While driving in the avenue to Tulach Nore, Pike of Rushall, Portlaoise last week, the words “gentleman’s estate” came to mind. Standing on 255 acres, this sprawling demesne is situated on the old Dublin/Limerick road, about six miles outside Mountrath on the Borris-in-Ossory side. Auctioneer Julie Fogarty, Roscrea gave me a wonderful tour of the property last week.

In the ownership of the Harding family since 1846, Tulach Nore comes to the market with a spacious Victorian residence, an enclosed kitchen garden, a courtyard and extensive cattle accommodation. Approached by a fabulous tree-lined and post and railed avenue, the property has been used by the Harding family as a fattening farm and at one stage, wintered up to 500 cattle. Indeed, George Harding might have been ahead of his time when he constructed a huge cattle shed on a green-field - a short distance away from the main homestead - that accommodates three silage pits and a mix of cubicle and loose-bedded housing all under the one roof. He was also one of the first installers of a field pumping system for slurry disposal.

It’s evident that Tulach Nore has been superbly maintained. As we walked around outside, walls are meticulously white-washed, shrubs and whitethorn hedges are neatly cut back and even the rails of the four-bay hayshed are painted. At one time, the nearby walled garden, which provided food for the house, grew over 60 fruit trees. The wall around this garden is fully intact while the adjoning poultry house has been recently refurbished.

Set out in one 255-acre block, the land is mostly laid out in big open fields that are extremely well fenced and watered. About 55 acres, along the River Nore, is planted to Sitka Spruce and Ash with a further 33 acres described as summer grazing land. There are circa 10 acres around the house while the remaining circa 157 acres is in permanent pasture.

See the property section in this week’s Irish Farmers Journal for more on this farm.