Gerald Kean’s mansion in Wicklow back on market with 40% drop in price

The Co Wicklow home of high profile solicitor Gerald Kean is back on the market more than two years after it was first launched for sale seeking €3.75million. This time around it comes with a substantial price drop and a new selling agent.

Drayton Manor, a 17,000sq ft (1,580sq m) modern mansion close to Brittas Bay, is back on with selling agent Savills, and this time it is seeking €2.25million. The sizeable 40 per cent drop in price reflects the heady original asking price but also the sluggish market for country properties in this price bracket.

In October 2017 it was reported that then selling agent Knight Frank had withdrawn the house from sale six months after its launch. Then in December 2017 a payment of €1.45million appeared on the Property Price Register attaching to the address. It’s not apparent what this payment represented, and according to Savills it refers to its client “refinancing the property in the normal course”. Mr Kean still lives at the property.

The 11-bed house was built 12 years ago after the solicitor acquired the property from the late developer, banker, publican (and friend of the former taoiseach CJ Haughey) Patrick Gallagher for about €2 million. It is estimated that a further €2.5 million was spent on the property's refurbishment and extension.With a ballroom that seats 260, a 54-seat cinema, a cigar room and a repurposed bar salvaged from the old 108 pub in Rathgar, it's an eclectic offering.

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According to selling agent James Butler with Savills Country Homes, the contents of Drayton Manor are not currently included in its sale, although they “could be made available to purchase subject to negotiation”.

The fact that Drayton Manor, on just two acres, does not come with a substantial land offering will not help its attractiveness in a market where a lot of the current buyer interest is from overseas buyers seeking a sporting or income-generating estate.

The house sits tucked into a hollow on a bend of Three Mile Water river in Co Wicklow behind a high cut-stone wall and electric gates.