Golden Arches - no bull

Blackrock Road, Cork city €525,000

It’s not quite McDonalds’ Golden Arches, but two retained old stone arches lead to a golden spot for new Cork suburban homes — four, so far, and maybe more to come, at a spot called Citadella, at the end of Bull’s Lane.

Not too many Cork citizens could tell you where to find Bull’s Lane: it’s a hideaway, a cul de sac leading to what looks like a derelict old farmhouse, on an overgrown plot of an acre or two of secret suburbia. It’s right next door to the just-rebuilt Ashton Comprehensive School, with that school’s playing pitches just to the south of this site, and Bull’s Lane is accessed along the side of Springville House, a 1960s office block that has been hit by fire, and awaits a new fate.