WE used to sneak in the back to smoke and charm girls,' says Adam Clayton, bass guitarist of U2. That was in the 1970s, W when he was a boarder at St Columba's College in Dublin. Little did he guess that, in the following decade, he would become the owner of that same estate at the foot of the Dublin Mountains.
In 1986, the band rented the house-which was standing empty-to record their fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree, in the acoustically gorgeous, lofty drawing room. The then owner, remembers Mr Clayton, had said: 'If anyone wants to buy the house at the end of the recording, I'll subtract the rental from the price.' So, in 1988, aged 28, he found himself in possession of Danesmoate: a large Georgian house, numerous ancillary buildings (including a dovecote and a two-seater privy) and 17 acres of gardens, pasture and river valley-all in need of serious attention. Although only seven miles from Dublin city, the location was remote and quiet.
That would change in the coming years with the arrival of Dublin's ring road, the M50, which now passes close to the property's boundary. When he bought Danesmoate, Mr Clayton knew the road was coming and that mitigating action was essential. The one thing I knew early on was that I'd need trees.' He hired Neil Murray, a designer and nursery owner based nearby. They took out all the 'overmature timber and all the laurel that had overrun the place' and set to work planting trees-about 4,000 of them-and creating vistas. Wooded areas were replanted with oak ('a lot of oak!'), beech, sycamore, ash, birch and various conifers. Dr Murray, a keen and well-connected plantsman, laced the woodlands with choice trees, including trial specimens from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, and Windsor Great Park.
Denne historien er fra March 22, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra March 22, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
