Milford House

Reached by a long tree-lined avenue, Milford House stands in splendid isolation at the heart of its wooded demesne at Lisheenboy, outside Borrisokane, Co. Tipperary. This imposing five-bay, three storey over basement house has beautifully classical proportions and retains many original features including a stunning curving main staircase, white marble fireplaces, cornicing and sash windows. It has eight bedrooms and six reception rooms in addition to many beautiful stone outbuildings and a cottage in its grounds.

Originally known as Lisheenboy House, it was the only house in the townland when it was built in the late 18th century and remained so until well into the 20th century.  However, the oldest visible signs of human habitation on the site date to around the 11th century. A sunken rectangular walled structure to south of the main building was probably a fortified house or bawn. Built into that structure are Bee Boles, which have been dated to 1650 when the lands were owned by the O’Carrolls who were Jacobites, fought in the battle of the Boyne, and also built a farmhouse on the site.  By the 1730s, however, the O’Carrolls were destitute and emigrated to America.  A grander structure to the east side of the farmhouse was added in 1750-70 by the Smith family who had come from the north of England in the late 1600s and also owned a nearby house called Lismacrory. Millford, as the Lisheenboy property was now called, was completed for wedding of Ralph Smith and Elizabeth Stoney in 1772. It was sold under the encumbered estates act in 1857 to a local farming family called Murphy who were advocates for Catholic and women’s education.

In the 20th century, the house changed hands several times eventually lying empty for 15 years with long-eared bats its only residents. Millford’s current owners, artists Deej Fabyc and MJ Newell, purchased the house in 2020 and are gradually restoring it. They also offer workspaces for up to eight artists in residence through their Live Art Ireland initiative and are rewilding the remaining 17 acres of the demesne, commencing with three areas of recovered woodland.