Kilsharvan, Julianstown, Co Meath 

Mark Bence-Jones. 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. 

“[McDonnell/IFR] An attractive two storey late C18 house with shallow bows and a Doric portico. Windows set in blank arches.” 

from myhome.ie

Record of Protected Structures: 

Kilsharvan, townland: Kilsharvan.  

Late 18thC, incl watermill. 

Casey, Christine and Alistair Rowan. The Buildings of Ireland: North Leinster. Penguin Books, London, 1993.  

p. 164. 

For sale 4/11/2019 courtesy Savills (Country) 

€2,400,000 

9 beds, 965sq m 

Kilsharvan Estate, Bellewstown, Drogheda, Co Meath, A92X4KN 

Spectacular country estate renovated for 21st century living and with a convenient situation Kilsharvan is a wonderful residential and equestrian estate extending to about 80 acres in total. At the heart of the estate is a magnificent manor house which is equally suited for family living and for hosting wonderful house parties, with guests able to enjoy the spectacular countryside on the banks of the River Nanny. A key feature of the estate is the extent and range of traditional outbuildings and the opportunities that they offer (subject to obtaining the necessary planning consents), including a quaint church and a former mill which has been extensively renovated to presently serve as a banqueting hall. 
 

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The equestrian facilities are centered upon a charming traditional range of farm buildings.  
 

from myhome.ie

There is a characterful, period gate lodge, while the grounds are a combination of productive farmland and mature woods. A detached, two-storey house of traditional construction and with four bedrooms is owned but excluded from the sale. It is known as The Grange. The estate is available for sale as a whole or in six lots as follows: Lot 1 – Kilsharvan House About 37.7 acres (15.2 hectares) Lot 2 – West Field About 4.2 acres (1.7 hectares) Lot 3 – Woodland Paddock About 0.5 acre (0.20 hectare) Lot 4 – Farmland South About 25.9 acres (10.5 hectares) Lot 5 – East Field About 5.0 acres (2.0 hectares) Lot 6 – North Enclosure About 6.7 acres (2.7 hectares) Whole – About 80 acres / 32 hectares For more information, please download the brochure or contact the selling agents.  

from myhome.ie

Kilsharvan House is located in the Royal County of Meath in the North East of Ireland. County Meath is internationally famed for its heritage, ancient history and excellent amenities on its doorstep. The nearby villages of Duleek (5 km) and Julianstown (5 km) offer local amenities with the nearest town to Kilsharvan House being Drogheda (8 km), one of Ireland’s oldest medieval towns. Drogheda has several quality hotels, restaurants, boutique shops and two shopping centres. It is one of the country’s largest towns and has seen significant growth in recent times due to its proximity to Dublin City. Drogheda also has the benefit of commuter rail and bus services to Dublin. There is convenient access to the M1, with Junction 7 situated 6 km to the south, connecting Belfast to Dublin. Dublin Airport is 37 km to the south, while the M50 is 40 km distant. The property is in the vicinity of the internationally renowned Boyne Valley which is host to Brú na Bóinne, a Unesco World Heritage site with tombs at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth attracting thousands of tourists annually. There are wonderful walks in the area along the beaches and the River Boyne where a walkway has been created between Drogheda and Navan. The North East has a stunning coastline and there is a long sandy beach running from Gormanstown to Mornington. Laytown Strand is 7 km distant. County Meath has a proud sporting history and offers a huge array of quality sporting and recreational activities. The keen golfer is well catered for with a choice of superb courses within the county. The County Louth Golf Club at Baltray hosted the Irish Open in 2005 and 2009. Bellewstown Golf Club is 4 km distant, while there are links courses at Bettystown (12 km) and Baltray (14 km). Horse racing takes place close by in Bellewstown (3 km), which is one of the oldest race courses in Ireland and meets are held twice each summer. Laytown Racecourse is a horse racing venue on the beach at Laytown. It is unique in the racing calendar, as the only race event run on a beach under the rules of the Turf Club, since it was first staged in 1868. Other races are held at Navan (28 km) and at Dundalk (50 km) where the stadium also hosts greyhound racing. The keen huntsman has a choice of packs in the Louth and Meath Foxhounds, the Fingal Harriers and the Ward Union. Numerous primary and secondary schools serve the area. Secondary education is available in Drogheda Grammar School and Gormanston College, as well as several excellent secondary schools in in Drogheda, Balbriggan and Navan. 

• 9-bedroom magnificent manor house 

• Renovated mill with banqueting hall and Kilsharvan Church 

• Gate lodge (2 bedrooms) 

• Outstanding grounds with formal lawns 

• Equestrian facilities including 14 loose boxes and 2 sand arenas 

• For sale in 6 lots or as a whole 

• About 80 acres in total 

BER: Exempt BER No: Performance Indicator: 

Directions 

The Eircode for Kilsharvan House is A92 X4KN. 

