We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
AN 18TH CENTURY Mayo country house and its surroundings are to be “reluctantly” put on sale according to the family who’ve owned the site since the 16th century.
The Browne family say they’ve been left with no option but to put Westport House and Estate up for sale following the advice of court appointed administrators.
The house and its 183.8 hectare estate are on the market for €10 million after hopes that Mayo County Council would acquire loans from Nama fell through.
The house and its surroundings have been open to the public since 1960 and the family says that visitors to the house are worth some €50.7 million to the Mayo economy every year.
Most of this tourism is Irish, with an estimated 84.4% of visitors to the house coming from within the State.
Also included on the grounds are a bar and restaurant as well as an outdoor leisure park.
A report into the economic benefit of the house found that 47 jobs are directly created by the estate.
The family says that they have been in a “very difficult position” since their father Jeremy Browne died.
He had taken loans totalling €6.5 million in 2006 in an attempt to save the property but got into financial difficulties when land values collapsed during the economic downturn.
The family says these loans were “modest” at a time when out the value of the estate was about €120 million.
The family traces its lineage back to the 16th century pirate queen Grace O’Malley and says that they have waited to see if the government would step in.
“Our fervent hope and wish is that someone will buy the house and estate and keep it open to the public so that it can continue to be the cornerstone of the tourist offering in our beloved Westport,” Sheelyn Browne said in a family statement.
Our plan is that Westport House will continue as a business for this season and will be fully open by Easter next.
The Carrowbeg River flows through the parklands of the estate and is a prominent feature along the Wild Atlantic Way.
The house itself has 10 bedrooms as well as eight main reception rooms with a number of cottages also on the grounds.
Oxegen has had its day, the last few years it had turned in to a leaving cert party and the crowd was getting rougher and rougher each year, not like the golden years of Witness and the first couple of Oxegen’s.
#KERRY CORONER ~
We seem to have a crisis when it comes to suicide in this country. While I realise it is a complex issue, with lots of factors to be considered, I am hoping that coroners will keep an accurate record of what prescribed medication that the person may have been on at the time they died. Whether they had recently started to take psychoactive medication eg “anti-depressants”/SSRIs or stopped taking such medication. It appears that sometimes this information can be overlooked.
These drugs can lead to an increased risk of suicide, violence or mania in some people. Psychiatrists Dr Peter Breggin (New York) and Prof David Healy (New York) do a lot of work in highlighting the dangers of these drugs.
And here is a blog/web page that is addressing this specific issue in the UK and trying to create awareness about the possible dangers of “anti-depressants”.
“What the coroners say: Part 1″ ~ http://antidepaware.co.uk/what-the-coroners-say-part-1-2003/
[Important: never stop or change medication without talking to a good doctor, due to the dangers of withdrawal. Always read the small print in the leaflet that comes with these drugs]
Irish Times article that is referred to above ~ http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/kerry-coroner-makes-emotional-plea-over-suicides-1.1365157
Correction: Psychiatrist Prof David Healy works in Wales http://www.davidhealy.org and has set up a database/drug safety website to collect information on drugs: https://www.rxisk.org/Default.aspx
have your say