Lissadell House

Last updated

Lissadell House Lissadell House Copyright Nigel Aspdin.jpg
Lissadell House
Benbulbin in the distance Lissadell House 810953 22ff3265.jpg
Benbulbin in the distance

Lissadell House is a neo-classical Greek revivalist style country house in County Sligo, Ireland.

Contents

The house was built between 1830 and 1835 for Sir Robert Gore-Booth, 4th Baronet (1784–1835) by London architect Francis Goodwin. Sir Robert left the house and surrounding estate to his son, Sir Henry Gore-Booth, 5th Baronet.

Architecture

Described as "austere in the extreme", [1] Lissadell house is a Greek Revival style detached nine-bay, two-storey over basement mansion, the last one in this style to be built in Ireland. It is constructed of Ballysadare limestone with finely jointed ashlar walling. An entrance front is on the north with a three-bay pedimented central projection, originally open to east and west to form porte-cochere.

Before its sale in 2003, Lissadell was the only house in Ireland to retain its original Williams & Gibton furniture, which was made especially for the house and designed to harmonise with Goodwin's architectural vision.

Lissadell's was the first country house in Ireland to have an independent gas supply piped into the property. [2]

Location

The house is on the south shore of Maugherow Peninsula in northern County Sligo overlooking Drumcliff Bay. It is in the townland of Lissadill, [3] in the Barony of Carbury (formerly the túath of Cairbre Drom Cliabh). The house takes its name from the Irish placename, Lios an Doill Uí Dálaigh or O'Dalys Court of the Blind, possibly referring to the Ó Dálaigh school of poetry that existed here in the 13th century. [4]

History

The estate was formed from land granted in the early 17th century to the Elizabethan soldier Sir Paul Gore for his services to the English crown during the Nine Years' War. The land was confiscated from ecclesiastical lands belonging to the monastery of Drumcliff and the Lords of Ó Conchobhair Sligigh and the Ó hAirt (O'Hart) chiefs of the territory. The original seat of the estate was at Ardtarmon Castle, a 17th-century fortified house several kilometres to the west. The present house replaced an earlier 13th century house closer to the shore which was demolished.

The estate was once 32,000 acres (13,000 ha) but now consists of less than 500 acres (200 ha), the immediate demesne of the house. 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.
[5]

The estate was bought by the Cassidy-Walsh family in 2003 for an undisclosed sum. [6] They initiated a programme of restoration of the house.

Controversies

The clearance of Ballygilgan

This controversy occurred just prior to the famine and concerned the clearance of a settlement on the Lissadell estate as part of the "improvement" of the estate by consolidation of small holdings into larger more viable farms through "assisted emigration". The issue was whether these people were forced to go or left by choice.

The Lissadell affair

This controversy centred around the sacking of Gabrielle Gore-Booth by the then Solicitor General amid allegations of mismanagement of the estate, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when the heir Michael was made a ward of court. It generated considerable public indignation when it was first told by English journalist Anne Robinson. Gabrielle's counter claim involved the illegal felling of estate timber. Calls for a public inquiry were followed by an investigation by RTÉ’s current affairs programme Seven Days, re-examining the claim in respect of the timber, which had been dismissed as ‘absurd’.

Judgment was delivered in April 1965 by Justice Davitt who summed up by saying "Neither Gabrielle or her mother or sister have any legal rights whatever to any say in the matter as to how Lissadell is to be managed. They have no legal right even to be at Lissadell. They have been allowed to remain there because of the belief that if Sir Michael Gore-Booth were under no disability it would be his wish permanently to extend the hospitality of his home to his mother and sisters. That belief may or may not be well founded. I do not consider it necessary to direct that felling of timber be discontinued". [7]

Sale in 2004

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. The sale was controversial because, as well as being one of Ireland's finest houses, there are many historical associations with the house. It was the home of Constance Markievicz, associated with the poet W. B. Yeats and, because of its links to Markievicz and the 1916 Rising, it can be argued that the house is inextricably linked to the foundation of the state. Many, including Sir Josslyn himself, hoped that it would be purchased by the state stating "Suffice it to say I would welcome an interest on the part of the state". [8]

However, the then Fianna Fáil government under Bertie Ahern waived any interest in the estate, citing a cost report commissioned by Environment Minister Martin Cullen which suggested that the overall cost to the State of purchasing Lissadell and refurbishing it as a major visitor attraction would cost in the region of €28 million, a figure which has been claimed to be inaccurate by many, including Sir Josslyn himself. [9] The state also waived any interest in the auction of the contents of the house.

A consortium was set up consisting of businessmen and politicians to buy the house in trust for the state; [10] however, the house was eventually sold to a private couple, the prominent Dublin barristers Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy, who began to restrict access through the estate shortly after, citing privacy and safety concerns.

