Fit for a Queen at Gilltown
DURING Queen Elizabeth II’s visit in 2011, when pre-Brexit Anglo-Irish relations were at their height, Gilltown Stud, Kilcullen in Co Kildare, was briefly in the global spotlight.
The queen came to the stables, where she was received by the owner The Aga Khan, to visit Sea The Stars, a champion thoroughbred racehorse regarded by many as one of the greatest racehorses of all time.
At the entrance to Gilltown Stud, in the heart of bloodstock country, sits Millrace, a five-bed, 2,542 sq ft home that’s going up for auction. Most of its 2.8 acres of land is laid out in four paddocks, so Millrace would make an ideal small equestrian facility. Stud railings, a stream and hedging form a boundary to shelter animals and there is piped water to the paddocks. To the back is an agricultural shed that could be converted into a smart stable block and there’s a home office inside.
A sweeping driveway behind a set of electric gates leads to the main house. The entrance hall has a decorative tiled floor, with a gallery staircase in solid elm. On the ground floor there are two reception rooms, a countrystyle kitchen/breakfast room, a utility room and a guest toilet.
Millrace, which has had the same owners for the last 22 years, has plenty of space for a family. Upstairs three of the five bedrooms are en-suite, with the master en-suite featuring an oval south-facing bay window that overlooks the gardens.
The gardens come with their own pond and a small summer house.
The house is 1.6km from Kilcullen, where there are primary and secondary schools, 11km from Naas and 48km from Dublin. Direct access to the M7/M9 motorways is just a three-minute drive away.
Millrace is going up for auction at 3pm on May 31 at the Keadeen Hotel in Newbridge, with an advised market value of €475,000, through Dowling Property (045) 482189.