Fancy a brand new two-storey detached home on its own half acre site for just £100? Not possible, I hear you say, in the midst of a property boom. But it is and for one of the 3,000 house-hunters who buy tickets for a forthcoming draw in north Galway the prospect will become a reality. In the village of Glenamaddy a local club has put a £100,000 home up for grabs in a raffle to raise money for its GAA club. The house, complete with PVC double glazing, en suite main bedroom and garage, has just been built.

The organisers have obtained a licence from the District Court to run the draw, which takes place on January 7th, 2000, with the GAA President Joe McDonagh invited to pick the winning ticket. Tickets at £100 each are limited to 3,000 and according to Seamus Walsh of the organising committee, half of them have already been sold. Some have ended up in the hands of emigrants in the US and Australia.