An Taisce disappointed Lissadell House sold privately

An Taisce, Ireland's oldest and largest wide-ranging environmental organisation, has said it is disappointed that Lissadell House in Co Sligo has been sold privately.

The body has proposed Heritage Trust legislation which would provide heritage NGOs, in partnership with government, with the ability to support, protect and utilise Irish heritage in a sustainable manner.

An Taisce wished the unnamed Irish couple who bought the house every success in conserving Lissadell House and demesne and supported the couple's intention to retain the same access for the public enjoyed under previous owner Sir Jocelyn Gore-Booth.

Earlier, Sir Josslyn ended months of speculation about the future of the house and its access to the public, but, refused to disclose the buyers' identity.

He told RTE radio a confidentiality clause prevented him revealing their identity but revealed it was not rock star Bono.He confirmed the U2 frontman Bono had visited the house with members of his family but added: "I can say that it [the buyer] was not Bono.

"They are an Irish couple. They are interested in living here as their family home and the house will continue to remain open to the public under terms that they will agree in due course."

He said the price agreed was higher than the original asking price but "a great deal less" than the figure mentioned by the Government.

The Co Sligo mansion had a price tag of €3.75 million when it went on the market earlier this summer and there was intense speculation that a Government purchase was on the cards.

Ministers claimed redevelopment could swell the final cost to more than €30 million and said that because of financial pressures they would require a private partner if they were to buy it.

Lissadell House is one of Ireland's most well known stately homes and was open to the public sporadically throughout the year, mainly in the summer. It is no yet known what arrangements have been made for future public visitations.

It featured in a poem by W B Yeats and its previous owners were caught up in the war of independence. The Gore-Booths have lived in the house since it was built around 170 years ago.

The house was the childhood home of Constance Gore-Booth, who in later years, as Countess Markiewicz, was closely connected with the leaders of the struggle for independence and became the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons.

Speaking to ireland.com, the Mayor of Sligo, Mr Sean McManus, said "the Government had missed a major opportunity for relatively small money" and a chance to pay tribute to Countess Markiewicz and the role of women in Irish history.

She fought alongside the rebels during the Easter Rising and was condemned to death by the British authorities. Her sentence was later quashed and she was imprisoned instead. After refusing to take her seat as the first woman MP at Westminster, she later sat as a member of the first Dáil.

The grey limestone mansion of Lissadell House is set in 400 acres of parkland on the northern shore of Sligo Bay.