Wherefore art thou? Tipp born billionaire has Juliet balcony plans for mansion on the Nore

Work is in the pipeline on the Abbeyleix House in Laois which which is owned by one-half of the Limerick billionaire Collison tech entrepreneur brothers.

A new application is in the process of being lodged with Laois County Council for work on the Abbeyleix House on the estate now owned by John Collision, which runs by the River Nore.

Comhlacht na Feirme Ltd has notified Laois County Council of a plan to develop the Main House in the huge Abbeyleix Estate which includes a number of protected structures.

The council has been told that the proposed development will consist of alterations to the central first-floor window (south elevation) to form a door opening with a 1.1m glazed screen.

The application says this will provide for use of the Juliet balcony.

Proposed alterations are also planned to the first floor northern end window to form a door opening onto a proposed terrace.

This will allow the use of the flat roof of the ground floor study annex and including 1.1m high balustrade and planters.

Also planned is the upgrade of six first-floor sash windows to new slim double-glazed window units.

The latest application is one of a number of projects carried out or planned on the 18th century mansion and over 1,100 acre estate since the building was purchased from Sir David Davies in a multi-million euro deal in June 2021.

Permission was granted for work on the Steward's House and an application was made to demolish and rebuild the Boathouse. Work was also approved on the Lace House. 

A €2 million renovation is also planned for Millbrook House on the estate. It was purchased for €400k from Laois County Council on the condition that it be brought back to life.

Abbeyleix House and estate had been on the market for two years with joint agents Sotheby’s and Colliers International quoting a price of €20m before being purchased by John Collison.

The property was owned by the de Vesci family for three centuries before being acquired by the British engineer and businessman Sir David Davies in 1995. 

The main house, designed in 1773 by the architect James Wyatt, is one of Ireland’s largest, with nine bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, 117 windows and interior space of 27,000 square feet. It also has 10 estate houses and cottages.

Mr Collison, who was born in Tipperary and raised in Limerick, is one of Ireland’s richest people. The online payments firm he co-founded in 2010 with brother Patrick called Stripe is one of the most valuable private technology companies in Silicon Valley. It is worth billions of dollars.