The Irish Free State (comprising the 26 counties of former Southern Ireland) became a British dominion in 1922. When formally proclaimed the Republic of Ireland in 1949, it left the Commonwealth but retained the main advantages of membership. Britain’s diplomatic relations with Ireland therefore continued to be the responsibility of the Commonwealth Relations Office. Sir Gilbert Laithwaite, a deputy under-secretary in that office, was appointed to succeed Lord Rugby as the United Kingdom representative in Dublin in 1949, a post that changed to ambassador in 1950.

Residence

Since 1939, the representatives had a residence called Farmhill, in Dundrum on the southern outskirts of Dublin, leased from the Somerville-Large family on a succession of two-year terms. By the time of Laithwaite’s arrival in 1949, Farmhill was proving too small and awkward, and too closely surrounded, for a Post of the importance that Dublin was becoming. Laithwaite began searching for a more suitable alternative: he was spoilt for choice because the estates round Dublin were being subdivided and sold off for housing, bringing the main houses, each with a few tens of acres, on the market as well. But few of the fifty or so houses that were brought to Laithwaite’s attention had, he thought, the makings of a satisfactory residence, and none was priced to appeal to the Treasury. Nor were there town houses or suburban possibilities available.

The most promising country house was Glencairn in Leopardstown, about seven miles outside Dublin. It was large and ugly outside and ‘horrible inside, but £5,000 might put that straight’, Laithwaite told London. The Glencairn estate had been bought by Richard Croker on his return to Ireland in 1902 after making his name and fortune in New York City, for the last fifteen years as boss of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party’s political machine. Croker laid out extensive stables at Glencairn and became a racehorse owner, winning the Derby in 1907. He enlarged and embellished the house in 1904, using as his architect JF Fuller (1835 – 1924).

Attention wandered away from Glencairn during 1950 because the search changed to land on which to build a new residence. The grounds of Leopardstown Park Hospital were favoured, not least because they were owned by the British Ministry of Pensions, but there was no momentum. Sir Walter Hankinson succeeded Laithwaite in 1951 and started another search for a country house, the Farmhill lease having once more been renewed. He was in turn succeeded in 1955 by Alexander Clutterbuck, whose wife was so incensed by the drawbacks of Farmhill that yet another search was instituted. It succeeded in 1955 in re-identifying Glencairn as the front runner, then standing in about 33 acres of ground, about half of which was leased for grazing. The Treasury gave approval for its purchase within £30,000 in mid-1956, with further provision of about £5,000 for necessary ingoing works. The purchase, from Mr and Mrs Michael O’Neill, was completed in 1957.

Glencairn served well as the residence for the rest of the century. Although its comparative remoteness, and the wide security cordon provided by its land, had some advantages from a security point of view, the roads into Dublin contained some vulnerable spots and at one of these the ambassador, Christopher Ewart Biggs, lost his life in 1976 when his car was blown up by a landmine.

By 2000, Glencairn was considered disproportionately valuable for its purpose, mainly on account of the potential of its land for house-building, and the FCO, under severe financial pressures, decided to sell. In its impatience, it had not yet secured an alternative residence and so negotiated the option of a leaseback of the Glencairn house itself (with only a little of the land). A nearby house, Marlay Grange, was bought in 2002 as a potentially suitable alternative residence once extensive refurbishment was completed, but sentiment and finance conspired against the move, and it was, embarrassingly, sold without being occupied in 2007. Glencairn remains the residence.

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Glencairn, 1952.

Viewed from the north, 1980s.

From the south east, 1980s.

The hall, 1980s.