IT’S NOT SOLD yet . . . but Duninga House in Co Kilkenny which went on the market last Thursday with a price tag of €1 million certainly caught the public imagination.

The sheer value of the package – a mansion, 47 acres and 14 holiday homes – had the phones hopping at joint agents Savills in Dublin and Dominic Daly in Cork who recorded scores of calls each within hours of the property going on the market. According to one of the agents involved: “It was bedlam, the phone literally did not stop ringing. A lot of Irish people, but some people from outside the country too. One guy said he was ready to call by the office with a cheque for a million right there.”

The sale won’t be that easy however. Though the price is low, the property carries some planning restrictions, and there is further construction and renovation work to be done that the agents estimate could cost a further €1 million or more. New owners will immediately be liable for close to €3,000 annual tax on the holiday cottages alone. Prospective buyers have been beating a path to Goresbridge all this week to view Duninga, but they have until October 12th to make up their minds, and submit a sealed bid. The property is being sold on the instructions of ACC Bank through receivers KPMG.