Lissadell’s glory rediscovered

Few enjoy the luck of buying a house only to find that a second house has lain undetected for decades deep in the undergrowth of the garden.

This was the experience of lawyers Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy when they took possession of Lissadell House in Co Sligo. But the uncovering of the two-storey Victorian gardener’s villa was merely the first surprise in a remarkable voyage of discovery.

In 2003, the failure of ...