What can I buy for €190,000 in Dublin and Limerick?

Town & Country: An apartment in Clarehall or an old schoolhouse in Athea?

Address: 45 Burnell Square, Northern Cross, Clarehall, Dublin 17

Agent: Gillespie Lowe

This two-bed apartment on the fourth floor measures 62sq m (667sq ft). Accommodation includes an open-plan kitchen/livingroom with glazed doors onto a balcony, two bedrooms (one with an en suite) and a bathroom. It is beside a Hilton hotel and Clarehall Shopping Centre. BER: C1

Plus: Has a balcony and good overall decoration, including a black-and-white tiled bathroom with well-designed fittings

Minus: The beige and cream kitchen and the exposed washing machine jar with the serene, pleasing grey of the rest of the open-plan kitchen/livingroom

Address: The Old Schoolhouse, Clash North, Athea, Co Limerick

Agent: Green Valley Properties

Built as a national school in 1899, this property has been converted into a 108sq m (1,1663sq ft) house. There are gorgeous views of countryside from the house, which has a kitchen/diningroom with island and open fire; a livingroom with a fireplace; another room, and a utility room with toilet on the ground floor. Upstairs is a bathroom and two bedrooms. Outside is an orchard, a mature vegetable garden, beehives, a greenhouse and a polytunnel. Outbuildings include a tool shed, turf shed and woodstore, an office with a stove, and a potting shed/hen house. BER: D2

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Plus: Lovely set-up with an organic garden

Minus: The outdoor office isn't an inspiring design

Emma Cullinan

Emma Cullinan

Emma Cullinan, a contributor to The Irish Times, specialises in architecture, design and property