Castle Hyde, Fermoy, County Cork
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. 70. “(Hyde, now Sealy/IFR; Wrixon-Becher, Bt/Pb) a house built ca 1801 for John Hyde to the design of the elder Abraham Hargrave, of Cork; consisting of a centre block of three storeys over a basement and seven bays joined by straight corridors to bow-fronted pavilions, both the corridors and the pavillions being of one storey over basement. The centre block has a three bay breakfront; the entrance door and the two flaking windows are round-headed, as is the central first floor window’ all the basement windows are semi-circular, and all the windows in the front have keystones. The corridors are of three bays, divided by Ionic pilasters; and there ar three round-headed windows in the bows of the pavilions, which are curved. Large hall with screen of fluted Corinthian columns; frieze of transitional plasterwork; plaster panelling on walls. The drawing room, on one side of the hall, has a rather similar frieze. Long and wide corridors – more like galleries, lead from the hall to oval rooms in the pavilions, which are very much of their period in containing additional reception rooms rather than offices. The latter would almost invariable have been the case had the house been a few years earlier; though in some other respects it seems old-fashioned for the date, and might possibly be a rebuilding of an earlier house. But if the wings are very much of 1801, so is the splendid oval cantilevered staircase of stone with its elegant wrought-iron balustrade, which rises to the top of the house in a domed staircase hall behind the main hall. Surprisingly, one has to clim to the top of this beautiful staircase to reach teh garden, for the house stands beside the River Blackwater with its back up against a cliff. From the top of the stairs one crosses the chasm between the house and the cliff by a bridge; then, after climbing a few more steps cut in the rock one goes through a door and finds onself at the end of a brad vista between colossal beech hedges, looking towards a church tower There is an old ruied castle of the Condons rising from the cliff immediately above the house. Handsome entrance gates, with trefoil arched wickets surmounted by sphinxes and flanked by tall piers with Doric friezes. The seat of the Hydes, of which Douglas Hyde, founder of the Gaelic League and 1st President of Ireland, was a cadet. Sold in mid-C19 during the lifetime of John Hyde, son of the builder fo the house, by order of the Encumbered Estates Court. Subsequently the seat of William Wrixon-Becher, a great yachtsman, and a great hunting man who hunted for almost 60 years with almost every pack in Ireland. For many years the home of Mr and Mrs Henry Laughlin, who bought Castle Hyde btween the wars.”
The Buildings of Ireland. Cork City and County. Frank Keohane. Yale University Press: New Haven and London. 2020.
p. 27. Of mid-C18 Palladian interiors, good representative examples with panelled dados, lugged architraves, fielded panelling and chunky cornices are found at Coole Abbey House, Assolas, Cloghroe, Kilshannig, and Blackrock House. Curiously, the heavy Palladian lugged architrave remained in use in the county long after it fell out of fashion elsewhere. At Lisnabrin, Dunkathel, Burton, Rockforest and Muckridge, the form is encountered in late C18 Neoclassical interiors, suggesting an innate conservatism among local joiners. The finest joinery in most houses is reserved for the staircase, and in many cases these have survived. The best early C18 staircases, at the Red House and Annes Grove, have alternating barley-twist and columnar balusters, big Corinthian newel posts, ramped handrails and carved tread-end brackets. Mount Alvernia (Mallow), Carrigrohane and Cloghroe all have good mid-C18 staircases of a similar type; that at Lota is exceptional in its use of mahogany and for its imperial plan. Good Neoclassical staircases, geometrical in form with delicate ironwork balustrades, survive at Maryborough, Newmarket Court and Castle Hyde; the destruction of those at Vernon Mount is a particularly sad loss.
The best early plasterwork is that of the Swiss-Italian brothers Paolo and Filippo Lafranchini at Riverstown, where highly sculptural late Baroque figurative ornament is applied to the walls and ceilings of the Saloon… Filippo alone decorated two rooms at Kilshannig, blending late Baroque figures with lighter acanthus arabesques and putti. Rococo plasterwork featuring scrolling acanthus and birds comparable to the Dublin school of the 1760s is encountered in the Saloon at Castlemartyr, and at Maryborough. At Laurentium (Doneraile) and the Old College (Youghal), it is rather more hesitant. For the most part, stucco workers remain anonymous, so it is a happy circumstance that Patrick Osborne’s accomplished work at the former Mansion House at Cork is recorded. He also probably worked at Lota, as well as at Castle Hyde. Good Neoclassical plasterwork in low relief and employing small-scale classical motifs of the type made fashionable by Robert Adam and James Wyatt is found at Maryborough, at Old Court House (Rochestown), and at the Old College and Loreto College at Youghal.
