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.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
