The west Cork coastal retreat of Glandore favoured by sailing enthusiasts is seeing something of a mini-property boom after closing a couple of high-end sales in recent weeks. First Tony O'Reilly's six-acre Shorecliffe estate went sale agreed for €1.75 million. The secluded cliffside holiday home once valued at more than €4 million is understood to have been bought by an ex-pat based in the UK. The proceeds will go towards the repayment of O'Reilly's bank debts.

Then earlier this month the Examiner reported that two doors down, another beautifully-appointed and more contemporary property, Violet Garden, had been bought by Stephen Vernon, chairman of Green Property, for €1.7million. Green Property is one of the largest players in the Irish property market with £2 billion in assets between here and the UK, and Vernon – a keen sailor – had set his sights on Violet Garden after spotting it from the sea. The "quiet" sale – brokered by Charles McCarthy Auctioneers in Skibbereen who also brokered the Shorecliffe sale – went through when architect owner Mary Donohoe decided to place the 372sq m (4,000sq ft) sea-facing property she had built 10 years earlier quietly on the market.