Access dispute 2008 to 2013

Background

Protests over access through the estate began shortly after the sale with the formation of a group called the 'Lissadell Action Group' who campaigned to have public rights of way through the estate confirmed. The protestors claimed that there had been free access through the estate for the previous hundred years and based their claim in part on a statement by Sir Josslyn. In a 1987 interview recorded in the Lissadell Estate papers he said: "This sea drive, or Avenue, then turns inland through the woods to the west of the house, eventually curving round to the north entrance of the house. Today the Avenue is a favourite haunt of picnic and bathing parties but this is not a recent idea; the people of Sligo have been able to use this area for recreation since the beginning of this century.". [11] This assertion glossed over that this part of Lissadell had been sold under the Land Acts, and that Coillte (the Irish State Forestry Commission) owned the sea avenue and land on either side of it.[ citation needed ]

In 2007, during a visit to the house by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to open an art exhibition, protestors claimed that "were Countess Markievicz here, she would be protesting with them" to which he replied that "the state can't take over every great house in the country. Lissadell is clearly in very loving hands. The owners have done a wonderful job." [12] [13]

Sligo County Council had by 2008 received 40 submissions from citizens and sought legal advice on access to the land. On a motion put by Councillor Joe Leonard in December 2008, the council voted unanimously to preserve public rights of way that the council contended existed on the estate. This motion began the procedure to vary the County Development Plan to include the four roads through the estate. [14]

In response, the Walshes announced the house's closure on 8 January 2009 due to the dispute with Sligo County Council. [15]

First judgement

The owners instituted legal proceedings against the council claiming that there are no dedicated public rights of way over the estate and the council counterclaimed, asserting public rights of way over the four main avenues. [16] [17] The owners indicated that they would not be reopening Lissadell if the council won the court action. [18]

In Ireland a right of way can be established if there has been a dedication by its owner to the public and secondly, if the public has accepted this dedication. In the absence of an express dedication, one must be inferred from the behaviour of the owner. General rights of way can also be asserted by use "since time immemorial". [19]

In order to infer whether a dedication existed, the case focussed on the erection and subsequent removal of a barrier in 1993 by Sir Josslyn, apparently to keep out New Age Travellers.

The High Court judge (McMahon J) decided on the fact that no objection was made by Sir Josslyn to its subsequent removal by locals, that this showed that he regarded the rights of way as belonging to the public. The 58-day-long hearings ended in June 2010, with judgement upholding the council's claims over the avenues. [20]

Legal costs for both sides at this stage were estimated at €6 million. [21] The grounds remained closed.

Appeal

The Walsh-Cassidys then appealed to the Supreme Court of Ireland. They claimed that Justice McMahon had "made a fundamental error" in his ruling arguing that he "had erred in converting evidence about use since the 1950s of four routes in the 410-acre estate into an effective presumption about, and significant extension of, the law governing rights of way". [22] The case hinged again on whether a dedication of right of way had been intended by the previous owners of Lissadell. This time the 1993 incident was interpreted to imply that Sir Josslyn saw the avenue as his to block and only relented in the interest of public relations.

The Supreme Court issued a 117-page judgement on 11 November 2013 that ruled in favour of the owners, excepting a public right of access along the beach. [17]

On 3 April 2014 the Supreme Court found that Sligo County Council must pay 75% of the costs of the appellants, estimated at 5.25 million, and all of its own costs for the 58 day legal battle. [23] In 2018, the parties reached a settlement on some of the owners' costs, which by then were estimated at about €7 million. [24]

Issues

The case brought up the difficulty of determining whether public rights of way exist, and the bitterness, cost, and duration of the resulting legal actions, against the background of sharply differing notions of sound public policy and history. [25]

Recognition of the implications of a precedent being set by the Lissadell case regarding these underlying issues was expressed by several of Sligo Council representatives while discussing the case, who stated "We are opening a can of worms here. 100 years ago there was a mass path across my land." and "while it was Lissadell House today", "what about [the implications for] ordinary farmers in other places". [14]

The Supreme court ruling has been criticised by advocates of open access [26] to the countryside, including Mountaineering Ireland for "setting the bar too high", effectively making it impossible to assert right of way through long use, instead requiring dedication by the landowner, a position abandoned in most European jurisdictions, including England, as too onerous a proof. [27]

On the other hand, the Supreme court decision has been welcomed by the Irish farmers organisation the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA). The President of the ICMSA, John Comer, said that it was "a victory for common sense" and will help set landowners' minds at ease. [28]

It has been noted that the reliance in the Lissadell case on old English common law precedents inherited by the state and the lack of reference to the Constitution of Ireland in both judgements, highlights the continued reliance of the courts of the Republic of Ireland on English law and precedent, and concomitant upholding of English style property rights, which may or may not be suited to the present situation in Ireland. [29]

