Tributes were yesterday paid to the owner of Bantry House, Egerton Shelswell-White, who oversaw the development of the stately home as a major tourist attraction in west Cork.
Mr Shelswell-White, who died on Sunday aged 79, inherited his ancestral home in 1978 and over the following three decades developed the mansion and its Italian gardens.
He redeveloped the east wing of the house, which overlooks Bantry Bay, and in 1998 he hosted the West Cork Music Festival at the house for the first time.
Mr Shelswell-White, who was twice married, is survived by his wife, Brigitte, and six children, Edward, Janie, Sophie, Sam, Anna and Julie, and three grandchildren.
Yesterday local hotelier Vivian O’Callaghan jnr led the tributes to Mr Shelswell-White, describing him as “a real gentleman” who did a huge amount for Bantry.
Mr Shelswell-White’s funeral service takes place at St Brendan’s Church at 2pm tomorrow with burial afterwards in the Abbey Cemetery.
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