Elmsworth, about 7.5 miles north of central Dublin, is the only known private residence designed by James Gandon, the neoclassical architect behind the Irish capital’s opulent Four Courts and Custom House buildings.
The villa, completed in 1794 for banker James Woodmason and now available for €9.25 million (about $10.9 million), still bears Gandon’s trademarks: elegant symmetry, curved internal walls, and a sense of quiet drama that doesn’t feel overwrought.
And, there’s the tunnel. Now blocked on both ends, the underground passage once linked Emsworth to the neighboring Abbeville estate. According to local lore, the half-mile tunnel was conceived less for convenience than for security, built during a time of civil unrest. It still exists—and its presence adds a layer of intrigue to what’s already one of Ireland’s most storied private homes.
The 80-acre estate, however, is far from frozen in time. The current owner, a Dublin businessman, bought the property in 2013 and spent the next decade restoring and expanding it with the help of award-winning firms Henry J. Lyons and Ventura Design, the Irish Times reported. Their approach wasn’t only about preserving the past but also about giving the house a future.
RELATED: Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi List Their English Countryside Estate for $30 Million
A new addition houses a sleek kitchen and lounge that spills out to the gardens.
Savills Ireland
A new addition with soaring ceilings and walls of glass is more of an architectural statement than a simple extension and houses a custom, dual-island kitchen by Andrew Ryan. The light-filled space opens to terraces on three sides, there’s a hidden bar tucked behind the custom black cabinetry, and, most notably, a glass panel in the floor revealing the property’s original water well.
The main house now spans over 7,100…