullinan, a contributor to The Irish Times, specialises in architecture, design and property