Disraeli home may fetch €6m

A Co Carlow house owned by the family of 19th Century British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli could fetch up to €6m at auction today.

Beechy Park near Rathvilly village was owned by Disraeli, the uncle of the Tory party leader of the same name.

The Georgian mansion, which sits on a 224-acre estate, has already attracted the interest of wealthy local horse breeders and landowners.

The nine-bedroom residence comes with a courtyard, stables, a walled garden and assorted farm buildings.

Mr Disraeli was a colourful local character and willed some of his fortune for a school in Rathvilly.

The property was sold by the Disraeli family in the 1880s and changed hands a number of times since then.

It is located 18km from Carlow town and 80km from Dublin.

Disraeli served two periods in power in 1868 and from 1874-1880 and was succeeded by Liberal Party leader William Gladstone on both occasions.

The property will be auctioned this afternoon at the Dublin offices of Knight Frank.