Ardfry House in Oranmore, Co Galway, has been brought back from the brink of neglect several times since it was built in the 1770s by Joseph Blake, descended from one of the 14 ancient civic families of Galway known as the "Tribes".

Now in ruins, it stands on 14 acres on a peninsula that extends to Galway Bay. It is to be sold by tender on September 14th through Helen Cassidy Auctioneers and has a guide price of around £1.6 million (€2.03 million).

According to Helen Cassidy, the current owner bought it last year with the intention of turning it into a five-star hotel but "had too much on" to start the project. The house is two storeys with a central pediment and a higher pyramidal roofed pavilion at either end. It fell into ruin but was re-roofed for the 1973 film The Mackintosh Man.