Detached seven-bay three-storey over half-basement country house, built c. 1790, facing south, with shallow three-bay breakfront, four-bay side elevations whose north end bays project slightly, seven-bay rear elevation, and three-bay single-storey over half-basement wings terminating in higher single-storey over half-basement pavilions having three-bay bowed front elevations and four-bay side elevations, middle bays of latter projecting slightly. Skirt slate roofs to main block and to pavilions, with cut limestone chimneystacks and moulded limestone cornices and eaves courses. Glazed dome over staircase. Painted rendered walls throughout, with cut limestone quoins to corners of façade and to north bay of side elevations, with pilaster quoins to breakfront. Cut limestone platband between ground and first floors and moulded string course between first and second floors. Carved limestone Ionic-style pilasters flanking openings to ground floor of wings. Cut limestone string course between basement and ground floor of wings and pavilions. Square-headed window openings throughout, with timber sliding sash windows, having cut limestone sills. Blind window openings to south bays of east side elevation. Cut limestone keystones to window openings to front and side elevations. Main block has three-over-three pane windows to second floor, six-over-six pane to first floor, and six-over-nine pane to ground floor. Windows to breakfront have cut limestone surrounds, carved triple-keystones, and sills, with round-headed openings to ground floor and middle bay of first floor having Doric-style pilasters and fanlights. Diocletian windows to basement of main block, with cut limestone surrounds, keystones and sills, blind to side elevation and with fixed windows to front elevation. Elliptical-headed windows to middle bay of side elevations, four-over-eight pane to second floor with cobweb fanlights and eight-over-eight pane to first floor with cobweb and spoked fanlights. Tripartite window to north end bay of ground floor of west side elevation with carved sandstone surround having engaged Ionic-style columns flanking six-over-nine pane lights, with moulded cornice and fluted console brackets to cut-stone sill. Rear elevation of main block has elliptical-headed windows to end bays and square-headed elsewhere, with six-over-six pane windows, and with some six-over-three pane windows to second floor. Decorative cast-iron bridge to rear elevation leading to square-headed timber panelled double-leaf door, other end leading to flight of cut limestone steps. Recessed round-headed window openings to first floor of pavilion bows, having six-over-nine pane windows with spoked fanlights, square-headed elsewhere, with four-over-four pane windows to basement and six-over-nine pane windows to side elevations, some blind window openings to latter. Round-headed main entrance opening having carved limestone surround having pilasters with plinths and moulded capitals, moulded archivolt with triple-keystone and having carved heraldic device and vegetal decoration to tympanum, moulded cornice and timber panelled double-leaf doors, approached by flight of moulded limestone steps having landings to each side with diocletian windows to basement underneath and having cast-iron railings above and to steps, landings having panelled cut limestone piers. Flights of cut limestone steps to doorways to wings and to north-west corner of west pavilion, latter leading to terrace, and wing steps being moulded, all having cast-iron railings. Square-headed doorways to wings having overlights and timber panelled doors. Elliptical-arched vehicular gateway to east, leading to rear of house and having plinths, cut limestone voussoirs, impost course, jambs and coping.
Appraisal
Castle Hyde was built for the Hyde family to the design of the architect Davis Duckart. The architect Abraham Hargreave c. 1800 was employed to enlarge the house; the wings and staircase possibly date from this period. Castle Hyde is similar in design to Cregg House, located in the adjoining townland. Castle Hyde, however, is larger and grander in scale and treatment. Whilst Castle Hyde is characteristic in form of late eighteenth century country houses built in the classical style, it is distinguished by the ornate limestone dressings such as the Ionic style pilasters and tripartite window to the wings. The symmetrical proportions of the façade are articulated by the finely cut limestone quoins, which also add decorative interest to the front elevation. The ornate raised entrance constitutes the focal point of the house; the door surround and heraldic motifs are particularly finely carved. The well-proportioned façade has a piano nobile level raised above the basement, which was a favourite device of eighteenth century Irish architecture. The basement windows are notable for their Diocletian form and cut limestone dressings. The house has an unusual cast-iron bridge to the rear, which leads to walled gardens to the north. The walled gardens retain much of their form and features including carriage arch, dovecote and brick courses. The site retains many demesne related structures such as the walled gardens, grotto, outbuildings and lodges, which provides valuable context.
