During the Famine it doubled as a soup kitchen but when Taoiseach Bertie Ahern dropped into the restored coach house at Lissadell House in Co Sligo yesterday, oysters and smoked salmon were on the menu.
Given the Government's decision nearly four years ago not to purchase the ancestral home of Countess Markievicz, there were those who thought that a large serving of humble pie might be in order, but instead Mr Ahern left with spring cabbage, rhubarb, spinach and daffodils, all grown on the estate.
He was in Lissadell House to open the Countess Markievicz exhibition at the invitation of Eddie Walsh and Constance Cassidy who purchased the estate and some of the furnishings in 2003 for €4.55 million when the Government baulked at what they estimated as the €30 million renovation and maintenance costs.
Mr Ahern was gracious in his admiration yesterday as he surveyed the work done on the house and estate and joked about how much could be achieved with the right amount of commitment, drive "and a good bank manager".
The exhibition features sketches, and paintings by Countess Markievicz, who was born in Lissadell in 1868, as well as many hand-written notes detailing plans for the 1916 Rising and several photographs and documents recording her role as a founder member of Fianna Fáil.
