Nestled into a secluded valley, Luggala’s front yard is often visited by grazing deer.
Sotheby’s International Realty
Luggala, an 18th-century fantasia nestled into five secluded acres in County Wicklow, Ireland, is for sale. Some may want the estate for its whimsical historic architecture, others for its verdant beauty. Still others may want a place to entertain lots of people in a beautiful, private valley. But many might want the place just to commune with the ghosts of glittering A-listers who visited in the past.
The 1960s brought the Beatles, whose song, “A Day In The Life,” is about the late brother of the present lord of the manor. Writers who visited include Brendan Behan, Robert Lowell, Seamus Heaney and Robert Graves. Actors and directors who spent time at Luggala are John Hurt, Dennis Hopper and John Boorman. Above all, there were musicians, including The Chieftains, Marianne Faithfull, Bono, Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, who stayed here just before his death. Music industry people were at the top of the guest list because the lord of the manor is Garech Browne, descendant of the Guinness fortune and founder of Claddagh Records.
Luggala began as a hunting lodge built in 1787 by the La Touche banking family. They modeled it on Strawberry Hill, the Gothic Revival villa built in London by Horace Walpole from 1749 onward. Luggala boasts the castellated battlements, towers, pointed arches, lancet windows and quatrefoil ornamentation characteristic of the style.
Ernest Guinness bought Luggala in 1937 and gave it as a wedding present to his daughter. She, in turn, gifted the property to her son, Garech, in 1970. It is now owned by a family trust.
Rooms at Luggage reflect a 1996 restoration.
Sotheby’s International Realty
The house underwent a lengthy €6 million overhaul beginning in 1996. Its 9,117 square feet include three reception rooms, seven bedrooms and five full bathrooms. A further four bedrooms are in the guest lodge, and there are another 16 bedrooms in seven estate lodges and cottages. In all, the accommodation within the estate extends to some 19,099 square feet. No wonder so many guests came and stayed for long visits.
They made movies here, too. Some of the better known include Excalibur, King Arthur, Braveheart, Animal Farm, Becoming Jane and P.S. I Love You. Television series filmed here include Camelot, The Tudors and Vikings.
Even without its storied guests, Luggala is special. Uniquely situated in a picturesque valley beside Lough Tay about 28 miles from Dublin, it is accessible, but feels like a place out of the past. A past with plumbing and all the modern conveniences, but with all the fantasies intact.