Complex of two-storey outbuildings, mainly stable-blocks, built c. 1810, for Castle Hyde, comprising square-plan yard with ranges to all sides, having central archways to north and south, latter accessed along street formed by south-west and south-east outbuildings running at right angles to courtyard. All have slate roofs and rubble stone walls. Former steward’s house forms south end of west range. Thirteen-bay north range has exposed stone walls, slight breakfront with gabled single-storey porch to front, rendered pediment with moulded limestone surround, clock-face and having recent louvered timber lantern with weather-vane. Blind elliptical-arched opening to upper level of breakfront with rubble voussoirs and elliptical archway to porch. Slate-roofed lean-to to whole length of range to each side of porch, supported on braced timber posts. Camber-arched window openings with rubble voussoirs and three-over-three pane timber sliding sash windows. Ten-bay east range has roughcast rendered walls, blocked elliptical-headed archways to ground floor and camber-headed three-over-three-pane windows to first floor. Eleven-bay south range has gabled breakfront to courtyard elevation with recent elliptical carriage archway and exposed rubble stone walls, roughcast rendered elsewhere, square-headed three-over-three pane timber sliding sash windows to first floor and altered openings to ground floor with glazed timber doors. External side of archway has roughcast rendered walls, dressed limestone voussoirs, pediment with moulded limestone surround, oculus with timber window, and double-leaf cast-iron gate. West range, thirteen bay externally, formerly used as hotel and comprises seven-bay former outbuilding to north end and multiple-bay rear elevation of former steward’s house to south. North block has recent single-storey hipped slate-roofed addition to four northern bays and recent gabled porch to next bay south, recent brick chimneystack, exposed stone walls except for roughcast rendered south gable, with eaves course, camber-headed three-over-three pane timber sliding sash windows with rubble voussoirs and elliptical-arched openings to ground floor of additions and southmost bay, with glazed timber fittings. West elevation of north block has six-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows and recent three-bay single-storey flat-roofed addition to west. Former steward’s house has brick chimneystacks with string courses and stepped copings, coursed rubble sandstone walls, square-headed window openings with six-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows having brick surrounds and some limestone sills, round-headed door opening with fanlight, timber panelled door and flight of moulded limestone steps with replacement metal railings. Large limestone trough and overflow, and cast-iron water pump, to centre of courtyard. Four-bay, two-storey south-west and south-east buildings, being pairs of workers’ houses, having chamfered corners to street corners with wheel guards, hipped slate roofs, brick chimneystacks, exposed snecked squared rubble stone walls, partly roughcast rendered, with cut-stone quoins, moulded limestone eaves courses, cut-stone voussoirs and sills. Square-headed window and door openings, having three-over-three pane timber sliding sash windows to first floor and six-over-six pane to ground floor, and timber battened doors with paned overlights. Semi-circular limestone arch detail between middle bays. Other stone-walled outbuildings to east and north, with square-profile rubble sandstone piers to road entrance to north, having cut-stone caps.
Appraisal
The Georgian stables of Castle Hyde are a fine example of planned farm buildings, complete with steward’s house. The stables comprise a well-proportioned walled square with perpendicular ranges to the entrance range of the stables proper. High quality materials are used in the dressings of the stables such as the limestone surrounds to the oculus and pediments. The entrance ranges are distinguished from the side ranges, which housed the stables, animal houses and accommodation for farm workers, by means of the pedimented breakfronts. This is a characteristic device of late eighteenth, early nineteenth-century planned farm buildings in Ireland. The complex represents an interesting group of demesne-related structures.
Ashlar limestone gateway to Castle Hyde House, built c. 1830, comprising vehicular gateway and flanking arched pedestrian entrances. Square-profile piers having moulded plinths and entablature with triglyphs, metopes, bucrania and roundel motifs. Pedestrian entrances have moulded coping courses, trefoil-arched openings with hood-mouldings, having moulded panels above, with sphinxes to parapets. Entrance openings flanked by pilasters with moulded capitals. Gateway flanked by curving rubble limestone walling and terminating in second pair of square-profile ashlar limestone piers. Replacement decorative wrought-iron gates. Piers recently resituated back from road. Detached three-bay single-storey gate lodge, built c. 2000, inside gates.