Rights of way clashes have also occurred at Ashford Castle in County Mayo in 2011. [30]

Concerts

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constance Markievicz</span> Irish nationalist, suffragist, socialist, politician, and revolutionary (1868–1927)

Constance Georgine Markievicz, also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, socialist, and the first woman elected to the Westminster Parliament. She was elected Minister for Labour in the First Dáil, becoming the second female cabinet minister in Europe. She served as a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South constituency from 1921 to 1922 and 1923 to 1927. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Dublin St Patrick's from 1918 to 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivana Bacik</span> Irish politician (born 1968)

Ivana Catherine Bacik is an Irish politician who has been the Leader of the Labour Party since 24 March 2022 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay South constituency since winning a by-election on 9 July 2021. Bacik previously served as Leader of the Labour Party in the Seanad from 2011 to 2021, and a Senator for the Dublin University constituency from 2007 to 2021. She previously served as Deputy leader of the Seanad from 2011 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballymote</span> Town in County Sligo, Connacht, Ireland

Ballymote is a market town in southern County Sligo, Ireland. It is around 20 km south of Sligo town in the province of Connacht, which is in the north-west of Ireland. Ballymote lies in the barony of Corran. It is a commuter town with a strong history of independent enterprises along with firm local health, school, and transport services. Ballymote is on the main Dublin to Sligo Train Line, and 10 minutes from the N4 / N17 roads. The town serves a large hinterland area in south east County Sligo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Gore-Booth</span> Irish writer and activist (1870-1926)

Eva Selina Laura Gore-Booth was an Irish poet, theologian, and dramatist, and a committed suffragist, social worker and labour activist. She was born at Lissadell House, County Sligo, the younger sister of Constance Gore-Booth, later known as the Countess Markievicz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mullaghmore, County Sligo</span> Village in Connacht, Ireland

Mullaghmore is a village on the Mullaghmore Peninsula in County Sligo, Ireland. It is a holiday destination with a skyline dominated by Benbulben mountain. It is in the barony of Carbury and parish of Ahamlish.

There have been three baronetcies created for members of the Gore family, all in the Baronetage of Ireland. All three titles are extant. The family also holds two earldoms and a barony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Henry Gore-Booth, 5th Baronet</span> Anglo-Irish adventurer

Sir Henry William Gore-Booth, 5th Baronet, was a notable Arctic explorer, adventurer and landowner from Lissadell House, Sligo, Ireland.

Sir Robert Gore-Booth, 4th Baronet was an Anglo-Irish politician and landowner, who built Lissadell House, located in County Sligo.

Lissadell is the name of an area in north County Sligo on Magherow peninsula west of Benbulben. Until the late 16th century Lissadell was part of the tuath of Cairbre Drom Cliabh under the Lords of Sligo, Ó Conchobhair Sligigh. Lissadell is also now the name of the demesne which is attached to Lissadell House.

The National Asset Management Agency is a body created by the government of Ireland in late 2009 in response to the Irish financial crisis and the deflation of the Irish property bubble.

The High Sheriff of Sligo was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Sligo, Ireland, from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Sligo County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative functions and executed High Court Writs. In 1908, an Order in Council made the Lord-Lieutenant the Sovereign's prime representative in a county and reduced the High Sheriff's precedence. However the sheriff retained his responsibilities for the preservation of law and order in the county. The usual procedure for appointing the sheriff from 1660 onwards was that three persons were nominated at the beginning of each year from the county and the Lord Lieutenant then appointed his choice as High Sheriff for the remainder of the year. Often the other nominees were appointed as under-sheriffs. Sometimes a sheriff did not fulfil his entire term through death or other event and another sheriff was then appointed for the remainder of the year. The dates given hereunder are the dates of appointment. All addresses are in County Sligo unless stated otherwise.

Sir Robert Booth (1626–1681) was an English-born judge who had a highly successful career in Ireland, where he held the offices of Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas and Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Sligo County Council election</span> Part of the 2014 Irish local elections

An election to all 18 seats on Sligo County Council took place on 23 May 2014 as part of the 2014 Irish local elections, a reduction from 25 seats at the 2009 election. County Sligo was divided into two local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councilors for a five-year term of officeon the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). In addition, the borough council of Sligo was abolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Henry Cooper</span> Irish officer, landlord and Conservative politician

Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Henry Cooper was an Irish officer in the British Army, a landlord in County Sligo, and a Conservative politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sligo County Museum</span> County museum in Sligo, Ireland

Sligo County Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of County Sligo. The museum is housed in a former manse on Stephen Street, Sligo town.

Ethel Rhind was an Irish stained-glass and mosaic artist, who was associated with An Túr Gloine.

