A labour of love should bring this period home up to scratch again

SO, just how brave are you?

The sight of a detached, 2,000 sq ft period house, with lots of architectural detailing, in a garden oasis just five minutes drive from a city like Cork is tempting.

Throw in a planned new commuter railway station a few hundred yards away, an asking price of just €350,000, and you’d expect the hot-property hordes to descend.