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<\/p>\nThe home of Cheltenham winner Edward O\u2019Grady, a five-bedroom Georgian country house, was built in the mid-19th century\n<\/p>\n
Asking Price: \u20ac3.25m<\/p>\n
Contact: Sherry Fitzgerald Country Homes (01) 6399300<\/p>\n
It\u2019s rare to find a house that\u2019s been home to one person for their entire life, but Killeens in Ballynonty, Co Tipperary, was the birthplace and lifelong haven of the late Edward O\u2019Grady, who had 18 winners at Cheltenham and became one of Ireland\u2019s leading racehorse trainers of the last 50 years.<\/p>\n
The five-bedroom Georgian country house is thought to have been built in the mid 19th century.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was Edward\u2019s home. It was where he worked and where he lived, and he was very attached to it,\u201d says Kay Russell, his third wife, originally from Dorset in the UK.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Grady, a father of five grown-up children, who died last July at the age of 75, was born there in 1949. His father Willie O\u2019Grady, a champion jockey and respected trainer, bought the property in 1948.<\/p>\n
As an only child, he inherited the 4,348 sq ft home, which sits on 207 acres and has a number of barns, outbuildings and offices, as well as a two-bedroom staff flat.<\/p>\n
In addition, there is a yard, stables with 76 horse boxes, a sand arena, an all-weather turnout arena, two horse walkers, a gallops and a paddocks. \u201cIt\u2019s the finest training yard in the country and it\u2019s where Edward trained all of his winning horses,\u201d says Russell.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The front of Killeens in Ballynonty, Co Tipperary<\/p>\n
The trainer first came to prominence in Cheltenham 1974, when his horse Mr Midland was ridden to victory by the well-known jockey Mouse Morris.<\/p>\n
That same year, however, he was involved in an elaborate betting coup by an Irish syndicate at Cartmel racecourse in Cumbria, with a horse called Gay Future.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the ultimately futile attempt to clean out the English bookies and earn an estimated \u00a31m, O\u2019Grady and three other men were arrested by the British police.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Aerial view of the property, which includes stables, gallops and other training facilities<\/p>\n
O\u2019Grady, who was 25 at the time, was released without charge. \u201cIt was really all done for the fun of it,\u201d says Russell of the coup. \u201cEverything Edward ever did in his life was for fun. He always had to have a laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, the stunt became the subject of a movie called Murphy\u2019s Stroke, released in 1980. It starred Pierce Brosnan as a trainer called Donnelly, who was based on the character of O\u2019Grady. \u201cI think Edward was quietly pleased to be played by Pierce Brosnan,\u201d adds Russell. \u201cIn fact, at one stage years ago, Brosnan kept horses here at Killeens.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fiasco did not deter O\u2019Grady from achieving success. He went on to become one of Ireland\u2019s most successful racehorse trainers, and all of his horses \u2013 including legends like Tranquil Sea, Sacundai and Golden Cygnet \u2013 were trained in the gallops at Killeens.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The kitchen<\/p>\n
The grounds here were once a limestone quarry, and it\u2019s the free-draining limestone soil that makes it ideal for training horses all year round. \u201cYou can drive or walk on the land even in the depths of the winter because of the limestone. It\u2019s rare,\u201d explains Russell. \u201cIn fact there\u2019s still a limestone kiln in one of the fields.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Grady was also ahead of his time in installing different types of gallops on the land. \u201cHe created long distance gallops, gallops on the flat, uphill and circular gallops, and all-weather gallops. It meant he could train different types of horses, and the variety of gallops kept the horses\u2019 minds fresh,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s the finest gallops in Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Pierce Brosnan’s character in 1980s TV movie ‘Murphy’s Stroke’ was based on trainer Edward O’Grady<\/p>\n
Today, the house is in relatively good condition and comes with original Georgian features such as the deep bay windows at the front, ceiling roses and cornicing.<\/p>\n
In the kitchen, which has an old-world homely feel with its cream ceramic floor tiles, cream cupboards and an island, there\u2019s an Aga stove which was installed in 1948. \u201cIt\u2019s gives off fantastic heat, and we still cook on it every day,\u201d she says. \u201cI imagine it would have been powered by wood in the beginning, but it now runs on oil.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The entrance hall<\/p>\n
Russell recalls \u201clegendary\u201d racing breakfasts held in the kitchen on Saturday mornings before they attended race meetings. \u201cWe\u2019d sit around the island and there would be fry-ups and champagne all round.\u201d<\/p>\n
She has fond memories too of Christmas gatherings and parties in the property. \u201cWe never had to worry about fitting people in because there was so much space,\u201d she says. \u201cThe house has a lovely flow and lends itself well to entertaining.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The drawing room<\/p>\n
Russell breeds horses for eventing and racing, and met O\u2019Grady seven years ago through the horse racing industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a fabulous time together,\u201d she says of their relationship. \u201cWe travelled extensively and held lots of parties here in the house. The door was always open and the drinks cabinet well-stocked.<\/p>\n
\u201cEdward was the kindest man and the house was the warmest, most welcoming place to be,\u201d she adds. \u201cHe would talk about moving sometimes, but he\u2019d always say, \u2018What am I going to do if I don\u2019t train horses? I\u2019m a bit too young to play golf!\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
The property has extensive stables and training facilities<\/p>\n
She thinks the property would suit someone who wants to continue the tradition of horse training, but equally would appeal to those who appreciate its beautiful setting in the Golden Vale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe views of the surrounding mountains from the top of the gallop here are just staggering, and there\u2019s not another house in sight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is real horse country,\u201d she adds. \u201cCoolmore Stud is a five minute drive away and Ballydoyle Stables with Aidan O\u2019Brien is about 25 minutes by car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite its peaceful rural setting, Killeens is just 18 minutes by car to Thurles town and 20 minutes from Cashel.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s potential to expand further by also purchasing the adjacent three bedroomed residence, Lanespark. An ideal manager\u2019s house or further staff accommodation. <\/p>\n
Although she plans to stay in Ireland, Russell is selling the house now as it no longer feels the same. \u201cThe heart and soul has gone out of the place,\u201d she says. \u201cI miss the way it used to be, but I will take very happy memories with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherry Fitzgerald Country Homes seeks \u20ac3.25m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The home of Cheltenham winner Edward O\u2019Grady, a five-bedroom Georgian country house, was built in the mid-19th century…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,898,112],"class_list":{"0":"post-3858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-latest-news-ticker","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}