It's not every day you come across a 25,000sq ft (2,275sq m) mansion looming large in the Limerick countryside. A former modest Glebe House has been lavishly restored and extended with three new wings around an enclosed garden courtyard. With a full size indoor heated swimming pool and sauna, a lift, a fully fitted home cinema and gym, six heated internal garages for classic sports cars and a floodlit Astro Turf pitch, one name springs to mind, McManus.
Located in the tiny village of Fedamore about 10 minutes off the M7 Dublin to Limerick motorway this is the home of Gerry McManus, younger brother of billionaire Limerick businessman, JP.
Gerry is also finance director of Liberties Strategic Services, the Geneva-based investment business headed by his brother. When McManus and wife Michelle bought the original 1880s Glebe house on 16 acres around 2004 it had little to distinguish itself from many similar buildings of that era dotted unloved around the Irish countryside.
No expense spared
Over a two year period the property was transformed and undoubtedly improved beyond its original. Never has the expression "no expense spared" been more fitting, although the result is a restrained, and very liveable family home. Local architect Michael Healy submitted the original plans for Fedamore House, and local builders Nash completed the build, while the project was overseen by London-based Georgian interior specialists, Garnham Wright.
Around the same time, JP McManus embarked on a 38,372 sq ft refurbishment of his Martinstown home in nearby Kilmallock. Both projects were completed by local builders and although Fedamore is on a smaller scale it shares many of the luxury features included in the design for Martinstown.
An abundance of Portland stone runs through the long original entrance halls and sweeps up the cantilevered staircase in the central reception hallway that connects the old with the new. Each of the refurbished original receptions has a stunning feature fireplace at its heart, one more beautiful than the next, and restored plasterwork. Dating mainly from the 18th century there are two George III white marble Adam style fireplaces in the library and living room, and another with a Brocatello inlay in the drawing room.
Thick original walls, fully reconditioned sash windows, a solid build in the extension and geo-thermal underfloor heating make this a very warm home, with a feel not dissimilar to that of a luxury country hotel. And given its amenities and service areas Fedamore could probably operate as same. One wing is given over to the leisure facilities beginning with a club style walnut-paneled bar/games room luxuriously upholstered in silk Damask fabric with a beautiful Brecca Violet fireplace standing at full height.
Behind this is a fully equipped gym, changing room, sauna, jacuzzi and heated 13m pool with a double height ceiling.
The wing on the other side opens into a homely kitchen/breakfast room where a fabulous Azul Valverde feature fireplace blasts out heat. It has painted timber units, a Jura floor and double doors onto a patio area. The rest of this wing comprises a series of functional rooms that include a fully stocked service kitchen, a larder, a laundry room, a playroom, a boot room and staff areas.
Theatre-style cinema
At basement level is a fully kitted out theatre-style cinema. Also on this level are six interconnecting internal garages each with motorised doors and radiators to house the owner's collection of classic sports cars (one of which is reported to include a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta once owned by singer Eric Clapton, and believed to be worth more than $5 million). It is not on view at Fedamore. McManus's other passion, golf, is evident in a dedicated golf club room on this level, located beside the wine cellar.
Upstairs there are eight bedrooms, each finished to hotel standard, all with en suites and dressing areas. Each of the main suites to the front of the original house has a large double height dressing area with an upper mezzanine level.
Fedamore House is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes and Christies International for €3.5million. While it's obviously beyond most people's budget, buyers in this price bracket may consider it good value, in particular given the scale of the investment in the original build. Though that figure is not forthcoming, the build quality and continued upkeep of the house and grounds is apparent.
According to selling agent Roseanne De Vere Hunt: “Fedamore has an amazing combination, as both a luxurious family home and an ideal setting for entertainment.” She believes its greatest appeal will be to the international buyer because it is located just 25 minutes from Shannon airport, and close to Adare Manor (owned by JP McManus) which has recently undergone a lavish upgrade.
The somewhat limited grounds of Fedamore House on 16 acres are reflected in the price, which rules it out as the type of sporting estate often favoured by international buyers.
Meanwhile, whatever the outcome of the Fedamore sale, Gerry McManus has already moved on to an ambitious high profile refurb in Limerick City. In recent weeks he was granted permission to restore the former Bishop's Palace on one of Limerick's finest sites on North Circular Road.
Kilmoyle House
McManus bought Kilmoyle House around 2014 for a knockdown sum, after property developer Aidan Brooks had paid €26million for the 6.6 acre site during the property boom. The house was substantially damaged by fire in 2016 and McManus sought planning last year to dismantle the historic property stone by stone and move it a few hundred feet further along the site and rebuild it there in order to avoid being overlooked by neighbours on the North Circular Road.
In February permission was granted for the rebuild of the original house, along with the addition of an extension, a new gate lodge and courtyard buildings.
Although the interior and roof of the original house were ruined by the fire, the stonework, chimneys, guttering, window sills and drainpipes all survived. Architect Michael Healy has said these will be numbered, removed, cleaned or repaired, and then reinstated with “stone by stone accuracy”. Naysayers seeking reassurance should look to the build quality and finish at Fedamore House.
