Delgany €1.65m: North Wicklow has become a Dublin suburb, trumpets Nick Crawford of Colliers Jackson-Stops who has sold eight out of nine large new houses in a high-end scheme in Delgany.

Just one large detached five-bedroom house remains in Glenair Manor, a development built in three acres of grounds that were once part of a larger property of the same name.

All but one of the houses went to families from outside the area, according to Mr Crawford.

He says that the combination of the N11 and the M50 - and the scarcity of large houses in the south Dublin suburbs - has sent many buyers down Wicklow way in search of space or a new lifestyle.

The last house, on the market at €1.65 million, is a substantial 446sq m (4,800sq ft) home with large airy reception rooms and a big eat-in kitchen.