A bookseller's spirits might instantly and understandably sink at the sight of another tome on the country houses of Ireland. This is, after all, scarcely virgin territory. Indeed, ever since the Hon Desmond Guinness and William Ryan published their work on the subject in 1971, books on Irish houses have appeared with predictable regularity. And their authors all seemed to have gained access to the same handful of properties. By now, there can be no one not familiar with the interiors of Glin or Birr Castles and with the National Trust refurbishment of Florence Court or Castle Coole.
All of these, inevitably, can be found in the latest Great Houses of Ireland but, for once, they are joined by estates rarely - if ever - seen before. Writer Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd and photographer Christopher Simon Sykes enticed publicity-shy owners to allow them access to houses such as the Marquess of Waterford's home Curraghmore. Originally a mediaeval tower house, this extraordinary building - which has never changed hands by purchase - looks from the exterior as though it belongs in France; the central block capped by a stone reclining stag could have served as the beast's chateau in Cocteau's film, La Belle et la Bete. Inside, however, lies superb plasterwork from the mid- and late-18th century, while the grounds hold a shell house personally decorated by Catherine, Countess of Tyrone in 1754.
The inclusion of Curraghmore alone distinguishes this book from its competitors but there are a number of other houses also featured here and nowhere else: Castletown Cox; Stackallen; Lyons; and Charleville.
These are the new hidden houses of Ireland; exceptional properties which have been lavishly restored in recent years at the expense of their new owners. In an introduction to Great Houses, Montgomery-Massingberd speaks of "a glorious renaissance of restoration" taking place in this country and compares the present enthusiasm for Irish country houses with their neglect for much of the 20th century.
It is undeniable that during earlier decades, there seemed to be little interest in maintaining such places and many were destroyed by fire (Summerhill, Woodstock, Powerscourt), others often pulled down or allowed to fall down through neglect (Coole, Bowenscourt). A handful of publications helped to change attitudes, not least Mark Bence-Jones's 1978 Guide to Irish Country Houses which contained some 2,000 entries, a distressing number of which ended with a statement that the building had eventually been demolished. Many houses continue to be at risk, since the legislation necessary to ensure their protection is both inadequate and poorly applied. Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd tends to take an altruistic attitude to the subject, believing there has been a fundamental change of heart in this country towards houses which traditionally perceived as "monuments of landlordism and oppression".
But he overlooks the most obvious explanation of all, which is simply that at least some people in this country can once again afford to maintain a very big house. The changing economy in Ireland has created many new millionaires who wish to spend their wealth living, quite literally, like a lord. They have, therefore, rescued buildings which might otherwise fall into dereliction or, almost as horrific, be transformed into yet another golf club, and poured money into restoration projects.
Just as the Dublin suburbs of Rathmines and Rathgar have seen houses once split into bed-sits turned back to single-occupancy homes during the 1990s, so great houses such as Lyons, Stackallen and Charleville are once more residences of the very wealthy.
Of this trio, Lyons in Co Kildare is by far the biggest house and, in many respects, the most impressive restoration. Originally begun in 1797 for Nicholas Lawless, first Lord Cloncurry, the house was greatly enlarged for his son Valentine to designs by the architect Richard Morrison. Incorporated in facade (and still in situ) is a portico using three red Egyptian granite columns which originally formed part of the Roman Emperor Nero's Golden House and another from the Baths of Titus, also in Rome. From the early 1960s, Lyons was owned by University College, Dublin which was more interested in the agricultural potential of the estate rather than the house at its centre.
When Tony Ryan became owner in the middle of this decade, an enormous amount of work had to be done; according to Montgomery-Massingberd, the equivalent of some 670 man years of work was achieved over a period of just 33 months. The entire place was re-roofed and all sash windows replaced, while such contemporary luxuries as a swimming pool were included in the wings. Inside the main house, the frescoes painted early in the last century by Italian artist Gaspare Gabrielli and featuring a sequence of Irish landscapes, have all been restored.
The formal gardens of Lyons have also benefited from recent attention, as have those at Stackallen, Co Meath. Last year, the property's owners, Martin and Carmel Naughton, saw a gold medal-winning design at the Chelsea Flower Show. Featuring high beech hedges and designed by Tom StuartSmith for Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel, this garden was bought by the Naughtons, dismantled after the show and shipped over intact to Stackallen where, in just six weeks, it was installed in a paddock north of the main building. Elsewhere in the grounds, a new canal has been created in keeping with the style of gardens which would have been fashionable at the time of Stackallen's construction.
The house itself dates from the very first years of the 18th century and was probably designed by Thomas Burgh (also the architect of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham and Trinity College's Old Library). There is an inclination towards stockiness in the architecture but Martin and Carmel Naughton, responsible for Stackallen's restoration during the present decade, have countered this quality by introducing lighter elements such as a room painted in Pompeiian frescoes by Michael Dillon.
Beautiful as the interior of Stackallen now looks, it does not possess the delicate refinement of Charleville, Co Wicklow, a house which for several decades was known as the home of Donald and Mary Davies, whose wool shirt dresses were manufactured in the property's stables. After they left Ireland, the estate was bought in 1981 by Ken and Brenda Rohan and they have lavished attention on it ever since.
The grounds here, for example, have been developed to include a series of outdoor "rooms" allowing Montgomery-Massingberd to write that "the Charleville gardens must rank as one of the most admirable horticultural achievements in Ireland." The main house bears similarities in style to Lucan House, although the latter is at least 20 years earlier. Within Charleville, much of the decoration is Regency in style and may have been completed in anticipation of a visit from George IV who came to Ireland in 1821.
However, as is well-known, the king hardly ventured from Slane Castle, home of his mistress (and her descendant, Henry Mount Charles), the Marchioness Conyngham. Perhaps the most beautiful feature of Charleville's interior decoration is the Chippendale drawingroom suite which, until purchased by the Rohans, used to be found in the Gothic drawingroom of Birr Castle where it had been installed by the late Anne, Countess of Rosse.
AS these examples prove, a temptation to sneer at the newly-enriched should sometimes be resisted. Not only have those responsible for rescuing some of Ireland's neglected great houses shown excellent taste, they are also often kindred spirits of the original builders, many of whose origins were distinctly ungrand.
Russborough - here called "most people's choice as the fairest house in Ireland" - was constructed for Joseph Leeson, the son of a brewer, while over at Lyons, Lord Cloncurry's father had traded in blankets. Speaker Conolly, responsible for the most famous great house of all, Castletown in Co Kildare, was another representative of the 18th century nouveau riche. The country house in Ireland has traditionally served as a statement of its owner's status and a confirmation that sufficient money has been made to support a life of ease. In this respect, the new owners of such homes differ little from the old.
As more Irish millionaires are created over the next decade, so it seems likely more substantial properties will benefit from generous expenditure. Already, a number of other houses are undergoing lavish restoration under the hands of their new owners: George Magan at Castletown Cox in Co Kilkenny, for example, and David and Linda Davies at Abbeyleix, Co Laois. If this development continues, Ireland may yet suffer from a shortage of sufficiently great houses.
Great Houses of Ireland by Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd and Christopher Simon Sykes, is published by Laurence King, £40 in the UK.
