Adventures in a country castle

Eccentric places need eccentric people,” Eavaun Carmody offers by way of explanation, as Irish Country Living wonders aloud why anyone would take on the task of modernising a castle.

To Eavaun and her husband Emmet Sexton, along with their brood – Dylan (eight), Rowan (seven) and Charlie (four) – Killenure Castle in Dundrum, Co Tipperary, is home. But now, for the first time in the castle’s 450 year history, it belongs to the community too.

Previously based in Dublin, Eavaun and Emmet purchased Killenure and the surrounding 16 acres in 2007 and moved two years later after extensive renovation work.

“We had someone come out to do measurements and look at the land. We invested a lot of money into it,” says Eavaun.

“If we bought it with skeletons in the closet it could have ruined us financially. We had to consider our situation and our children. I absolutely did not want to put my children in a situation, in years to come, that they had to keep maintaining the property.”

Emmet opted to take leave from his job as a lecturer in Carlow Institute of Technology to oversee construction as project manager. Luckily, Eavaun’s background as an antique dealer (she owned Greenwood Antiques in Clanbrassil Street, Dublin, for 13 years) and her practical experience renovating houses in Dublin served them well.

“It was hard work and it wouldn’t be for everybody. We spent two years driving up and down from Dublin, sleeping on mattresses and dealing with builders,” says Eavaun.

“When the builders introduced new materials and panelling to the house, I had them put them in crooked. To me, imperfection is perfection,” she continues.

“I knew the house had a lot of potential and I wanted to work with that and keep the integrity of the building.”

In 2011, Eavaun started thinking about what to do next. She invited 11 groups to Killenure to gather views of the site, and in the following year it was officially opened to the public for the first time.

“Through our research we realised the importance of the history here,” Eavaun explains. “Even though Killenure is privately owned, it’s a landmark in the same category as the Rock of Cashel. I felt a big responsibility to resurrect the dormant history and give the community a sense of ownership.

“The O’Dwyers lived here until the 17th century when Cromwell burned them out, and then the Coopers resided in the castle until the 1960s. The Coopers sold the property in 1963 to the Alisons, and they passed it on to the Baileys who used it as a private school. An American woman called Jessica Roth was the last owner before us.”

Resurrecting the history of Killenure would be difficult, but Eavaun and Emmet aren’t the kind to shy away from hard work, judging from their earlier years as a couple.

“We lived in Holland, then we dishwashed for a pound an hour in Greece for six months. There was no work in Ireland when we came home in the 1990s,” Eavaun smiles.

“Emmet had a masters but ended up working as a motorbike courier, while I did a CE scheme in sculpture. I then went on to teach for a few years.”

Eavaun has also devoted herself to reviving the Dexter, a breed of cattle with roots in Dundrum. Only 2,000 exist in Ireland, 19 of which can be found grazing in Killenure.

“I was talking to a guy in one of the local pubs and I was asking him all about farm animals in the area. He told me about the Dexter and how it is native to this area but no one farms it,” she says.

“Dexter is part of our national identity and is important to the history of Dundrum. It’s something the people should be proud of.

“Wendy Fitzpatrick and I founded Killenure Dexter Gourmet last January. She is really driving this and has fantastic knowledge. Between us, we have six children and we are very passionate about what we put in their mouths,” Eavaun adds.

Killenure hosted the Dundrum Dexter Gathering Festival in August and the company supplies meat to Chez Hans Restaurant, an award-winning restaurant in Cashel. Dexter meat is served at any event held in Killenure and Eavaun believes there is great potential for export to international markets.

“Meat from the Dexter nearly has a nutty, buttery taste to it and is full of Omega 3 and 6, and unsaturated fat. The marbling is excellent,” adds Eavaun.

“They are very inexpensive to keep too. However, mine were quite feral when we got them. I spent six week chasing one who jumped the ditch into our neighbour’s field.”

Eavaun, who is trained as a bronze caster and sculptor, hosted an art show called Open Art Killenure (OAK) in May 2012. Much of the work from this exhibition can still be found throughout the grounds and woodland of the castle, with artistic expression an important part of Killenure’s ethos.

“There were 77 pieces of artwork by well-known artists, some of them Aosdána members. With help from historian Ruth Thorpe, we also produced a book chronicling the history of the castle and the art,” she explains.

“I’m really passionate about supporting the arts and thought an exhibition would be a good way to tell Killenure’s story.

“I think the community has a great sense of ownership of Killenure’s history and know they can come here,” adds Eavaun. “It’s a great place for cultural adventure and we plan to hold many events in the future.”

Initially, the pace of country life didn’t come easily to Eavaun, but as custodian of Killenure she has found her groove.

“When I worked in Dublin, everything was very rushed and urgent. I was still in Dublin mode for the first six months here,” she admits.

“A very good friend of mine, who I met outside the school gates, asked me how my day was going. I started by saying: ‘By 10 I did this, then I did that,’ and so on.

She listened to me and said: ‘You’ll be dead by 50.’ That resonated in my head. There’s no point in making this huge move to the country and putting all the effort into it if you’re not going to change your attitude.

“It’s good for the children to grow up here and know where their food is coming from. They wouldn’t have known that if they grew up in the city,” she adds. “The further away from the rat race for us, the better.”