Maternity staples to save you completely overhauling your wardrobe
Maternity staples to save you completely overhauling your wardrobe

Sophie Power

This rustic four-bedroom home in Westport is on the market for €449,000
This rustic four-bedroom home in Westport is on the market for €449,000

Sarah Finnan

This Co Down cottage marries practicality, accessibility and style
This Co Down cottage marries practicality, accessibility and style

Megan Burns

Missing ‘Bad Sisters’? Here are five shows that will fill the Sharon Horgan shaped hole in your life
Missing ‘Bad Sisters’? Here are five shows that will fill the Sharon Horgan shaped hole...

Sarah Gill

This incredible waterfront home in West Cork is on the market for €1.1 million
This incredible waterfront home in West Cork is on the market for €1.1 million

Sarah Finnan

Supper Club: The perfect bank holiday Monday stew
Supper Club: The perfect bank holiday Monday stew

Sarah Finnan

How I Got Here: Tammy Darcy, founder of The Shona Project
How I Got Here: Tammy Darcy, founder of The Shona Project

Nathalie Marquez Courtney

18 cool but comfy rugby-style shirts to lounge around in
18 cool but comfy rugby-style shirts to lounge around in

Sarah Finnan

‘Before having a baby, I was a woman who knew her children would be screen-free’
‘Before having a baby, I was a woman who knew her children would be screen-free’

Dominique McMullan

This beautiful red brick property with its own indoor swimming pool is on the market for €1.95 million
This beautiful red brick property with its own indoor swimming pool is on the market...

Sarah Finnan

Image / Living / Property

3 old cottages that are brimming with potential for under €100,000


By Megan Burns
19th Oct 2021
3 old cottages that are brimming with potential for under €100,000

These cottages may need some work, but they all offer the opportunity to create incredible, unique homes.

I will freely admit that I’m an absolute sucker for a beautiful old cottage. Wonderfully imperfect stone walls, wooden doors, a cosy stove inside, a little garden out the front: I’m here for all of it.

However, often they’re not that appealing to people beyond a quick daydream, as the way we live now has changed so much since these cottages were built. The rooms are often small and dark, as opposed to the bright, open spaces we tend to favour nowadays.

This is why I think an old cottage that needs renovation is actually the perfect solution. When you’re having to do work to it anyway, it gives the opportunity to make adjustments, perhaps opening up the layout or adding an extension.

As a result you’ll get the best of both worlds: a home full of charm but with adjustments made for modern living. Here are three cottages that are in need of refurbishment, but as they all come in under €100,000, you have a better chance of having funds left to create your dream home inside.

Busherstown Lodge, Moneygall, Co Offaly, €80,000

old cottages Ireland

This former gate lodge has beautiful period features, and is actually larger than it appears from the front. Although it needs renovation, it has clearly been updated and lived in relatively recently, with skylights, modern radiators and wood floors visible in several rooms.

It comes with half an acre of land, and is just a kilometre from the M7, giving easy access to Limerick and Portlaoise.

Blue Bell Cottage, Dungarvan, Co Kilkenny, €75,000

old cottages Ireland

This cottage will be residing in my daydreams for the foreseeable future: would you look at those stone walls? Sure, inside things are a little less picturesque, but it’s definitely a chance to reconfigure the layout and put your own stamp on things (just please don’t rip out those gorgeous wooden doors).

It’s actually two adjoining cottages, for sale together, so there’s lots of scope to make this into a decent-sized home. Just 18 minutes from Kilkenny and less than 10 from Thomastown, it’s also a nicely quiet location, but with plenty of amenities nearby.

Lehid, Tuam, Galway, €90,000

old cottages Ireland

A more recent dwelling than the other two, this 1950s cottage still has plenty of charm. Like the second property, it will need quite a lot of work, but land to the side of the house offers scope for extension as well as renovation.

Around an hour from Galway and 5 from the Milltown village, it also has good access to local shops.

Click through our gallery to see more images from each home.