Kilkenny/€1.8 million: A large Georgian house, Rossennara House, at Kilmoganny, Co Kilkenny, is back on the market with plans by Remax Town and Country to auction it on May 6th. The agency is quoting a guide price of €1.8 million for the house which stands on 10 acres of parkland.
The three-storey mansion was built in 1824 to the design of James Hoban, who also designed the White House in Washington.
The house has been owned for the past four years by a Wicklow family who bought it from a wealthy American couple, Walter and Christine Griffth, who have a string of homes in other parts of the world. They had spent most of their time at Rossennara after buying the property from the US novelist and playwright Richard Condon. Previous owners included Sir John Lavery, husband of Lady Lavery, whose portrait appeared on the Irish pound.
Rossennara is built on classical lines in the Palladian style. The five-bay centre block has two matching wings which greatly enhance its appearance.
The house is particularly suitable for entertaining, having a large welcoming entrance hall and four reception rooms. The drawingroom has special appeal with its attractive marble fireplace and tall windows looking out on the sloping gardens. Lavery's painting of this room hangs in the National Gallery.
There is also a terrific diningroom and on the opposite side of the hall, a library/billiards room. At the back of the house there is a morningroom which catches the sun in the early part of the day.
The inner hall has a staircase leading to the spacious landing where there are three large bedrooms with en suite bathrooms. There are five further bedrooms on the third floor, the most striking of them Lady Lavery's old room. The house also has a heated swimming-pool and a leisure centre with Jacuzzi. The house is seven miles from Mount Juliet, 16 miles from Kilkenny and 87 miles from Dublin.
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