Bleak outlook for owners of €400k ‘loo with a view’

A construction firm that splurged €400,000 on a derelict toilet at the height of the building boom is only surviving now because its bank is rolling up its interest payments.

In 2008, owner of Galvin Construction Ltd, John Galvin bought the site containing the toilet block on Lahinch, Co Clare, promenade “with unrivalled and unparalleled sea views” after his nearest bidder declined to go beyond €400,000.

At the auction, when asked was he happy with the price paid, Mr Galvin said: “I would be happy if I got it for cheaper, but that’s the way it goes.”