This article is from page 12 of the 2006-02-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
A COROFIN Manor House has been sold for a figure believed to be over €3 million.
Clifden House, which is located eight miles outside the north Clare village, was sold last week by international estate agents JacksonStops.
The early Georgian house is located on a 12 acre wooded estate and overlooks Lake Inchiquin. It had been the subject of intense interest from three English bidders since it went on the market last summer with a guide of €1.75 million.
The property was sold by Jim and Bernadette Robson, who had been operating it as a family run guesthouse for the last number of years. They purchased the then run down property some thirty years ago and restored it painstakingly to its former glory.
The Corofin property is the lat est in a series of high profile sales that have taken place in the area in recent times. Indeed, Jackson-Stops also sold a Tipperary mansion to an American businessman for €4 million last week.
“In my 40 years in the business, I have never seen the market as buoyant as how it is now,” said Philip O’Reilly, Managing Director and owner of Philip O’Reilly Ltd in Ennis.
“We have more than 2,000 people looking for a house in Ennis right now while there is also a report of huge prices being paid for specialist propertys around the county.”
Mr O’Reilly believes that it is the IT sector that is driving the housing market at the moment.
“The IT industry is what farming was in Ireland 20 years ago,” said Mr O’Reilly.
“ It is the barometer of our success and there is great confidence in it at the moment. Low interest rates and things like that are contributing factors but it is the IT sector that is the real driver.”
Clifden House was the birthplace of the pre-Raphaelite painter Frederick William Burton, whose family originally built the property. The water colourist was born in the house in 1816 and enjoyed a career as an artist before he took up the position of Director of the National Gallery in 1874.
The house boasts home grown organic fruits and vegetables from the walled garden and farm, as well as a wide range of trout and pike fishing. Other attractions include horse riding, hunting and walking.