Former home of Ross used in popular drama
IT has scandalised ‘Liveline’ listeners and sexed-up GAA shorts but ‘Normal People’ also shares an unlikely connection with a Government minister.
The intense on-screen romance between lead characters Marianne and Connell starts with a kiss in the childhood home of Shane Ross, the outgoing Transport Minister.
Knockmore House in Enniskerry, which dates back to 1850, was chosen to be the set of Marianne’s family home in the 12-part TV adaption of Sally Rooney’s successful novel.
Marianne, who is played by British actress Daisy Edgar-Jones, comes from a rich family.
She falls in love with Paul Mescal’s character Connell, whose mother works as a cleaner in Marianne’s house.
Knockmore House, which was owned by Mr Ross’ late parents, is the backdrop for the blossoming romance which starts with a kiss in one of the manor’s grand front rooms in episode one.
Mr Ross, who lost his seat in Dublin-Rathdown earlier this year, joked that his parents would be ‘absolutely horrified’ with all the ‘shenanigans and antics’ in the series, which is famed for its intense and frequent sex scenes.
‘I think it’s great myself,’ Mr Ross said.
‘I think my parents would be absolutely mortified by what’s going on in their house, which was a haven of morality.’
While the early episodes are set in Sligo, the Victorian manor in Co Wicklow was used in a number of major scenes.
Mr Ross said he has seen ‘bits of’ ‘Normal People’ but is planning to sit down and watch the entire series.
‘It will be sentimental to watch, perhaps even mixed with some poignancy about letting the house go out of family hands,’ he said.
‘But it’s great that it’s being appreciated.
‘The house is a spectacular place, it’s a great choice.
‘It’s good to immortalise it, and establish the house as something permanent.’
Knockmore House was sold in March 2019, after being listed at a guide price of €1.6m.
It sold for less than half the cost the property had initially gone on sale for two years earlier, having originally been advertised at €3.75m in 2017.
Filming for ‘Normal People’ took place in the four-bedroom, five-bathroom Regency-style residence last summer.
The property had been owned by Ruth Isabel and John Ross, Mr Ross’s parents, for more than 50 years.
The couple first moved in in 1964.
One of the main features of Knockmore House is its three acres of formal and Robinsonian wild gardens, which were carefully tended to by Mr Ross’s parents.