One could be forgiven for misunderstanding the plaque reading "Best Straight Egyptian Male 2012", that hangs on the wall of the vast country kitchen at Dowdstown House in Maynooth, Co Kildare.
The accolade refers to the unbroken lineage of Arabian horses from Bedouin tribes, dating from the Muhammad Ali dynasty in Egypt and Sudan in the late 1700s.
Since the 1940s, Dowdstown House, a Georgian mansion on 26 acres of limestone-rich soil, has operated as a stud farm.
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The owners, an Irish-Swiss couple, have gained international repute for breeding Arabian horses, which are noted for their intelligence and feisty disposition. The walls of the kitchen corridor are lined with awards.
The property, located just off the M50 at the Maynooth junction, includes the manor house set at the end of a meandering driveway, a three-bedroom mews and a one-bedroom cottage. There is a very relaxed feeling throughout, a sense that this is a lived-in country residence, albeit a rather grand one.
Graceful
Flanking each side of the hallway are a diningroom and a drawingroom, with elegant bow sash windows.
Both rooms have wooden flooring and graceful marble fireplaces. To the rear lies a study, a space for contemplation with its deep green cloth walls warmed by a roaring fire. There are six bedrooms upstairs, with choice of master bedroom for the new owners.
While the rooms are in great condition, a buyer will want to update some of them. They were last renovated in the 1980s, when the current owners purchased the 500sq m property.
The courtyard features a caretaker’s cottage and a three-bedroom mews, which is in need of updating. Exposed brick walls and wood beam ceilings provide plenty of character in this former ostler’s quarters.
The grounds and stud are in exceptional condition. A walled kitchen garden has neat rose beds at its centre, with espaliered fruit trees and mature shrubs lining the old granite walls.
The stud farm features 14 loose boxes, a foaling stable and a lunging ring, in addition to well-divided post and rail paddocks.
Dowdstown House and Stud will suit those in search of an elegant period home, with the option to continue the equine legacy.
The property is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald, with an asking price of €4.35 million.
