He told a gathering of Irish-American businessmen at a lunch in the Manhattan Club in New York that the scarcity of period homes with interesting features close to the city centre meant they would see particularly strong price rises in the next few years.

FitzGerald, billed as "the son of the former Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Dr Garrett FitzGerald", was addressing the Irish Business Organisation. He was in New York leading a contingent of Sherry FitzGerald franchise estate agents in a big promotion of Irish property to the huge American market.

FitzGerald classed Ireland's economic regeneration as "the greatest economic success story in post-War Europe" thanks, in no small part, to "a young, well-educated, English speaking population that now continues to attract international investment of an unprecedented scale."

FitzGerald predicted that many Irish Americans will invest in property in Ireland over the next decade. An "attractive climate", a sense of community, the quality of the holiday home market and improved transport increasing access to regional parts would all combine to bring unprecedented demand, he forecast.