THERE’S something special — in fact, lots special — about the great family home called Ard na Gréine, which bookends the Rosebank estate, located between the main and south Douglas roads in Cork’s suburbs.

MT CONGREVE, WATERFORD €495,000

IN 2003, as the property market began to accelerate, a house and site on the Well Road, Douglas, Cork, went on the market at offers in excess of €500,000.

HAVING too much ground around you can sometimes be as much of a liability as a blessing: it can sound the death knell of a modest building in cases where the ground is worth more than the dwelling.