Recommendation of towns

Castletroy/Monaleen area of limerick city. Close to university, hunt museum, belltable, art gallery etc etc but town feel about the area and excellent bus service including every half hour to Dublin.

I second this, but Gorey is getting very pricey precisely because it's a good location. With a budget of 250k, the OP would struggle to find anything in the town itself. There are properties nearby that could be had for that price, however.

It's a nice house, but that is categorically NOT Gorey. The EAs around here often tag the nearby towns as being Gorey. That town is a fair bit further down south, and it doesn't have the same facilities, but that may not be a problem for the OP.

By the way, it's worth mentioning that the Dublin to Wexford train is infamously slow. It's two hours to Gorey from Connolly, so the bus is a faster (albeit less comfortable) option.

Would you consider Northern Ireland? The value to be had is incredible compared to the 26. I've 2 friends who (separately) moved up recently. Both to seaside areas between Belfast and Carrickfergus. There are some lovely areas there and basically they are Belfast suburbs with good connections into the city which is gorgeous, bustling and full of interesting museums etc.

There aren't really any issues in terms of it technically being the UK. Both commute to Dublin 1 or 2 days a week on the train for work. The other days wfh. They're both very close to lovely places in Antrim, not far from the Mournes. One bought an ex council house in a beautiful setting for 70k sterling, would sell for about 135k now, the other bought a brand new a rated house for 200k. One of the locations is more Unionist but he's had absolutely no issues - people are just getting on with their lives, they both consider themselves to be in Ireland and just get on with it. Both had despaired of home ownership and are happy out. Other parts of the north would be even cheaper.

I was in a similar situation last year (house buying, not bereavement) with a budget of €250K….. not a lot of money these days. West Cork would be out of the question. Anywhere near the coast is at a premium. I wanted to be near the sea but affordability was an issue. Near the end I was in almost panic mode as I could see prices going up and up and up…………and this was LAST year!

There are a huge amount of international buyers and investors also looking at anything in Ireland that is near the coast, particularly Cork , Kerry and Connemara. I finally got a nice 3 bed semi, in a 12 house estate in a small town. I am 15 mins from Tralee, 15 mins from Killarney and its perfect. I swim most days and the closest beaches are both 20 minutes away, well worth the drive for the scenery alone! I feel lucky I was to get this house as the garden is decent…. 2 shops, 2 pubs, a butcher in the town but Lidl, Aldi etc about 15 minutes from me.

I would be stressed out trying to find a house this year!

My daughter lives in Limerick and I go up there regularly . Limerick is great, a lovely city with great connectivity, transport links and Shannon airport closeby (but personally I felt it was too far from the sea to buy there).

Good luck OP, its a difficult time to be buying

nice, but with an asking price of €245 it will go for more than €250 I'd say. I bought last year for €250K and the original asking price was €230K ….. a year ago…. in Kerry.

You’re probably right! I spent 9 months last year looking at houses around Wexford last year and the prices have increased significantly even since then. Ended up buying a lovely little house in Enniscorthy, in the nicest part of the town and within walking distance of everything. After installing a new fireplace and stove, new carpets, a complete repaint and fully furnished, I would still have a little change from the OPs budget. Definitely the right call for me!

Also - moving forward, if you decide against NI (although the prices really are good) I'd try as hard as I could to go East Coast. I'm in Wicklow and the weather really is genuinely sunnier, milder, drier and less stormy. It makes a huge difference to outdoor life.

This is in Kealkill which is just outside Bantry

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/semi-detached-house-3-mountain-view-kealkill-bantry-co-cork/5645612

Would a two bed apartment entice you to move to Cobh?

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/apartment-1-whitepoint-moorings-cobh-co-cork/5757906

just 20 mins drive to Cork city and the commuter train from city does a regularly service back and forth. Cobh is a lovely heritage town with a very busy tourist season. You will be within easy reach of Cork University Hospital and several other hospitals Incl The Bons, Mater Privare and The Mercy.

How about Clonakilty? Certainly small but looks ok on the inside!

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/terraced-house-43-mccurtain-hill-clonakilty-co-cork/5788339

Kenmare is lovely, no doubt. But it is seriously far away from everywhere, particularly if you are from Connaught now (and possibly have friends there) and also have family in Dublin. Its a very long drive south and can feel cut off in Winter from Dublin. I'm saying this as someone living in Kerry. I had shortlisted it last year but the distance and price (!) was the main factor (as someone who is from Dublin originally.)

Seriously pricey too, nothing for sale under €345K right now. My budget was also €250K

Ennis is good value and now has a 24x7 bus connection with Limerick.

At the risk of offending people I would say that it’s the area around Parnell Road, Munster Hill, Saint Johns Villas etc. West of the river as you look at a map. Very settled and quiet but within walking distance of everything. My neighbours really couldn’t be nicer.

There are other areas, particularly on the other side of the river that are not so nice. Like everywhere, I would suggest taking a long walk around an area before considering buying there.

Midleton in East Cork is great. Here is a detached cottage, in Ballinacurra, about 40 min walk to the centre of Midleton.

There's a daily bus that takes you to Shannagarry and Ballycotton, so straight to the beach and cliff walks. The Midleton train line links you with Cork city.

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/detached-house-lower-road-ballinacurra-midleton-co-cork/5797729