A reminder of what could have been - Historic house in Offaly empty for decades

Syngefield House in Birr is an important and historic house which has sadly been empty for decades.

In the mid 1990s it was in a very poor condition and many were concerned about its future. I remember attending a couple of Birr Urban District Council meetings in 1995 where, for the first time, the Councillors expressed their concerns about the building. Over the following years it was mentioned a number of more times during Council meetings but nothing happened.

Finally, in February 2001 it was offered for sale and all lovers of heritage in Birr were filled with a sense of hope that perhaps this derelict, once elegant building, had at long last turned a corner. It was reported at that stage that the mid-18th century house had been empty for more than two decades, therefore in 2025 it's been vacant for more than a half century.

It was bought in 2002 by Noel Dempsey of Noel Dempsey Construction for an undisclosed amount of money. Noel was a successful builder and he set about extensively renovating the property, including adding a wing, which had been missing for many years due to a fire. He created 26 rooms and his plan was to have eight bedrooms, a ballroom, gym, pool, cellar and cinema.

Noel told The Midland Tribune that he spent €1m on renovating the shell of the building, but most of the bedrooms were not yet in place and it was likely to cost at least another €1m to finish. His plan was to turn it into an upmarket, boutique hotel.
In October 2009 he announced that he had decided to sell the house and was open to “offers from prospective boutique hotels.”

In 2001 it was stated that much of the original interior had been either vandalised or stolen. All the chimney pieces were gone, but some things remained, such as the main staircase, window surrounds, lugged architraves, floorboards and some plasterwork.

The house once had a considerable amount of land attached. Now it has reduced to five acres.

The house belonged to a branch of the Synge family, who were cousins of the playwright John Millington Synge. It may have been built around 1752 when Edward Synge married Sophia Hutchinson. Edward Synge was the grandson of Edward Synge, Archbishop of Tuam and nephew of Edward Synge, Bishop of Elphin and son of Nicholas Synge, Bishop of Killaloe. The Birr Edward was Archdeacon of Killala, as well as rector of Birr.

His eldest son, also called Edward, became an Anglican clergyman as well. A younger son, Robert, became a baronet and it was his family that continued to live in the property. The Synges owned land in Meath and Cork as well as Offaly. It's believed that the family continued living in Syngefield House until about 1870. After they left, the house was let for some time and then eventually sold.

Noel Dempsey died not long after putting the house on the market. Today the property remains in the ownership of the Dempsey family.

It's adequately protected from the elements and is in reasonable condition. Stuck in development limbo, it's a sad reminder of what could have been – an attractive boutique hotel adding considerably to the life of Birr.