Look inside: Renowned horse trainer Jim Bolger’s Coolcullen home and training facility for €4m
Address: Glebe House, Coolcullen, Co Kilkenny Price: €4,000,000 Agent: Jordan AuctioneersOn top of one of many hills on the Carlow-Kilkenny border, Glebe House in Coolcullen, Co Kilkenny has been the centre of horse trainer Jim Bolger’s racing operations for the past four decades.Traffic in the location is a rarity – “if somebody drove in and said he was passing,” remarks Bolger, “he was a liar.” Before settling in Kilkenny, close to his Co Wexford roots, the family lived in Coolmine, Dublin 15, and Bolger trained his horses in the Phoenix Park. He vividly remembers the big snow of 1982, when he bought Coolcullen, and the work that went into laying the foundations of one of the country’s most successful yards. “We built the gallops ourselves, built the stables, finished and had them occupied, and we had a winner out of the yard the first week in January.” He has trained about 2,900 winners throughout his career, and many of those were trained on the 150 acres here, on lands that include three gallops: one grass, one all-weather woodchip and one sand. Bolger rises at 5am to oversee training at Coolcullen, where the gallops are set into the hills, making an incline for the horses to run up, increasing their strength and endurance. READ MOREGrace Kelly’s Mayo holiday hideaway: ‘Maybe her dream will come true some day’‘Upside-down’ home built for its views from Dublin Bay to Killiney Bay Refined home on more than two acres near Kildare townWhat will €530,000 buy in Portugal, Italy, France, Scotland and Co Cork?It’s a world-renowned training establishment that has not only brought its owner unprecedented success but has, through breeding and bloodlines, changed the face of Irish racing. Bolger has swept the silverware from Ascot, Newmarket and Longchamps to Hong Kong, Leopardstown and the Curragh, and has trained about 55 group-one winners in his career. The staggering equine roll call of honour includes such champions as St Jovite, New Approach, Teofilo, Dawn Approach, Trading Leather and Poetic Flare. Those who began their careers working with Bolger include trainers Willie Mullins and Aidan O’Brien and jockeys Tony McCoy, Paul Carberry and Kevin Manning. Known for his forensic, scientific approach to breeding, Bolger established a formidable operation on the acres around his home. He also owned Redmondstown Stud in Co Wexford, which he put up for sale last October and sold a portion of earlier this year, although he still owns land there.Built in 1760 as the summer residence of a Church of Ireland bishop, Glebe House is a long, two-storey-over-basement six-bedroom home extending to 694sq m (7,470sq ft) with an E1 Ber. Bolger and his wife, Jackie, are placing the property for sale as he consolidates his operation, moving to their farm in Rathvilly, Co Carlow. It is being brought to market by Jordan Auctioneers, with a €4 million asking price.The ivy-clad house is beautiful in the winter, radiating a warm red over the expansive lawns, studded with beech trees that line the twin drives that lead to its front door. Glebe House and grounds, Coolcullen Glebe House Entrance hallway Drawingroom The entrance hall is painted a vivid red, adorned with shining silverware and photos of horses crossing the finish line. The large, dual-aspect drawingroom is to the left of the hall, with a marble fireplace. Beyond it is a triple-aspect sunroom, where Bolger and his wife, Jackie, enjoy spending time. It has a lovely aspect over the gardens to the front and the rolling landscape to the rear of the property; a small kitchen sits next to it. Two more reception rooms open off the hall, which has a gently curving wall, a sign of the centuries the house has stood. Successes of the operation – trophies, cups and plates – are displayed in a handsome diningroom, and a study lies beside it. Both rooms benefit from deep Georgian windows and lovely views. A guest WC lies off the hall. The dual-aspect kitchen sits at the end of the hall with a door leading to a conservatory/office to the front of the property. Stairs lead down to the basement, which houses a suite of offices, storage rooms, the original kitchen and a wine cellar. A long landing runs across the first floor, two staircases lead to attic rooms upstairs. There is a total of six bedrooms, and all are generous, decorated with patterned wallpaper and en suite, with baths and showers. The main bedroom lies at the end of the first floor and is vast, with a large en suite and dressingroom behind it. The attic rooms are especially lovely, with old timber beams. The house is elegant, comfortable and, for such an old property, incredibly warm. The oil-fired burner is ignited early every morning and the house retains the heat well throughout the day. As well as the main house, there is ancillary staff accommodation including a new building, extending to 305sq m (3,283 sq ft) with a kitchen, dining area and bedrooms, another staff apartment and a four-bed residence. Facilities include more than 150 stables across four yards, five horse walkers, a treadmill room, a laboratory, tack rooms and hay sheds. Sunroom Study Diningroom The town of Castlecomer is a short drive away, you can reach Kilkenny within half an hour and the Curragh is less than an hour away, with easy access to the M9 motorway. The sale presents a rare opportunity to acquire a landmark training centre where innovation, coupled with tradition, has been translated into unparalleled success.It could be continued to be run as a first-class training operation, or simply enjoyed as a country estate. Given the pedigree of the horses that have emerged from its hallowed acres, and its legacy of excellence, it’s sure to garner keen interest from a buyer eager to take up the trainer’s reins into a new era. Staff accommodation Stables and yard Gardens
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