O’Donnells celebrate in their new house on the hill
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: Former Gorse Hill owners replicate grand surroundings of bank row mansion at ‘downsized’ €1.85m property
WHILE they may have had to downsize to a more ‘modest mansion’ after they were evicted from their prized Gorse Hill, Brian and Mary Pat O’Donnell have redecorated their new abode in the style to which they are accustomed.
The couple, who spent the past few years tied up in contentious High Court litigation involving their home and considerable fortune, have stuck together ‘for richer or for poorer’.
They have just celebrated their 42nd anniversary and marked the occasion with a picture taken in the grandiose hall of their new home, Laragh House, on Dublin’s Killiney Avenue – a near replica of Gorse Hill, albeit a tad smaller.
The substantial 641sq m (6,900sq ft) five-bed property is just a short distance from their former home on Vico Road, which was sold by Bank of Ireland for €9.5m in July 2017.
The O’Donnells lost the 10,220sq ft property following a protracted battle with the bank after they amassed debts of €71m.
The couple were declared bankrupt by the High Court in August 2013, and formally exited bankruptcy in August 2017, when they were reportedly living in the UK.
At one point Land League leader Jerry Beades described Gorse Hill as a ‘bog-standard house’ – featuring no less than six bedrooms, and seven bathrooms.
The now retired TV3 broadcaster Vincent Browne, who gained entry to the grounds in 2015, referred to it as ‘the most spectacular place I’ve seen, certainly in Ireland’.
‘Charlie Haughey’s house was far exceeded in lavishness by this house, [it] was worth a fraction of what this house is worth,’ said Mr Browne.
Nonetheless, the O’Donnells have shown that there is life after bankruptcy. Now, in Laragh House, a painting of Beckett hangs on the wall behind them as they smile for the camera. It is understood that after they lost the battle to retain Gorse Hill, the family moved into the Victorian residence, reportedly worth €1.85m. The property is on
‘It’s the most spectacular place I’ve seen’
almost an acre of land and, like Gorse Hill, boasts a sloping terraced garden. It was once owned by John Hughes, co-founder of the Irish Press newspaper, and later Joe ‘Spud’ Murphy, of Tayto crisp fame. The O’Donnell’s eldest daughter Blaise undertook the renovations to recreate some of the features of their former home.
She has modernised the house, dispensed with the old-fashioned golds and reds and opted for a more muted palette and marble floors.
In a twist of old meets new, she even upcycled her grandmother’s 1970s dining table, which she complemented with four Phillipe Starck Ghost chairs.
And in a nod to the two giant lion sculptures that graced Gorse Hill’s entrance, Blaise has installed two stone lions alongside the pair of eagles that stand at the rear of their new property, which also boasts a library and a music room with views of the Dublin mountains. niamh.walsh@irishmailonsunday.ie