Farmland at Kinsealy from the air (geograph 6022330)

Abbeville, formerly Abbeyville House, is an 18th-century

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peop ...

in the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

of Abbeyville,

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of Kinsealy, within the traditional

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It is best known as the home of

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

during his years as

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the of ...

. The grounds contain streams, a pond and the site of a long-closed brewery.

History

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for l ...

(1738–1775) grew up in the original house. It was altered and enlarged by

James Gandon James Gandon (20 February 1743 – 24 December 1823) was an English architect best known for his work in Ireland during the late 18th century and early 19th century. His better known works include The Custom House and the surrounding Beresford ...

for John Beresford c.1790. It consists of two storeys over a basement; the front has seven bays, flanked by two wide curved bows, and is further prolonged by single-storey one-bay wings. The house belonged to the

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

family from 1815 until the mid-20th century; in 1969 it was bought by Charles J Haughey, then a minister, who became Taoiseach in 1979. In 2003, after his retirement and disgrace, Haughey sold it to Manor Park Homes, which intended to redevelop it after his death, which occurred in 2006. Manor Park Homes went bankrupt during the Irish financial crisis, and in 2012, the house was offered for sale at a guide price of €7.5 million, about a fifth of the 2003 price. It was purchased in 2013 by a Japanese hotel-owning family. Parts of the Abbeville estate were separated to provide sites for homes for members of the Haughey family, including his widow, and these remain in family hands.

Access

For most of recent history, the house and grounds were almost wholly private. Under the previous property tax regime, it was possible for Abbeville to be exempt if the house was open one day a year, a requirement fulfilled by events on the annual Irish Cancer Society Daffodil Day; the much more extensive opening required to avoid inheritance tax was not done.

Sources

*M. Bence-Jones, ''A guide to Irish country houses'', Constable, 1990, p. 1 *B. De Breffny & R. ffolliot, ''The houses of Ireland'', Thames & Hudson, 1984, p. 168 *J. O'Brien & D. Guinness, ''Great Irish houses and castles'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1992, pp. 106–107

References

Buildings and structures in Fingal Charles Haughey Georgian architecture in Ireland Houses in the Republic of Ireland Buildings listed on the Fingal Record of Protected Structures {{Ireland-struct-stub