Appraisal
These ornate gates form one of the entrances to Castle Hyde House. The gateway is notable for its design which incorporates both classical and Gothic elements. The piers are enlivened by the finely sculpted bucrania, roundel motifs and triglyphs which serve as a reminder of the skill of local stone masons and sculptors available in Ireland at the time of construction. The gateway provides important context to the locality and forms an attractive roadside feature.
Entrance gateway from north, to Castle Hyde, erected c. 1830, comprising square-profile ashlar limestone inner and outer piers, with moulded plinths, string courses and moulded caps, and with decorative double-leaf wrought-iron gates. Lower inner piers have acorn finials and outer piers have eagles. Dressed limestone and sandstone sweeping walls between piers, with limestone copings.
Appraisal
These imposing and ornate gates form the northern entrance to Castle Hyde House. They are well designed and solidly constructed and form a strong focal point. The varied finials provide eyecatching decorative detail and the stonework is indicative of high quality craftsmanship.
http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/property-list.jsp?letter=C
A late 18th century house, which was the home of the Hyde family. In 1786 Wilson describes it as “a beautiful house, magnificent demesne, highly cultivated, the seat of Arthur Hyde”. At the time of the sale of Castle Hyde in 1851 the house was occupied by Spencer Cosby Price, the brother-in-law of John Hyde. The house was valued at £115. Castle Hyde was bought by John Sadleir MP in trust [for Vincent Scully]. Major Chichester was the tenant from year to year in 1861. John Wrixon Becher, second son of Sir William Wrixon Becher of Ballygiblin, county Cork, subsequently lived at Castle Hyde. in the 1870s John R. Wrixon of Castle Hyde is recorded as the owner of 1,263 acres in county Cork. He was resident in 1906 when the buildings were valued at £96. The Irish Tourist Association Survey of 1942 indicated that the house was then “occupied by the military”. Castle Hyde is now the home of dancer, Michael Flatley.
http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2014/06/castle-hyde.html
THE WRIXON-BECHER BARONETS WERE MAJOR LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY CORK, WITH 18,933 ACRES
The BECHERS settled in County Cork in the reign of ELIZABETH I.
The family has a pedigree in its possession tracing their ancestors in that line to Sir Eustace D’Abrichecourt, who came from Hainault with Philippa, consort of EDWARD III, in 1328.
HENRY WRIXON, of Assolas, County Cork, married Anna, daughter of William Mansfield; and dying in 1794, left a daughter (Mary, who wedded William, Viscount Ennismore) and a son and heir,
WILLIAM WRIXON (1756-1847), of Cecilstown, County Cork, who espoused Mary, daughter of John Townsend Becher, of Annisgrove, and sister and heir of Henry Becher, of Creagh, both in County Cork, and had issue,
WILLIAM, his heir;
John;
Nicholas, in holy orders;
Mary Anne; Jane; Georgiana.
Mr Wrixon was succeeded by his eldest son,
WILLIAM WRIXON (1780-1850), of Ballygiblin, MP for Mallow, 1818-26, who assumed the additional surname of BECHER, and married, in 1819, Elizabeth O’Neill, the very celebrated actress, and had issue,
HENRY, his heir;
John;
William;
Mary; Elizabeth.
Mr Wrixon-Becher was created a baronet in 1831, denominated of Ballygiblin, County Cork.
Sir William was succeeded by his eldest son,
SIR HENRY WRIXON-BECHER, 2nd Baronet (1826-93), DL, who wedded, in 1878, Florence Elizabeth, daughter of Frederick John Walker; though died without issue, and was succeeded by his brother,
SIR JOHN WRIXON-BECHER, 3rd Baronet (1828-1914), JP DL, High Sheriff of County Cork, 1867, who espoused, in 1857, the Lady Emily Catherine Hare, daughter of William, 2nd Earl of Listowel, and had issue,
EUSTACE WILLIAM WYNDHAM, his successor;
Edgar;
Henry;
Arthur Nicholas;
Charles Edward;
Alice Elizabeth; Victoria Emily; Mary; Cecil Eleanor; Barbara Elizabeth;
Adelaide Maud; Georgina Victoria; Hilda Mary.
