Council hopes access to estate will remain

WICKLOW Uplands Council is hopeful that any sale of Luggala Estate will not result in public access being curtailed.

The house and estate have been on the market since last year for between €25 million and €28 million. There have been suggestions that the State should buy the estate, with the National Parks and Wildlife Service recommending the purchase 4,000 of the estate.

Luggala recently hosted a ceremony remembering late owner Garech de Brun who died in March of this year. Guests included Bob Geldof, actress Kate O’Toole, film directors Jim Sheridan and Neil Jordan, Paddy Moloney and President Michael D Higgins.

Brian Dunne, Coordinator for Wicklow Uplands Council, has praised Mr de Brun for his dedication to the uplands.

He also wants to see Luggala remain open for recreational use. ‘Garech was deeply involved in the dispute over the construction of an interpretative centre at Luggala in the ’90s which saw the proposed development blocked and led to the early foundations of the Wicklow Uplands Council,’ sad Mr Dunne.

‘Garech remained a great friend of the council and he will be fondly remembered throughout the uplands as a colourful gentleman, passionate about the arts and his beloved Luggala estate. The sale of Luggala brings it owns concerns and Wicklow Uplands Council is conscious that the access for recreational use remains unobstructed, as it did under Garech’s ownership’.