Colliers Jackson-Stops has kicked off the new year with the sale of one of the finest country houses to have come on the market in the last 12 months, writes Orna Mulcahy, Property Editor

Tynte Park near Dunlavin in west Wicklow has been sold for a figure believed to be over €12 million. The Georgian house on 145 acres in Kildare hunt country was bought by estate agent Colm McEvoy for his own use.

It went on the market last summer with an asking price of €15 million. However, with the decline in prices touching all sectors of the market, the selling price was around 15 per cent less.

Reached at the end of a long tree-lined avenue, Tynte is about two miles from the pretty village of Dunlavin.

The manageable five-bedroom house is surrounded by well-maintained grounds including a walled garden. An attractive stableyard has buildings that could be converted into cottages. The house is in walk-in condition having been restored by the previous owners to a very high standard and in sympathetic period style.

The formal reception rooms include a ballroom which, though carpeted, still has its original sprung wooden floor.

Tynte Park comes with 145 acres , 60 of which are mature woodland around the estate's perimeter; this was enhanced in 2000 when an additional 4,000 trees were planted to mark the millennium.