Sir John was succeeded by his eldest son,
SIR EUSTACE WILLIAM WYNDHAM WRIXON-BECHER, 4th Baronet (1859-1934), DL, High Sheriff of County Cork, 1859, who married, in 1907, Constance, daughter of Augustus, 6th Baron Calthorpe, and had issue,
WILLIAM FANE, his successor;
Muriel Mary; Aileen; Shiela; Rosemary.
Sir Eustace was succeeded by his son,
SIR WILLIAM FANE WRIXON-BECHER, 5th Baronet (1915-2000), MC, who wedded firstly, in 1946, Ursula Vanda Maud, daughter of George, 4th Baron Vivian, and had issue,
JOHN WILLIAM MICHAEL, his successor;
Susannah Elizabeth.
He wedded secondly, in 1960, Yvonne Margaret, daughter of Arthur Stuart Johnson.
Sir William was succeeded by his son,
SIR JOHN WILLIAM MICHAEL WRIXON-BECHER, 6th Baronet, born in 1950.
CASTLE HYDE, near Fermoy, County Cork, was built about 1801 for John Hyde MP.
The architect was Hargrave of Cork.
It comprises a central block of three storeys over a basement and seven bays, joined by straight corridors to bow-fronted pavilions on either side (of one storey over a basement).
The centre block has a three-bay breakfront.
The corridors are of three bays each, with dividing Ionic pilasters.
The pavilions have round-headed windows.
The interior boasts a large hall with a screen of fluted Corinthian columns; a frieze of transitional plasterwork, and plaster panelling on the walls.
The stone staircase is magnificent, being oval and cantilevered, with an exquisite wrought-iron balustrade which ascends to the top of the house in the domed staircase hall, which is behind the principal hall.
Castle Hyde is situated behind the River Blackwater, directly against a cliff, where there is an ancient ruined castle.
The entrance gates are no less impressive to visitors, with their trefoil-arched wickets surmounted by sphinxes, flanked by lofty piers with Doric friezes.
*****
In the early 1850s John Hyde’s estate was located in the baronies of Fermoy, Condons and Clangibbon, and Barrymore, county Cork and Ardmayle and Holycross, barony of Middlethird, county Tipperary.
The first division (over 11,600 acres) of the estates of John Hyde, comprising the manor, town and lands of Castle Hyde with other lands, was advertised for sale in December, 1851.
Printed papers accompanying this rental in the Irish National Archives refer to the history of the Hyde family and the surprise at the sale of their estates which is ”attributed to mismanagement of the estates by agents rather than to any faults on the part of the possessors”.
There is also a newspaper cutting listing the purchasers of the various lots: John Sadleir MP bought Castle Hyde in trust for £17,525.
In 1861 Castle Hyde was for sale again, the estate of John W. Burmester, William Corry and James Andrew Durham (bankers).
Douglas Hyde, founder of the Gaelic League and first Irish President, was a scion of this family.
Castle Hyde subsequently became the seat of William Wrixon-Becher, a great yachtsman and, indeed a hunting man who hunted for sixty years with most packs in Ireland. . [Bence-Jones: For many years the home of Mr and Mrs Henry Laughlin, who bought Castle Hyde between the wars]
*****
Since 2000, Castle Hyde has belonged to the Irish-American dancer and musician, Michael Flatley, who has spent a considerable amount of money in the mansion’s total restoration.
In 2003, the Irish Sunday Independent newspaper reported that:-
Costing a staggering €30m, Castlehyde House now boasts 14 lavish bedrooms, an entire first-floor suite for Flatley and his partner, Lisa Murphy, two climate-controlled wine cellars, a Roman spa, a 20-seat private cinema, an African safari room, a Jameson-designed whiskey room, a three-storey 3,000-volume library, a music room, a gym and various reception rooms, not to mention a reinforced steel, eight-bay garage for the star’s collection of Ferraris, BMWs and Rolls-Royce cars.
Incredibly, that €30m price-tag does not include the collection of artwork, antiques and collectibles that Michael Flatley is now hoarding for his private palace.
As if that isn’t enough to impress, consider the fact that Castlehyde’s red-wine cellar will, thanks to the star’s collection of fine Bordeaux labels, become the most valuable collection in the country.
The three-storey library – topped with a meticulously painted ceiling mural and American walnut shelves – will house 3,000 volumes and, at the dancer’s insistence, will boast first editions and signed copies of the most famous works of Irish literature.
