You have to wonder if the Victorian era, when Liss Ard was constructed, could possibly have been as interesting as its more recent history. The estate of Liss Ard is accessed just south of the town of Skibbereen, In West Cork. Right now it has a newly opened casual restaurant, operated by admired Cork-based chef Stephen Canty. It's open for weekend lunches, Fri to Sun, when you can get West Cork fish soup, terrines, fish cakes or sandwiches, and then for dinner, Wed-Mon, where the menu is equally light and friendly. We recently had dinner there, accompanying some visiting Portuguese journalists, who were here to find out about West Cork.
The ties between Portugal and Liss Ard are strong, as the estate is now owned by Roman and Chitra Stern, owners also of the luxurious Martinhal Beach Resort in the Algarve. We've been visiting Liss Ard for about twenty years, and have seen it through many of its recent guises. But we missed the period when it was owned by a noted Swiss Spy Master, Col Albert Bachman.
Col Bachman, who is credited as setting up a secret army, trained in guerrilla-warfare tactics and assassins, bought Liss Ard in the 'seventies. It is here that he is reputed to have built an underground bunker, designed for use of the Swiss government in exile in the event of invasion during the Cold War. To date this bunker has never been found, but watch this space. Operations Manager Melanie Uhkoetter has been led to an underground passage on the estate, and investigations are continuing.
Rumours about the estate are rife in the local community, from a famed wine cellar, to a haunted Lough monster in Lake Abisdealy which forms part of the garden walk, and where, to add further colour to the stories, you might find legendary seven-oceans swimmer Steve Redmond training, seemingly too bionically strong to worry about the ghostly lady of the Lough.
In the nineties, the house was owned by Claudia Meister and Veith Turske. We were lucky enough to try Claudia's dairy-free cooking, and saw the beginning of a new aesthetic period for the house, when Veith clothed an already stunning setting in an impossibly beautiful mix of grand twentieth century design – there are still genuine Corbusier chairs in the lobby – and a wildlife parkland garden. It was during this period that world renowned Californian artist James Turrell created what should have been one of three "experiences" in the Irish Sky Garden. This is a giant earth and stone work, aptly called The Crater, in the middle of which rests a plinth, called the Vault Purchase, where two people can lie and see the sky from a most unusual perspective. The Crater plays with you from the moment you first encounter it, scaring you a little with its grave-like, subway-like entrance. Then it makes you feel small and further daunted by its Alice Through The Looking Glass stairway towards the light and then blows you away as you enter the crater itself and look up to a carefully scripted patch of sky. Lie on the plinth and the swallows cackle above you, as if they are laughing at you too.
Sadly, and probably predictably the extravagant Turske period ended in tears and recriminations, and the house was then sold to its current owners, who lived there themselves for a while, but have now opened it once again as a Country House, and now a stand alone restaurant.
Many of the gorgeous touches from its 'nineties design heyday are still intact, from the Japanese Shoji doors, the big beds and white bathrooms, the extraordinary modern art, including a wonderful play on the Elements, which hangs over the dining room. Manager Melanie Uhkoetter is likeable, and full of energy and Stephen Canty is a very good chef. The future for Liss Ard looks bright.
Sally McKenna
