The stately home that cost the same as a semi-d
Anita
Guidera
WEALTHY barrister couple Constance Cassidy and Eddie Walsh have been given more than ?1m in grant aid for restoring the great gardens at Lissadell House.
Since buying the ancestral home of Countess Markievicz in 2003 for ?3.75m, they have ploughed over ?3m of their own money into the restoration of the north Sligo house and grounds.
But the allocation of a grant of ?1.1m by Fáilte Ireland under its Tourism Product Development Scheme means that the estate can now be developed into a major horticultural and tourism centre.
"We should be able to fast-track a lot of projects we have undertaken in the past 12 months to return Lissadell to a major horticultural enterprise and put it in onto the Great Gardens of Ireland trail with Glenveagh in Donegal and Strokestown in Roscommon," said Eddie yesterday.
Since purchasing the stately pile, the couple and their seven children have travelled west every weekend to work on the daunting project which has become a labour of love.
And along the way they have learned about the glory days of the great house in the first half of the twentieth century, when alpine and herbaceous plants from the estate were exported to places as far afield as China and Russia.
The restoration of the alpine garden and the glasshouse complex are now top on the agenda in their plans to make Lissadell a horticultural showcase for Sligo and the north-west.
Moves are already underway to redevelop the extensive vegetable and fruit growing operation which made Lissadell famous.
But it doesn't stop there. When completed, the gardens will be fully staffed and open all year around for guided tours. Lissadell will also embark on educational tours to schools and colleges and painting and writing workshops in converted stables at the house.
"It occupies every single moment of any spare time that we can find. We have tried to organise our working time so that we are there as much as possible to move it on and now, with this grant, we can move ahead more quickly," said Eddie.
Opening this weekend, Lissadell House will remain open to the public for 207 days this year compared to 180 last year and 150 the year before. For Constance, the hardest thing is leaving Sligo every Sunday evening.
"We always knew it was going to make us very busy and that we would have to invest time, so we try to leave Dublin at lunchtime every Friday and we hit the ground running when we get there.
"The hardest part for us both is leaving Lissadell on Sundays but we don't have much choice," she laughed.