“Michael loves Joyce’s Ulysses so we have private buyers now searching out suitable works for the collection,” architect Peter Inston explained.
Incredibly, just four years ago this famous mansion – built in 1760 and extended in 1800 – was falling apart with flood damage to its basement and roof. Its foundations were subsiding due to over 100 years of flood damage and its main walls were leaning outwards by over ten inches at their outer peaks.
“To be honest, it would have been easier to demolish the house,” explained David Higgins, co-owner with his wife, Monica, of Cornerstone Construction, the family firm entrusted with turning Flatley’s dream into reality.
But, with the Riverdance and Lord of the Dancestar determined to retain the mansion’s original character, a painful and laborious process of restoring and rebuilding was launched.
“Just to put it in context, every window in this house has been restored from the original. It cost over €500,000. But if we had torn them out and put in cheaper PVC windows, it would have cost less than €250,000,” he explained.
Hailed by Flatley as “my dream home”, the four-storey River Blackwater mansion will now be formally completed in October when the Chicago-born dancer is scheduled to move in.
Flatley’s friend and world-renowned architect, Peter Inston, admitted he has never handled a project of such magnificence in 20 years of work for the world’s rich and famous.
“I’VE worked for the King of Qatar and other royals but I’ve never seen anyone take such a hands-on interest in restoring a property as Michael has,” Inston told the Sunday Independent. Peter stressed that, in his opinion, Castlehyde House would be regarded as the finest restoration project in Ireland and, quite probably Europe, for decades to come.
“The point is that everything in this house is original. We’ve saved absolutely everything we could. We’ve repaired and restored the original floors, windows, ceilings and slates. In the basement, we even stripped out the original bricks, numbered them, repaired the flood damage and then replaced the bricks exactly as they were,” he added.
Castlehyde Estate caretaker and local historian Pat Bartley admitted that the house is now back to its 18th-century splendour, when it was one of the most famous features on Ireland’s aristocratic ‘social circuit’. ”This house is a treasure and only Michael could have ensured that it was restored the way it is,” Bartley explained.
Castlehyde’s location is a suitable setting for such a project – the River Blackwater was, for a time, known as “the Irish Rhine” thanks to its plethora of great houses and castles.
Landscaping is now under-way on the rolling parkland which sweeps in front of Castlehyde House down to the banks of the river. But if the location of the house is spectacular – with the river providing its frontage and, to the rear, a sheer cliff-face topped by the ruin of a 13th-century Condon Castle – entering the mansion literally takes the breath away.
“This house was restored to bring it back to its former glory,” Peter Inston explained. “But we restored it so that it could once again be lived in and enjoyed. This isn’t going to be a museum. It’s a family home.”
Castlehyde’s most famous features are its collection of 18th-century fireplaces – regarded as priceless – as well as its stone cantilever staircase which is widely acknowledged as the finest in Ireland. But guests arriving for one of Flatley’s future parties will savour not only an 18th-century mansion but a palace equipped with every conceivable 21st-century mod-con.
The entrance hall is now equipped with an electric, conveyor-belt operated coat rack. All coat-rooms are climate-controlled. The main ground-floor hallways can also have their doors opened so that, in one giant room stretching the entire length of the house, guests can dine at a single long table a la royalty.
All the original plaster cornices and murals are being restored with specialist gilt-work by British artists including Keith Ferdinand and Tony Raymond, both of whom have worked on numerous Royal palaces.
The music room – fully sound-proofed and with spectacular views over the Blackwater valley – is equipped with a Steinway grand piano, a concert harp and Flatley’s valuable collection of flutes. Every chimney in the house has been relined – and all the marble fireplaces, many of which were in poor repair, have been restored and can be used.
The entire first floor is Flatley’s personal suite – complete with a butler’s chamber, an Italian-style bedroom with four-poster bed and hand-crafted silk hangings.
Off the bedroom are matching ‘his’ and ‘hers’ bathrooms and dressing rooms – with the 18th-century baths raised on a special dais so that bathers can enjoy full views of the river.
A complete wardrobe can be stored in the changing room – and altered, with the season, with clothing in a basement storage room.
Off the first-floor hallway, the dancer can savour direct access to his stunning library.
The books will be stored on hand-carved American walnut shelves with special display cases for the more valuable volumes.
