Ireland's houses, especially those which are old and in a remote rural location, continue to hold a fascination for publishers and, presumably, their readers. The first to appear in bookshops so far this year is Private Ireland and, unusually in this field, it lives up to its title. Almost none of the houses has appeared in a book before, suggesting that locations coordinator Victoria Lloyd (who has lived in this country for more than 20 years) has done her job well - and is fortunate enough to have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
Among these are two Montgomerys, Hugh and Bill, who live in Benvarden, Co Antrim and Grey Abbey, Co Down, respectively. Both houses are very fine properties which have been in the same family for more than 200 years. Among Benvarden's most attractive features is a semi-circular cantilevered staircase and oval lightwell which date from around 1800. Grey Abbey bears similarities to Castleward (now owned by the National Trust) which stands on the opposite side of Strangford Lough and is famous for having one classical facade and one gothic. In the case of Grey Abbey, the garden front has an octagonal diningroom (originally a drawingroom), added after William Montgomery married the Hon Emilia Ward of Castleward in 1782. Of course, the gothic inspiration may have come from the ruins of a Cistercian monastery, which stand in Grey Abbey's grounds and from which the property derives its name.
Not all the houses in Private Ireland have a stately character. The charm of Larchill in Co Meath, for example, lies not in the house but its grounds, which are filled with 18th century follies. Michael de las Casas and his wife, Louisa, bought Larchill in 1994 and have spent the intervening years gradually restoring the parkland to a semblance of the character it possessed when first constructed by the Prentices, wealthy haberdashers who owned large tracts of land in the area.
By 1836, Larchill was described as "the most fashionable garden in all of Ireland", but all trace of this glory had long since vanished by the time Michael de las Casas discovered its history.
Other houses featured in the book have been given a greater splendour by their owners than they would have possessed in the past.
Among these is the cottage near Skibbereen in west Cork that biographer Victoria Glendinning and her late husband, Terence de Vere White, discovered more than a decade ago. Then there is the Spiddal thatched and whitewashed cottage occupied by former antiques dealer Mary McInerney and her partner, Mark Norman. There is an unexpectedly large conservatory to the rear, with the main wall of the house painted a riotous pink.
Even more striking is the Shanagarry home of Cork potter Stephen Pearce and his wife, KimMai, in which elements of Irish and Japanese design manage, somehow, to live in harmony. In the garden is a teahouse used by the couple for meditation, while inside the main house the walls are hung with work by Irish artists, such as Patrick Scott. The contrast between the Pearce residence and some of the other houses included in this book shows that private Ireland is also diverse Ireland.
