Stately house fetches €1.25 million amid keen interest at on-site auction
An 18th century home – once owned by one of the famous Tribes of Galway – has gone under the hammer for a whopping €1.25 million.
Ballycurrin House, situated on the shores of Lough Corrib, drew considerable interest when it went up for auction on its grounds last weekend.
The stately home at Ower, Headford – once owned by the Lynch family – went to auction with a guide price of €950,000.
Gort auctioneer Colm Farrell, who conducted the sale on behalf of the owners and business operators Frank and Margaret Higgins from South Galway, said that he was delighted with the outcome.
He told the Connacht Tribune that, in advance of the auction, he had inquiries from California and Italy as well as various parts of Ireland but was pleased that it was purchased by local business interests.
Bidding opened at €800,000 for the property which also includes three additional lakeside cottages, a private jetty and almost four acres of land. It also included the historic ruins of the 14th century Ballycurrin Castle.
As the auction progressed, bids of €50,000 and eventually €25,000 were made by interested parties before it stalled for some time at €1.2 million.
At that stage it was put on the market and a local solicitor, acting on behalf of a client, put on an additional €25,000 on Ballycurrin House and as there were no further bids, the property was knocked down to this buyer.
“I am delighted that it was acquired by a local business interest but there had been a lot of inquiries about the house and its potential from a number of far-flung fields,” he said.
“But it is a good investment property and has major rental and tourism potential given its location right beside Lough Corrib,” the auctioneer added.
The last Lynch to live in the house was Charles Lynch, who died in 1897. A supporter of the Land League, Charles established a Gaelic football club among his tenants and gave over his lawns for the sport.
Charles and his wife Helena had only one child who died in infancy, so on Charles' death the estate passed to the Clarkins. The 1901 census shows a number of the Clarkin family living there.
It was interesting therefore that one of those in attendance at the auction in Ballycurrin House was Maura Quinn from Roscommon whose mother Lelia Clarkin was born there in 1905.
Indeed, a lot of locals attended the auction simply out of curiosity, but it is a case of a building with huge historical significance to the Headford area being retained locally. It is not known at this stage what the new owners plan for the property.