Anyone lucky enough to have sold a Dublin house and banked the money, could do worse than pick up a copy of Colliers Jackson-Stops latest country property brochure. It's a hefty one, full of big period piles, many of them in mint condition.

You can get a castle - Belvelly Castle - in Cork for less than the price of a two-bed apartment in town but doubtless there is a bit of work to be done on the 15th century four-storey tower house at the entrance to Cork harbour. It's asking €375,000.

If you need more space there is always Ballyknockane sporting estate in Co Tipperary with no less than 4,250 acres on Slievenamon mountains. It once belonged to the Duke of Ormond. In Offaly there's also the 9,000sq ft Georgian castellated house, Busherstown at Moneygall, on over 10 acres for €1.5 million. In the same general part of the country there is also the stunning Ballyneale House in Ballingarry, Co Limerick. The Georgian house comes with a manager's house, heated swimming pool, all weather tennis court and fishing lodge with well stocked carp lake and a 900-metre grass landing strip, plus a nine-hole golf course. The price is a mere €8 million.