Killoughter, Ashford, Co Wicklow
Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.
p. 171. “(Redmond/LG1863) A late-Georgian house of a single-storey over a high basement, a larger version of a type of late-Georgian villa which is particularly associated with the outskirts of Dublin. Seven bay front; wide entrance doorway at the head of a long flight of steps, with a shallow segmental fanlight extending over the door and sidelights. Originally owned by a branch of the Redmonds; J.H.O’B Redmond, of Killoughter, was created a Papal Count in 2nd half of C19; his son assumed the surname of Dr Draymond, from which Redmond was believed to derive. Killoughter is now the home of Mr and Mrs S.K. Davis (see supplement)” [p. 298] Bought by Commander Robert Charles Halpin, who commended the steamship Great Eastern when she laid the first Atlantic cable (see Tinakilly House).
Detached seven-bay single-storey over basement house, built c.1800. The house is finished in render. To the south west side is a late 20th-century conservatory. A broad flight of stone steps with plain cast-iron railings extends over the basement area and rises to the timber panelled double front door; this is flanked by paired Ionic pilasters. Sidelights are decorative and the radial fanlight is set within an elliptical-headed opening. Window openings are flat-headed with six over six and six over three timber sash frames. The hipped roof is finished with artificial slate with red clay ridge tiles. The house is set on a rise within a small demesne. There is a curved roughcast rendered gate screen with wrought-iron gates.
Appraisal
A well preserved Georgian house with a delightful setting. It is an excellent example of the genre.
Killoughter House, Ashford,
Co Wicklow: €2.9m
Established by Sir Chester Beatty in the Fifties, this 160-acre equestrian estate with Victorian farmhouse includes yards, 70 loose boxes, four-furlong gallop and other horse-training facilities.
With views over parkland toward the sea, it comprises five double bedrooms and five bathrooms and several stunning reception rooms. It sold for €400,000 over the advised minimum value.
See Robert O’Byrne, The Irish Country House, A New Vision. With photographs by Luke White. Rizzoli, New York, Paris, London, Milan, 2024.
“The name Killoughter is believed to derive from the Irish “Cill Uachdair” meaning “the upper church” and indicating that that there was an early religious settlement here. …
p. 85. “One of them [the O’Byrne family] is thought to have been responsible for constructing Killoughter in the closing decades of the eighteenth century. The house appears on a map of County Wicklow produced by Jacob Nevill in 1760, and some years later Taylor & Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland denotes Killoughter as being occupied by a Mr. Byrne (by this time the family had dropped the “O”). Similarly, a Walter Byrne of Killoughter is listed as being a member of the Catholic Convention, summoned in 1792 by a national committee dedicated to relieveing Catholics of their civil and political disabilities.
Irish Historic Houses 