An enchanting Victorian house in Co Kildare, with period detail and a rich historical legacy, is for sale for €4 million, writres Fiona Tyrrell

BUILT BY A Victorian whiskey manufacturer and one-time home of the colourful Count John McCormack, Togher House in Monasterevin, Co Kildare, must surely have seen some good shindigs in its day.

The prosperous Cassidy family were distilling a quarter of a million gallons of whiskey a year when James Cassidy built Togher House in 1854.

He installed a 45ft ballroom - roughly the size of the average two-bedroom apartment - and one can easily imagine the whiskey-fuelled waltzes this room must have seen.

Later, Togher House was a temporary home for McCormack, who lived there for two years while nearby Moore Abbey was being renovated. He is said to have called it "the gem of them all".

The nine-bedroom house stands on 9.6 acres of land, shielded from surrounding properties by a thick belt of mature trees.

Current owners, Michael and Brenda Kindregan, have lived here for eight years. Now that their three sons have moved out, they are looking for something smaller. Joint selling agents Savills HOK and Nolan Brophy have set an asking price of €4 million.

Not so long ago, given its location, Togher House would have been snapped up by a builder and lost to residential development. In the current market, it is more likely to appeal as a trophy home not far from Dublin.

Built in an Italian neo-classical style, it was built to impress, with grand proportions, three formal reception rooms and nine bedrooms.

Extra accommodation is in the north wing (which has its own access)- three extra bedrooms and the original kitchen. The grounds feature formal gardens, a series of outbuildings and a large bank of mature woodland.

Just off the M7, Monasterevin is 18 miles from Naas and 38 miles from Dublin.