Controversial changes six years ago that saw the public barred from using the main grand entrance of Muckross House in Killarney, Co Kerry, are to be reversed after a dramatic fall in numbers of visitors to the tourism site.
Visitors had to enter the mansion and gardens through a rear courtyard, and only dignitaries were occasionally allowed through the front door.
A tours-only policy also initiated at the time, which meant all visitors had to take guided tours and could not complete an individual visit, is also to be scrapped.
The house had 163,280 visitors in 2007 but a steady decline since then saw the numbers drop to 91,017 in 2010, and recover somewhat to more than 105,000 in 2011.