Period home in €15m sale after bitter saga

THE owners of one of the most important period houses in Cork are to cut their losses after a bitter planning saga.

The Russell family have decided to sell up Dunkathel House, on 150 acres on the city fringes. It carries a €15 million price guide.

A property deal on just over half of the land fell through last year after Bord Pleanála shot down a housing plan on its grounds.

Now, a large portion of the lands has been rezoned, and the full estate of 150 acres plus a Palladian-style mansion is being put on the market once more.

The zoned land will probably go once more for house building, while the main residence could become a hotel, corporate HQ or just an extravagant private home.

The 220-year-old house has been open to the public, and is one of the most prominently-sited period homes in the greater city area, overlooking the Jack Lynch tunnel and River Lee at Glanmire.

A deal was struck for 80 acres of residential development behind the house four years ago, for the equivalent of 14 million, but developers Bride View were refused planning permission for a 327-house scheme and had to pull out of the deal.

At the time, Council members and planners agreed to a variation of its 1996 development plan to facilitate new house building, giving owners the Russell family sufficient cash funds to conserve the home, which is thought to have been designed by architect Davis Duckart.

After the deal fell through last year, Frankie Russell said "we are ruined by this decision." The family has now decided to end its 130-year link with the house, and a duty of care will pass to the next purchasers.