Upstairs lie the guest bedrooms. Each is decorated to a theme reflecting Flatley’s interests or the house’s own heritage. Themes include the China room, the American Presidents room, the French room, the Napoleon room, the Venetian room and the Beecher-Wrixon room, complete with a nautical theme to reflect the yachting exploits of the family that formerly owned Castlehyde.
Each bedroom has its own specially-designed wallpaper or hangings – each is also complete with its own marble bathroom.
The entire house boasts a centralised, computer-controlled audio-visual system offering satelliteTV to all rooms as well as a selection of classic and popular music.
But it’s in the basement that Castlehyde’s lavish decadence truly comes to the fore.
The African Safari room has canvass-lined walls to given an authentic feel to anyone wishing to feel ‘Out of Africa’ while playing billiards, drinking whiskey or smoking the stock of fine Cuban cigars.
Down the corridor lies the Jameson-designed whiskey room – complete with four giant casks of Irish whiskey and cabinets lined with rare malts and distillations.
Nearby is the 20-seat private cinema complete with 20-foot screen and bar. There is also American pop-corn and Coca-Cola machines. In minutes, the cinema can also be transformed into a private audition room for rehearsals or dance preparations.
THERE are two wine cellars – one for red and white – with a special climate control system. Red wines will be stored by the case – Michael Flatley’s collection, includes fine Chateau Latoursand Margaux.
Those opting for fitness over indulgence will be catered for at Castlehyde’s own Roman spa – which includes a massage room with heated-floor, a relaxation room, steam room, sauna, salt-water flotation tank, showers, mechanical massage room, hair-salon and a state-of-the-art gym.
Guests who arrive with children needn’t be too concerned – there is a special children’s dormitory complete with plasma TV screen and computer games.
Staff are also catered for with a laundry room, fully-fitted kitchens and a butler’s room.
Because the basement is located at the foot of the cliffs and was prone to flooding, exacerbated by the nearby river, the entire sub-structure had to be water-proofed. That water-proofing programme alone cost almost 25 per cent of the original purchase price of the house.
“I don’t think any private individual has ever undertaken a restoration project of this scale or cost,” Peter Inston admitted.
Even the grounds are being restored at lavish expense – Castlehyde’s famous stone gateway is being repaired while the caretaker and lodge-keepers homes are also being restored.
As if all that wasn’t enough, consider the eight-bay garage.
Because it is located near Castlehyde’s cliffs, it was decided to build it of reinforced steel complete with a toughened concrete roof – to protect the priceless vehicles housed inside.
The centrepiece of these will be Michael’s new Rolls-Royce Phantom – which, at 20 feet in length, forced the garage to be redesigned.
Also stored will be the dancer’s sports cars, a Ferrari and BMW roadster, as well as a pre-1904 vintage car he is currently negotiating to buy.
And the star needn’t worry too much about taking them onto North Cork roads because his estate will also boast one-and-a-half miles of resurfaced roadways for private jaunts.
Paddy Rossmore. Photographs. Edited by Robert O’Byrne. The Lilliput Press, Dublin 7, 2019.
“The remains of a large castle, originally called Cariganedy, stands perched on cliffs above the Blackwater, its site clearly chosen because it offered an excellent vantage up and down the river. Some old accounts say that it was built by the Condons, others that it was built by the Mahonys. Whichever is true, in the second half of the sixteenth century the property passed into the possession of Sir Arthur Hyde, granted some six-thousandacres in this area by Elizabeth I following the attainder of the Earl of Desmond.
The old castle, and it inhabitants, suffered during the Confederate Wars of the 1640s so it is not surprising that a new residence was constructed soon afterwards, this in turn replaced by the core of the present building at some date during the second half of the eighteenth century: it has been proposed that the central block was designed by the Sardinian architect-engineer Davis Ducart, who may have been of Italian origin. In 1786 William Wilson’s The Post-Chaise Companion or Travellers Directory Through Ireland described Castle Hyde as “a beautiful house, magnificent demesne, highly cultivated, the seat of Arthur Hyde.” Another account of 1825 notes the building as being “recently greatly enlarged and improved.” This work is likely to have begun at the start of the nineteenth century to the designs of Cork architect Abraham Hargrave: it would appear he was responsible for the additions to the rear and also the wings, giving Castle Hyde’s facade a curiously old-fashioned Palladian appearance.
Irish Historic Houses 