Keeping standards high at the edge of a tourist town

WELL, yes, they do build them the way they used to - sometimes. Anyone who has ever bemoaned the drop in building and finishing standards can take heart at this Kinsale, Co Cork, home, constructed 10 years ago for the long haul.

It was built for his own use by Ken O'Brien of Kinsale's family-owned E&T Builders, who've done some of the town's best and biggest Ardbrack houses, among other one-off beauties, most of them solidly in the multi-million euro price category.

Now, it is Ken and Lorraine O'Brien's turn, as they put their 5,000 sq ft home on show and on the market. And, its €1.75 million guide via agent Johnny O'Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald is little surprise given Kinsale's resurgent values: a knock-down bungalow at Ardbrack made €1.5 million last month via Victoria Murphy, and a €4 million waterfront home sale was also notched up via Sheehys and HOK.