Princess Diana's cousin's €8.5m Enniskillen Castle comes with 17 houses, four private islands, a colorful history and its own resident ghost

Asking price: €8.5 million

Intermediary: Savills (01) 663 4357 and +44 (0)28 9026 7824

For the price of one large Victorian pile in Dalkey you can now have 18 houses on 448 hectares with 6.5 miles of waterfront and four private islands. And one of those 18 houses is a historic stately castle that fits into the equivalent floor space of 15 average Irish family homes.

But you'll have to move north of the border for the fun. Belle Isle, one of Ireland's swankiest castle estates, has been put back on the market for €8.5 million after the agreed sale recently fell through.

The stately home and grounds, located outside Enniskillen, are owned by James Hamilton, the Duke of Abercorn. He bought it in 1991 with his eldest son Lord Nicholas Hamilton in mind.

Over the past decades it has become one of Northern Ireland's most popular luxury country house hotels. Belle Isle has had a succession of colorful owners dating back to the 17th century, from earls and Celtic chiefs to a 'famous cantankerous eccentric' who had his wife's lover beaten on a horse, causing an infamous 19th-century scandal.

And of course, the castle is known to have its own ghost. It had been put on the market by the Duke early last year and a sale had been agreed by the end of the year.

Located on the northern tip of island-studded Upper Lough Erne, Belle Isle Castle dates back to the 17th century, but the 200-acre island on which it stands was formerly the stronghold of Ballymacmanus where the scholar Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa famously Annals of Ulsterwhich traces the history of Celtic Ireland from St. Patrick to the end of the 15th century.

The following century, Cathal's clan, along with the O'Neills and O'Donnells, rebelled and lost their lands as a result.

Ballymacmanus was acquired by the fortunate soldier Paul Gore, ancestor of Countess Markievicz and the Sligo Gore-Booths. But Belle Isle's most colorful former resident is undoubtedly John Gray Vesey Porter, who was described in a sympathetic local newspaper as “onward, forward… restless, maggot-like, yet blunt and fearless.”

Porter was involved in railroads, newspapers and steamships. In 1863, at the age of 47, he married 18-year-old Elizabeth Jane Hall, the co-heiress of Inishmore Hall, an estate bordering Belle Isle.

Seven years after her childless marriage to the elderly and cantankerous Porter, Elizabeth sought solace from Captain Leonard Poynter of the 16th Regiment, stationed in nearby Enniskillen.

The Clogher Record reports: “Porter heard of the affair and, with the assistance of his butler and other servants, lured Captain Poynter to Belleisle, where he was soundly knocked down and his hair and one side of his luxuriant mustache cut off. and was subsequently severely beaten by Porter personally.

“Captain Poynter claimed damages of £10,000 against Porter (who had done well to settle). Instead, a packed Dublin courtroom was regaled for almost a week with salacious details of the doings of Mrs Porter and Captain Poynter in Belleisle.

Poynter was awarded one cent in damages for his pain. Porter divorced Ellie and fled to London with her parents, where she died in her early forties.

Although politically ambitious, Porter managed to offend everyone. He launched “stunning attacks” on the locally powerful Orange Order and criticized Catholic priests for “not teaching reasonable religion.” Dictionary of Irish Biography. The 1901 census shows him ultimately living in 'Belleisle', with his sister Emily and four servants, and unable to read or write due to “blindness”. He died a year later.

Like Captain Poynter, Porter left his mark on Belle Isle. The house had previously fallen into disrepair. “He restyled the house in a free country house style, for which he engaged the architect Morley Hurder; the result was grand enough in places, but disjointed,” said the BACK.

An 1871 travel book states that the castle has “the finest view that can be obtained… of the upper lake and its numerous islands.” The same book states that it is haunted by the ghost of one Lord Rosse.

The estate remained in the Porter family until 1991, when it was acquired by James Hamilton, a cousin of Princess Diana. He developed it as country house accommodation with a capacity for up to 95 guests. The estate covers 448 hectares, including the castle, a walled garden, 17 cottages and apartments and four private islands.

In the main house there is a library, four-poster beds, vaulted ceilings, lots of suits of armor and antlers, freestanding Victorian baths, a huge dining room overlooking a balustraded balcony, and of course the aforementioned ghost. Including a cellar and a mezzanine above the dining room, the castle covers an area of ​​17,000 m² with 16 bedrooms, of which 12 are doubles, three twins and one single, and most are on the second floor.

On the ground floor there is the library, a large utility room, a utility room, three kitchen areas and two lounges. It is a popular location for weddings, corporate events and outings.

The entire castle, which sleeps 31 people, can be viewed from £3,000 (€3,500) per night (weekly rate on request), including breakfast.

The slightly larger Hamilton Wing, with a huge dining room that literally 'fits a gentleman', seats 17 people and is available for £1,650 (€1,922) per night.

The Abercorn Wing sleeps up to 10 people, with five double bedrooms and a large kitchen/dining room with a marble-topped island.

A further 58 guests can be accommodated elsewhere on the estate in two lakeside cottages, two stone coach houses and a courtyard with eight apartments converted from stables, with most of the original features still intact.

It can continue as a business or once again become a distinctive private residence. With eight lakes in the area, there's plenty to do, including fishing, golf, shooting, archery, falconry, kayaking/canoeing, clay pigeon shooting and even 'murder mystery' role-playing. However, hitting horses is no longer on the menu. Savills demands 8.5 million euros.