THE last big house sale handled by estate agent Hugh Hamilton, who died last weekend, was the Guinness house, Farmleigh, in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.

Sadly, Hugh passed away a few days before Queen Elizabeth II checked into Farmleigh on her historic visit to Dublin. Hugh, an astute and highly skilled estate agent, negotiated the sale of the Guinness house and lands to the Government in 1999 for €29.2 million. A further €23 million was later spent refubishing it and fitting it out as an official State guest-house.

Hugh was truly one of the old school, having been educated at Downside Abbey in England before joining Hamilton Hamilton, the Dublin estate agency headed by his father Willoughby “The Rat” Hamilton and Chubby Williams. At that time, the commercial property sector was in its infancy and the only sales of note were the big country estates.

In 1987 Hugh merged his firm with Osborne King Megran and went on to serve as chairman of the newly formed Hamilton Osborne King. The agency had a dream start when it was appointed to sell off the H Williams portfolio of supermarkets. Hugh continued to concentrate on the large country estates and the follow up sales of the contents of the houses, including furniture and paintings.

At the same time, managing director Ian French, and later Aidan O’Hogan, adeptly tapped into the newly buoyant commercial property business. Hugh retired from HOK in 1999, some years before it was taken over by Savills. Hugh was highly competitive and loved nothing better than being chosen to handle the sale of some of Ireland’s most notable estates, which included Abbey Leix for Viscount de Vesci; Luttrellstown, for the Plunkett family; Straffan (twice); Stackallen, Hilton Park, Dowdstown, Moyrath, Fort William, Humewood and Ballinatray and many more.