Negotiator Details 

Pat O’Hagan 

http://meathhistoryhub.ie/houses-k-p/ 

The main house at Kilsharvan dates from 1820 and it also incorporates a 17th century miller’s house. Kilsharvan was the residence of the Armstrong, McDonnell, and Shorter families for 200 years. A tulip tree in front of the house is reputed to be over 400 years old. The oldest part of the house may date back to the 17^th century. Today, an attractive two storey house with shallow bows and a Doric portico the house stands on 37 acres of woodland, paddocks and gardens which run down to the river Nanny. The noted artist, William van der Hagen, died 1745,  painted the overmantle at Kilsharvan. The oil on canvas is entitled A Capriccio Landscape with Shepherds Beside Ruins in a Romantic Landscape and dated 1736. 

According to The parish of Duleek and over the ditches Kilsharvan house includes the original miller’s residence. Andrew Armstrong established a flax mill and linen industry at Kilsharvan in the 1780s. Andrew Armstrong married Catherine Anne McDonnell in 1814. Catherine came with a dowry of £3,000 and her father provided a further loan of £2,000 to Armstrong to purchase Kilsharvan, which he had been leasing. Armstrong re-directed the river, erected a weir and a millrace of over one mile long. The  Bleach Field was upgraded with the addition of a circular watchtower for the production and the protection of the linen. In 1827 Armstrong mortgaged Kilsharvan and raised a further £3,692 for works at the Mill and to construct the fine stone cut buildings in the farm and stable yards. In 1833 Nicholas Austin remodelled Kilsharvan for Andrew Armstrong ‘in a style which does infinite credit to his taste, and that of his architect, Mr Austin Nicholls, of Drogheda’. 

Armstrong upgraded Kilsharvan to a fine gentleman’s residence. He even considered building a “piazza”, the type of veranda he had seen on the great houses in Charleston, South Carolina, while there overseeing his import and export business. 

His only son and heir, George Andrew, was killed in the battle of Ferrozopore in India in 1845, aged just 21 years of age. The property then passed into the hands of Armstong’s in laws, the McDonnells. 

The McDonnells originated in County Antrim and were a noted medical family. In 1920 Penelope McDonnell Stevenson offered to donate to the Ulster Medical Society a bust of her great-uncle, Dr James McDonnell. McDonnell had been one of the leading physicians in Belfast in the early 19th century. When the society disposed of its building in 1965 the bust was offered to the Royal Victoria Hospital but it vanished a short time later. In 1937, Dr Robert Marshall gave to the Royal Victoria Hospital a bronze copy of a bust of McDonnell. The marble original dating to 1844 is now on permanent loan to the Ulster Museum. Another copy of the bust was on display at Kilsharvan House while the family were in residence. It is possible that the Kilsharvan bust was the original bust, and that after its exhibition at the RA in 1842, copies were made for other branches of the family. 

Sir Alexander McDonnell, eldest son of Dr. James McDonnell, was born at Belfast in 1794. He became a barrister in England but returned to Ireland where he became commissioner of the Board of Education in 1839 where he did outstanding work. While he was an ardent Protestant he sought to provided the religious instruction of choice for pupils. He became a privy councillor of Ireland in 1846, resigned his commissionership in 1871 and was created a baronet in 1872 in recognition of his services.  He died in Dublin in 1875 but was buried at Kilsharvan. 

James’s son, Dr. John McDonnell of Kilsharvan, performed the first operation in Ireland under anaesthesia using ether for an amputation in 1847.  His son Dr. Robert McDonnell gave the first transfusion of human blood in Ireland in 1865. Robert was a surgeon who served in the Crimean war and later became President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. James McDonnell, of Murlogh, co. Antrim and Kilsharvan was a barrister at law and he died in 1904. 

Col. John McDonnell of Kilsharvan, Justice of the Peace, was Lieutenant Colonel in the 5^th Batallion Leinster regiment  and served in World War I. Killed at Tores in 1915 , his son, Robert, succeeded him on being born the same day, 7 May 1915. 

Robert McDonnell, the last of the McDonnells died of wounds at Barce in 1941 during World War II and his mother married Captain Woods of Milverton Hall, Skerries and spent alternative halves of the year at Kilsharvan and  Milverton. She adapted the old mill to produce a coffee substitute during the World War, produced from the  roots of the dandelion plant. Mrs. Woods died in 1969 and was succeeded by Louisa McDonnell-Shorter and her daughter,  Lucita. Louisa died in 2007. 

The house and some adjoining land was sold in 1998 to the Duffy family.  Restoration work has been ongoing in Kilsharvan since then with the gate lodge  and garden being restored. The nearby cemetery of Kilsharvan dates back to the thirteenth century.