Elegant interiors and a romantic past - the Grange has it all, for €2 million. Michael Parsons is captivated
The last time this gorgeous Georgian went up for auction, the owner withdrew huffily at £400. Following negotiations it was sold afterwards for the princely sum of £594. Dear Lady Lavery, whose face adorned banknotes in 1934, may well look down with astonishment when The Grange, a six-bedroom residence on one acre at Castleconnell, Co Limerick, once again goes under the hammer with an advised minimum value (AMV) of €2 million, in Ganly Walters' Dublin auction rooms on May 25th.
The Grange is a spacious, elegant, six-bedroom, four-bathroom listed 18th century bow-fronted house on the banks of the River Shannon in Castleconnell village, eight miles but a world away from Limerick city centre and 24 miles from the airport. Good shops, pubs, restaurants and a railway station are minutes' walk away. Glenstal Abbey and the University of Limerick are close by.
Castlewhere? In the 18th century Castleconnell was an elegant spa resort to which the Munster gentry flocked. Lady Portarlington (an 18th century lady who luncheoned and not a dame to be trifled with) compared it to Tunbridge Wells and the crème de la crème of counties Limerick and Clare built summer lodges there. Castleconnell's waters were renowned for their curative powers and remained fashionable until the mid-19th century. One of the original wells, surrounded by ancient ferns, still burbles in the garden of The Grange.
When the current owner, former RTÉ presenter Barbara McMahon, first saw The Grange in 1979 she said: "My heart leapt and I had to have it."
So why on earth leave what she describes as "a little corner of heaven"? Well, she isn't quite. McMahon is moving just a few hundred yards to a smaller house in the village. Her children have grown up and she believes that "it is time for a new generation". She said: "This magical family home deserves to come to life again and needs the animation of music, chat and children."
The property is surrounded by a stone wall, protected by electronic gates and entered via a reassuringly crunchy gravel drive.
The house faces what is in essence a sensational private wildlife sanctuary on a stretch of water as wide and lazy as the Mississippi, fringed with beech trees, and not overlooked.
Swans can be fed from the garden edge and bird-lovers will be captivated by the profusion of mallard, waterhen, heron and kingfisher. The salmon fishing is part of angling folklore - the Victorians considered this to be the best stretch of water in the world and a 53lb specimen was hooked in 1879.
The views are so utterly captivating that prospective buyers will find it difficult to concentrate on the house. Indoors there are three generously-proportioned reception rooms with lovely river views and containing many original features, including fireplaces and shutters.
The diningroom has a mahogany parquet floor, the livingroom has recessed library shelving and an arched bay-window while the drawingroom has French doors leading to a light-filled sunroom with an original quarry stone floor.
There's a Jilly Cooper-style kitchen with a timber beamed ceiling, stone-tiled floor, an original stone milk cooler and double French doors leading to terraces and garden.
A backstairs leads to an annexe of two bedrooms and a bathroom which would be ideal as servants' quarters (the Latvian au pair), a nursery (where the littlest darlings could be occasionally seen and not heard) or a cosy haven in which to moor granny.
A mahogany staircase in the hall leads to four large bedrooms. The main bedroom has a charming wrought-iron Juliet balcony from which to lure poor Clare Romeos to a watery rendezvous - the county lies just across the river. The adjoining bathroom has a bath enclosed in antique pine panelling and a marble-tiled power shower.
A separate walk-in dressingroom is large enough to house the entire wardrobe of Head To Toe and still have room for Desperate Housewives.
And memo to the new owner - change the designation of the "guest" bedroom and bathroom at once, or you'll never get rid of visitors.
Outside there is a stone coach-house which could easily be converted into a separate two-bedroom apartment and also loose boxes, potting sheds and stores.
A full-size tennis court requires some updating or possible conversion into a swimming pool. Both the main house and the coach-house have been re-roofed.
The Grange would make the perfect home for a Limerick family of substance and style. There is unlikely to be a more appealing house on the market in the mid-west region this or any other year.
