The Government has no plans to buy Farmleigh, the Guinness family mansion on the edge of the Phoenix Park in Castleknock, Co Dublin, which is now for sale on the international market.
The spectacular Victorian neo-classical house on 78 acres of parkland is expected to sell for in excess of £15 million. The joint selling agents are Hamilton Osborne King and Knight Frank International.
The Government apparently decided not to acquire the property after approaches were made some time ago to the Office of Public Works. Official sources yesterday suggested the issue was unlikely to be pursued further now the estate is on the open market.
The Government's unwillingness to purchase Farmleigh could mean it will either be bought as a private residence by an individual or end up as an exclusive hotel.
The State has traditionally been slow to buy important private homes. Almost 20 years ago, it came under pressure from the Irish Georgian Society to acquire the Carton estate in Maynooth on the grounds that it had the only surviving 18th century planted landscape in Ireland. Although the asking price was only a few million pounds, it was regarded as too high at the time.
Even with the vast improvement in public finances since then, there is still a reluctance to reopen the issue of providing an official residence for future Taoisigh. Farmleigh would be ideal for that purpose.
In 1978, an architectural competition was held for the design of a Taoiseach's residence on the site of the former Papal Nunciature in the Phoenix Park. Although the result was announced a year later, nothing ever came of it because the then Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, already lived in a large Georgian mansion on the outskirts of the city.
Farmleigh would be considered the ultimate Dublin private residence with its extensive parklands and easy access to the city. Its main entrance opens directly into the park and its location near the Castleknock gate gives it the benefit of the only ceremonial approach to the city via the park's main avenue.
While Farmleigh will undoubtedly have international appeal because of its lavish style, location and the Guinness catchet, the sheer size of the house - it has over 40,000 sq ft of floor space - will make it impracticable as a private home for many rich families.
It has six exceptionally fine reception rooms, a large conservatory, 20 main bedrooms and 14 bathrooms. The house appears to be in superb condition yet it retains an old world ambience.
The original cornicing and paintwork has remained untouched since the house was completed in 1881. Many of the walls are covered with the original faded tapestries and velvet and linen materials, all wonderful mementoes of another era.
The panelling in the diningroom was designed around late 17th century Italian embroidered silk panels depicting Jupiter, Cronos, Flora and Scires.
Farmleigh has a particularly handsome entrance hall with three pairs of double-height marble columns. The Waterford crystal chandeliers in the hallway are smaller replicas of the original chandeliers which were presented by the Guinness family to Westminster Abbey.
The most spectacular room is undoubtedly the ballroom, which spans the full 76 ft width of the house. It has wonderful ornate wood carvings on the walls and ceilings. The two-storey library is also exceptionally beautiful with oak panelling and book cases rising from the floor to the wooden coffered ceiling. There is also a gallery on two sides of the room. Much of the attractive woodwork and other fittings are broadly similar to those in Iveagh House and were the work of the same designer.
Iveagh House - the city house of Edward Cecil Guinness, brewery founder - was donated to the State in 1943. St Stephen's Green was also handed over. The present Earl of Iveagh, along with his brother, the Hon Rory Guinness and two sisters, Lady Emma and Lady Louisa, have spent much of their time at the family's 23,000-acre Elveden estate, in Suffolk, since the death in 1992 of their father, the third Earl of Iveagh, Benjamin Guinness.
