COLUMN: Knocklofty House 'would be a wonderful asset to tourism in Tipp'

It is not often that you get to sit down for a chat with a man named De Winter, in the middle of summer.

Quite recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jaime Edward De Winter, on the subject of one of Jaime’s passions in life - Knocklofty House.

We are all fully aware that the old house has fallen into a state of disrepair in recent times and is now the focus of a public campaign to save and preserve it from its present condition.

Throughout our chat Jaime spoke with knowledge, experience and passion regarding the current situation with the building.

Jaime spoke of the upset that this has caused to those who had previously worked and lived in Knocklofty House.

A group has been formed called “Save Knocklofty House” based on the evidence relating to the rapidly deteriorating state of the building.

The group has collected close to 2,000 signatures on a petition, as well as securing the promise of a visit from the Minister of State for Heritage, Malcolm Noonan.

Jaime’s personal connection with Knocklofty goes back to when he worked as the Restaurant Manager there and he has many happy memories of the beautiful house and grounds.

Furthermore, Knocklofty House has had a lot of water damage and has been left in a derelict state in recent times, much to the annoyance of many people.

Due to the efforts of those interested in its preservation the house has had its exterior entrances secured and security is now in place on site.

A house with such a magnificent history and gardens would be a wonderful asset to tourism in Tipperary.

Jaimie feels that, “Knocklofty House is an important house for Clonmel and it could be made into a top tourist attraction”.

Furthermore, “it has everything that Clonmel needs as a hub, a tourist centre, even as an animal sanctuary”.

The longstanding house has a lot to offer by way of river walks, hidden follies, grottos, as well as a rich history.

Jaime feels that it is in “the public interest to save our built heritage” - a view which he shares with many others, who are supporting this campaign to save Knocklofty House.

Jaime informed me that an engineer’s report is due to be published shortly regarding the condition of the house.

Knocklofty House has been beset by dry rot, wet rot and lead theft, rendering it very vulnerable to further deterioration during the winter months.

This accounts for the upset among citizens like Jaime who are conscious of the lasting damage being done, as each hour passes.

It was a pleasure to chat with Jaime on this most important of topics. I left his company feeling a great appreciation for this man’s personal endeavour in trying to save one of Tipperary’s hidden gems.

Jaime hopes that “the people of Clonmel can come together and push this cause with our local politicians, because it is so important for Clonmel.”

In other news, poor old England lost an important match in recent days. I almost, almost, felt some amount of sympathy for the poor blighters.

All we can do now is detox from the football until the World Cup which shouldn’t be for ages yet, hold on, I’ve just remembered, it’s next year.

This pandemic has really played havoc with everything.

Next thing you know Santa will be arriving on the August Bank Holiday.

Until next time.