The
son of a former hotel owner in Rosses Point has put forward radical plans for
one of the village’s oldest houses.
The
historic Elsinore Lodge, seat of the Middleton family and the summer home for
William and Jack Yeats, is the subject of a planning application which would see
the ruined house restored.
The
application, dated February 3 and signed by Patrick McCarthy, details the
conservation of Elsinore Lodge, which is a protected structure under the current
Sligo County Development Plan.
The
conservation would include the partial demolition and subsequent extension to
the rear and the provision of three residential units, two 2-bed units in the
existing house and one in the coach house to the rear.
The
work to the rear would include a two storey bedroom and utility extension and
the conversion of a ruined conservatory at the side gable of the house.
On
the conservation side, the developer has planned the general repair of historic
fabric, reinstatement of roof and collapsed external walls, removal of internal
wall at ground floor level and provision of new windows and doors to match
original
There
would be new internal partitions erected and new services, such as electricity,
sewerage and water, added.
The
McCarthy family, owners of the Yeats Country Hotel after the Ryan Hotel Group
sold it in the 80s, sold the hotel to Brian McEniff in the mid 90s, but the sale
did not include the grounds and building of Elsinore Lodge, which the family
held on to.
Many
proposals have been put forward at a local level for the house over the past 50
years, but a continued lack of repair or restoration work has seen the building
fall into a decrepit state.
Any
proposed restoration work would meet with stiff opposition from local residents
if it is not carried out properly.
There
may also be question marks over restoring the house for use as a residential
property, especially if more than one residence is planned.
Elsinore
Lodge was the family home of Henry Middleton, uncle to Jack and William Yeats.
The house features prominently in the works of both men, but its history extends
back beyond the Middleton occupation.
The
house was first used by a smuggler called John Black who had a lucrative trade
in smuggling items off ships entering Sligo Harbour.
Traditionally
heavily laden ships would have to be ‘lightened’ of some cargo in Rosses
Point before making their way up the narrow channel.
It
is believed an underground tunnel still leads from Elsinore Lodge to Dead
Man’s Point, where the ships docked.