The former home of ex-Taoiseach Charlie Haughey has just gone on sale for the hefty price tag of €7.5 million. For that price you'll get a stately Georgian mansion with 14, 600 square feet (gulp!) of living space spread over four floors including 14 bedrooms. The house sits on 247 acres of park and woodland which boasts not one but two lakes. The mansion which is called Abbeville is situated close to Kinsealy and just 10 kilometres from Dublin city centre.
This huge room was once the dining room of our ex leader which played host to the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and many other famous faces over the years.
The mansion dates back to the mid-1700s and was put on the market by Savills at the request of receiver Tom Kavanagh and is a private sale. The Grand Ballroom above features elaborately decorated cornicing and stucco work and three original painted roundels by neoclassical artist Anjelica Kauffman. Many VIPs and dignitaries would have enjoyed an evening or two in this impressive room.
With six reception rooms, there was no shortage of places to wine, dine and entertain his important guests and I'm sure this snooker room proved popular among Charlie's house guests.
Conveniently the house also boasts a private bar in the style of an Irish country pub. Oh if those walls could talk!
The house was once a stud farm and still has stable yards, 23 stables and an indoor equestrian centre.
The property also features a James Gandon-designed dairy, two cottages, a gate lodge, gardener's cottage, an outdoor swimming pool, walled gardens and extensive barns and outbuildings. Phew! It's nice to see how the other half lived, eh? The property was sold in 2003 to Manor Park Homes for five times what is being sought now so I suppose in a way, it's a real bargain? If you're in the market for a stately family home check out Savalls for more information.
