we walked into pemanent tsb with our passports, uk bank account statements, a couple of utility bills and hey presto in 20 minutes our current account was up and running. they wont give us a cheque book until we start paying in money on a monthly basis. whilst there i asked what the situ would be on getting a self build mortgage whilst we continue to remain in the UK until the house would be finished. they said no problem so long as we have proof of income and as we own the site outright, it would be simple. i also said what about our financial commitments in the UK (i.e. we have 12 mortgaged properties in london and we are not selling any of them) - reply was the more collateral you have under your belt the easier it will be and for us to show them a current statement for each mortgage - looks like the old scenario, the more you have the more you get and the easier it gets ! which is how it is here in the UK with getting for example buy to let mortgages so long as you have a 15% deposit. I guess it has got quite easy to get your hands on funding in Ireland too.
Regarding buying this house you like, if I were buying a place instead of building my own, then I would not buy a place now. there are thousands of new properties not sold in the midlands and hundreds more being built in first quarter of this year. i would say wait.............., its up to you but that's my opinion for what it is worth.