Lissadell House is a neo-classical Greek revivalist style country house, located in County Sligo, Ireland.
The house was built in the 1830s for Sir Robert Gore-Booth, 4th Baronet MP by London architect Francis Goodwin. In 1876, Sir Robert left the house and surrounding estate to his son, Sir Henry Gore-Booth, 5th Baronet.
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The house was the childhood home of Irish revolutionary, Constance Gore-Booth, her sister the poet and suffragist, Eva Gore-Booth, and their siblings, Mabel Gore-Booth, Mordaunt Gore-Booth and Josslyn Gore-Booth. It was also the sometime holiday retreat of the world-renowned poet, William Butler Yeats. He made the house famous with the opening lines of his poem:
"In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz"
The light of evening, Lissadell,
Great windows open to the south,
Two girls in silk kimonos, both
Beautiful, one a gazelle. [1]
In 2003, the house was put up for sale by the then owner, Sir Josslyn Gore-Booth (a grand-nephew of the original Josslyn Gore-Booth), for €3 million. Despite celebrities including U2 lead singer Bono, broadcaster Gerry Ryan and politician Mary O'Rourke showing an interest in the property, it was hoped that it would be purchased by the state. However, due to several stumbling blocks including Dáil (Government) holidays and an inaccurate cost report, the house was eventually sold to a private couple, Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy. The new owners, independent of any monetary assistance from the State, have since restored the house and gardens to their original grandeur and continued public access to the house, while limiting public rights of way. Over the course of seven years the owners have transformed the estate into a flagship for tourism in Sligo and the North West, all the while preserving a secure environment as a family home.[2]
On a motion put by Councillor Joe Leonard, in December 2008 Sligo County Council voted to preserve public rights of way that it contended existed on the estate. The house's closure was announced on 8th January 2009 due to this dispute with Sligo County Council. [3] The owners instituted legal proceedings against the Council to have it declared that there are no dedicated public rights of way over the estate.[4] If the council wins the court action, the owners have indicated that they would not be re-opening Lissadell.[5] The 58-day-long hearings ended in June 2010, with legal costs for both sides estimated at €6m.[6]
On Dec 20 2010, the High Court ruled in favour of the Council and public rights of way must now be re-opened. Sligo County Council stated that 'this issue could and should have been resolved locally by negotiation.'