Town and Country: what will €800,000 buy?

Address: 150 Howth Road, Sutton, Co Dublin
Agent: Sherry FitzGerald

This detached two-storey 260sq m (2,799sq ft) house, which needs an update, has gardens front and back. The four-bedroom property has been extended to the rear. The agent is also selling 151 and 152 Howth Road – which shares part of a garden with this house – so there is scope to buy all three and there is planning permission (until January 2016) for a new development across the lot. BER F

The back garden faces south, the sea is nearby and the 31 bus passes the front of the house.

If this is bought as a one-off have a good look at the planning permission that comes with 152 Howth Road for a new development across the back. The BER F.

Address: Edmondstown House, Ballaghadereen, Co Roscommon
Agent: Murphy and Sons Auctioneers

This Gothic-style Victorian property was designed by the same architect who conceived the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, John McCurdy. Built by Captain Arthur Robert Costello in 1864, the seven-bedroom house, with a distinctive facade of stone with bands of red brick and octagonal tower, sits on 29 acres (11.75 hectares). With original features such as decorative plasterwork, staircase and fireplaces, the house includes two reception rooms, kitchen, library, offices, staff quarters and basement. The property is at the end of a tree-lined avenue and also outside are lawns, an orchard, greenhouse, gardens, fountain and outhouses.

A rare example of high-Victorian Gothic in Ireland. The gardens are beautifully landscaped.

The interior is true to the Victorian penchant for high decoration, with patterned wallpaper and carpets and ornate light fittings, which could be toned down.