My favourite room: ‘It was completely dilapidated. There were some walls, no roof and bats flying in’ - Clíona Standún’s Connemara coachhouse makeover

If there is one thing the majority of Irish people agree on, it's the weather — there's a constant refrain that "this country would be an even more wonderful place without the rain". But it's Ireland, so there's never a 100pc consensus, and the dissenting voice in this case is Clíona Standún of the legendary Standún fashion and lifestyle shops in Spiddal and Oughterard, both in Co Galway. As a businesswoman, Clíona is quite happy to see the rain pouring down.

"We sell lots and lots of rainwear and that's because we get an awful lot of rain here in Connemara. And local people know that if you live in Connemara the best investment is a raincoat. And we have a lot of people going to the Aran islands and they forget to bring a coat. We would sell hundreds and hundreds of rain jackets. Some people come in at the start of the season and say, 'Jeez, the amount of raincoats here — you must be expecting a lot of rain?' and we say, 'yes, we're banking on it'." She laughs.