Overview
Lissadell was the childhood home of Constance Markievicz – the countess who fought in the 1916 Rising and, in 1918, became the first woman elected to the British House of Commons – and her sister Eva Gore-Booth, the suffragist and poet. W.B. Yeats stayed here as a young man, and the “great windows open to the south” he later set down in a poem still light the front rooms. The house, an austere neo-classical mansion of the 1830s, was shut to the public for decades; today you can tour it, walk its gardens, and drop down to a free strand under Benbulben.
It stands on the Maugherow shore above Drumcliff Bay, north of Sligo town.
A house of letters and legacy
The Gore-Booth family held the estate from the early 1600s. Sir Robert Gore-Booth, 4th Baronet, commissioned the London architect Francis Goodwin to build the present nine-bay house between 1830 and 1835, in grey Ballysadare limestone. It was the first country house in Ireland to have its own gas supply piped in. Its most famous children were Constance and Eva; Yeats fixed both in Irish memory in his poem In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markievicz.
After more than a century with the Gore-Booths, the estate was bought in 2003 by Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy, whose privately funded restoration brought the house, gardens and outbuildings back and opened them to visitors.
Exploring the estate
Inside the house
Guided tours move through the reception rooms, the library and the servants’ quarters. The house keeps the only complete set of original Williams & Gibton furniture in Ireland, made for these very rooms, and hangs a rotating collection that includes work by Jack B. Yeats. One caveat to flag before you plan a visit: there is no wheelchair access to the house or to the upstairs exhibition galleries in the Coach House, so you’ll need to be reasonably mobile.
Gardens and grounds
A 2-acre Victorian walled garden has been replanted with heritage fruit, heirloom vegetables and seasonal borders. Above it, the Alpine rockery – laid out by Sir Josslyn Gore-Booth in the 1890s and covering about two acres – holds alpine planting and long views out to sea. Woodland trails run through native oak and birch.
Lissadell Strand
The beach is free and open all year. Low tide opens up rock-pools full of crabs and anemones, good for children, and a shallow, sheltered stretch near the middle suits a paddle or a careful swim – check tide and weather first. The waves bring beginner surfers and paddle-boarders along the shore, and winter draws waders and gulls to the flats for the birdwatchers.
Tea room and crafts
The restored stable block holds a tea room built around local, seasonal food, with a small shop of regional crafts and books alongside – a handy stop before or after the house tour.
Practical information
- Season: The house and gardens open for the 2026 season from 30 May to 30 August, Wednesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 6pm. The strand is open all year, free, with no set hours.
- Admission: House and exhibition around €16 adult, €14 OAP/student, €8 child at the time of writing.
- Getting there: From Sligo town, north on the N4 then the R292. The only public entrance is the Forge Gate (F91W2K1), and signage directs you in.
- Parking: On-site parking at the estate; a small car park by the beach fills fast on summer weekends.
- Public transport: Bus Éireann route 474 runs from Sligo town to Lissadell.
- Accessibility: No wheelchair access to the house or the upstairs Coach House galleries; visitors need to be mobile. The grounds and strand are more forgiving but include unpaved ground and sand.
- Facilities: Toilets at the tea room and near the beach car park; bring water and sun cover for the strand.
Nearby stops
- Bunduff Strand – A Blue Flag beach a short drive north, with calm water and family facilities.
- Benbulben Forest Walk – A 5 km loop with coastal views and native woodland.
- Culleenamore Strand – A reliable surf spot with open coastal walks.
- Drumcliffe – Drumcliffe Church and the grave of W.B. Yeats, about 3 km from the estate.
- Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery – One of Ireland’s largest and oldest stone-circle complexes, a 20-minute drive inland.
The strand below the house is free and open all year, which is handy, because the house itself only opens Wednesday to Sunday from late May to the end of August – so don’t drive out on a Monday, or in October, expecting a tour.