Michael Smith had the idea for the reward that led to Ireland's Planning Tribunal (1997–2012), was chairman of An Taisce, Ireland's National Trust and largest campaigning environmental NGO (1999–2003), and an activist opposing bad planning and environmental degradation; and is now editor of leftist magazine, Village.

Mary Finlay Geoghegan is a retired Irish judge and lawyer. She was appointed to the High Court in 2002 and promoted to a newly established Court of Appeal from 2014. She became a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland from 2017, before retiring in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank O'Rourke (politician)</span> Irish former Fianna Fáil politician (b. 1967)

Frank O'Rourke is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare North constituency from 2016 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Dublin Bay South by-election</span> 2021 by-election in Dublin Bay South constituency in Ireland

A by-election was held in the Dáil Éireann constituency of Dublin Bay South in Ireland on Thursday, 8 July 2021, to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of the Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy. The by-election was won by Senator Ivana Bacik of the Labour Party.

References

  1. ↑ "Lissadell House, County Sligo: Buildings of Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage". buildingsofireland.ie. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "Lights out – but Lissadell sale on". Antiques Trade Gazette. 6 December 2003. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  3. ↑ "Lios an Daill/Lissadill". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "Annals of the Four Masters". ucc.ie. Archived from the original on 10 August 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  5. ↑ Yeats, William Butler (2000) [First published 1933 in "The Winding Stair and other poems"]. The collected poems of W. B. Yeats. p. 197. ISBN   1-85326-454-7. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Mystery over mansion sale". BBC News . 12 August 2003. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Lissadell House and Gardens Sligo". lissadellhouse.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
  8. ↑ Gore-Booth, Josslyn (23 May 2003). "Why I'm selling historic Lissadell House". Irish Independent . Dublin. ISSN   0021-1222. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "Final farewell at Lissadell House". Sligo Champion . 5 December 2003. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  10. ↑ "New push to keep historic Lissadell House for State". friendsoftheirishenvironment.org. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "Introduction to the Lissadell Papers" (PDF). Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). November 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2022– via nidirect.
  12. ↑ "Speech by the Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern TD, at the opening of the Constance Markievicz Exhibition in Lissadell, Sligo on Friday, 30 March, 2007 at 4.05 p.m." Department of the Taoiseach . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Lissadell protest at Bertie". thefreelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  14. 1 2 Keaney, Harry (15 January 2009). "'We jumped the gun on this,' says local councillor". Sligo Champion . Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  15. ↑ "Owners to close Lissadell House estate". RTÉ News . 8 January 2009. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  16. ↑ "Legal proceedings over Lissadell House". RTÉ News . 14 January 2009. Archived from the original on 18 January 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  17. 1 2 Carolan, Mary (11 November 2013). "Court rules in favour of Lissadell owners in right of way case". The Irish Times . Dublin. ISSN   0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  18. ↑ McDonagh, Marese (7 July 2009). "Sligo mayor urges talks to end Lissadell House dispute". The Irish Times . Dublin. ISSN   0791-5144. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  19. ↑ "Use from time immemorial or express or implied acceptance by owners of land of such use creates a right of way". The Irish Times . Dublin. 11 June 2005. ISSN   0791-5144. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  20. ↑ "Irish High Court Judgement of Mr. Justice McMahon". JD Supra. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  21. ↑ Healy, Tim (19 June 2010). "Lissadell legal row case costs €6m". Irish Independent . Dublin. ISSN   0021-1222. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  22. ↑ Comiskey, Laura (25 January 2013). "Lissadell owners claim judge made a fundamental error". Sligo Weekender . Archived from the original on 30 April 2014.
  23. ↑ "Supreme Court Orders Council to Pay 75% of Lissadel Legal Costs". Sligo News File. 3 April 2014. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014.
  24. ↑ Carolan, Mary (19 October 2018). "Sligo council and Lissadell owners agree on aspects of €5m legal bill". The Irish Times . Dublin. ISSN   0791-5144. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  25. ↑ Fleming, Michelle (16 November 2013). "Beau Behind" (PDF). Irish Daily Mail . p. 54. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014– via www.keepirelandopen.org.
  26. ↑ Dowds, Robert (11 November 2013). "Lisadell judgement shows need to overhaul land access laws - Dowds". Labour Party . Archived from the original on 2 May 2014.
  27. ↑ "Update on Lissadell case". keepirelandopen.org. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013.
  28. ↑ "ICMSA welcome Lissadell judgement". Ocean FM . Sligo. 12 November 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  29. ↑ Browne, Vincent (20 November 2013). "Lissadell ruling reflects a reliance on English law and sense of property". The Irish Times . Dublin. ISSN   0791-5144. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  30. ↑ "Castle right of way case in court". The Irish Times . Dublin. 3 December 2011. ISSN   0791-5144. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

54°21′N8°35′W / 54.350°N 8.583°W / 54.350; -8.583

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.