THE TOP END of Ireland's country club market will see some changes from next month when Killeen Castle and its 600-acre estate in Co Meath is unveiled as a golf venue with impressive homes.
The 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course runs through woodlands and over 350 acres of Meath pastures - more than twice the average acreage for a championship course.
Killeen Castle, left, dating back to 1181, provides an impressive backdrop to the golf course and within two years will form the focal point for a five-star hotel and spa.
The new country club, just north of Dunshaughlin, has been developed by Snowbury Ltd, an associate company of Castlethorn Construction, which also developed Dundrum Town Centre.
Snowbury is controlled by Joe O'Reilly and John Fitzsimons of Castlethorn and Dublin solicitor Brian Wallace, chairman of BCM Hanby Wallace. Regretfully a fourth director Liam Maye died unexpectedly earlier this month.
The challenge of transforming one of Meath's most beautiful estates into a top class country club was meticulously planned and carefully executed.
The landscaping was tackled first along with the restoration of the Norman castle, which had been damaged in an arson attack in 1981.
Work on the exterior of the castle is complete and the task of recreating the internal look and feel is to be carried out in tandem with the building of the interlinking 179-bedroom hotel.
About €10 million has been spent on enhancing the woodlands and planting more than 3,000 mature trees - mainly native Irish species - and thousands of shrubs.
The two-level clubhouse is built into a hill on one side of the castle and has superb views of the first and 18th holes and the Meath countryside in the distance.
The Jack Nicklaus course has been chosen as the venue for the 2011 Solheim Cup - the equivalent of the Ryder Cup for women.
There has also been heavy booking for training at Killeen's Dave Pelz scoring game school, the only one outside the United States. The facility has been designed by Pelz who coached greats such as Phil Michelson and Vijay Singh.
Green fees are likely to be at the upper end of the scale when play is allowed in 2009. In the meantime, play will be seriously restricted to a small number of guests to allow the course to settle.
The task of ensuring that there will be a smooth opening to Killeen has been given to new general manager Barry O'Connor who previously filled the same role at Doonbeg.
