Lisnavagh House is located in Lisnavagh Estate. The estate of 800 acres of parkland, woods, and farmland lies outside the village of Rathvilly in County Carlow.
Situated on the County Carlow and County Wicklow border about an hour or so from Dublin.
Moreover, Lisnavagh Estate is striking panoramic views of the Wicklow Hills, Blackstairs Mountains, and Mount Leinster.
Lisnavagh House is a large 19th-century Tudor Gothic house that was one of the largest houses in Ireland. Before its owners, the Bunbury orchestrated a major reduction in the 1950s.
Lisnavagh is the family seat of the McClintock-Bunbury family, Barons Rathdonnell.
A plaque in the present house states that the original house at Lisnavagh was built by William Bunbury in 1696. A map from the 1840 Ordnance Survey shows this in the parklands below the current house, with some modest farm buildings close by. The 1840 map also shows “Foundations of House” to the northwest, near the top of the hill, which is where a new house was planned but never completed. The new house was ultimately built nearer to the old house.
In 1847, Captain William McClintock-Bunbury commissioned Daniel Robertson to build a “New House at Lisnavagh”. As well as the house, which was designed in the Gothic Revival style, Robertson also designed the gardens and pleasure grounds, as well as the farmyard about one mile away.
In 2005, the house underwent a major renovation project and was made available to hire for private events and weddings.
Today Lisnavagh House is working smoothly as both a family home and as one of Ireland’s most upmarket country retreats.
Currently, William McClintock Bunbury, a grandson of the fourth Baron Rathdonnell, and his wife Emily run the house.
Antiques, curios, paintings, and family portraits filled its elegant interior. The House has four wonderful interconnecting function rooms including a beautiful oak-paneled library all with roaring log fires. Upstairs, there are six, individually styled, magnificent bedrooms with their own bathrooms.
Guests enjoy access to fourteen acres of gardens, which include the justly famed Pleasure Grounds, the American Gardens, and flourishing rhododendron beds.
Lisnavagh House is a historic house in County Carlow, best known as a beautiful and enchanting venue for wedding parties, whatever the season. The Yew Walk is a particularly memorable and natural location for a wedding ceremony. Wedding blessings are possible on site and they also have a civil ceremony license.
For more information visit: lisnavagh.com
Location of Lisnavagh House:
Below are photos I took in September 2021.
