Clifden £350,000

Keen sailors might be interested in a detached house on the water's edge near Clifden, Co Galway, which has a private jetty, boat ramp and separate deep water mooring. Approximately a mile from Clifden, with frontage to a quiet stretch of Ardbear Bay, the five-bedroom house has a price tag of £350,000 (€444,408) through Spencer O'Toole of Oughterard.

The property is held on a 999year lease from November 1894 with an annual rent of £3 (€3.81).

New owners can negotiate to buy out the lease according to the solicitor with carriage of sale, Arthur Moran of Matheson Ormsby Prentice. The French owners, who built the house in 1981, are returning to Brittany. The setting is idyllic, in half an acre of wooded grounds and facing south towards Clifden Bay.

The interior is particularly stylish, with timber ceiling beams, tiled floors throughout most of the ground floor and a top floor sittingroom with panoramic sea views.

Curtains, floor coverings and some furniture is included in the sale.

The downstairs sitting/ diningroom has a local stone fireplace with raised hearth and double doors to a terrace.

There is a big country-style kitchen, three bedrooms, a bathroom and a workshop at this level. Upstairs, the large sittingroom has an angled ceiling line and great views from Velux windows.

Two further bedrooms, a dressingroom and a shower are off the landing.

The gardens are secluded from the road by mature shrubbery. There is a lawn, rockery, a flagged terrace and a stone pathway down to the jetty.

Courtown £100,000+

A tiny cottage retreat with direct access to the beach at Ardamine, near Courtown, Co Wexford is priced in excess of £100,000 (€126,973) with Warren Estates.

Moyola is located at the end of Sandy Lane on a good-sized site with mature gardens. There are uninterrupted sea views from a raised deck off the livingroom.

With two single bedrooms, a compact sitting/diningroom, galley kitchen and shower, this property will probably suit weekend use only.

The 335 sq ft cottage has been rewired, says the agent, but the roof is galvanised and the only heating is from an open fireplace.

That said, the location is unbeatable, close to the facilities of Courtown and Gorey, yet with almost total seclusion.

From the deck, the owner can access the beach down a fairly steep slope covered with vegetation. While this is a popular area for holiday house schemes, and one of these is quite close, the house is protected from view by well-matured gardens and boundary hedges.