By Mark Keenan

Copyright independent

Asking price: €3.85m

Agent: Savills (01) 6634357

​Few musical artists achieve number one hits that involve them whistling instead of singing. But by his own admittance, the late folk singer-songwriter and whistling whiz Roger Whittaker was about as un rock and roll as you could get.

Whittaker claimed he represented “the silent minority in popular music who like to pay their taxes and raise their children properly”.

In the 1970s, The Boston Globe wrote of his stage performances: “No one gets high. No one gets hysterical with excitement. And yet Roger Whittaker is one of the most popular entertainers in the world.”

With an international musical career that spanned six decades and shifted 60 million records, the Kenyan born baritone crooner was best known for his ditty about leaving “old Durham town”.

Other ballad hits included New World in the Morning, The Last Farewell and I Don’t Believe in If Anymore.

His whistle-only tunes also hit high notes. Mexican Whistler reached number one in three European countries, while Finnish Whistler was a staple of his live gigs and became the theme of a cookery programme.

He would also whistle The Skye Boat Song on Top of the Pops, with Des O’Connor singing.

Born in Kenya to British parents in 1936, Whittaker could speak Swahili before he learned English. At 18, he fought against the Mau Mau in a colonial war renowned for atrocities.

Whittaker came to Bangor University in Wales, where he studied zoology, biochemistry and marine biology, and began playing gigs to earn some money. His first big break came when he appeared on the Ulster Television show This and That.

This estranged him from his father who didn’t approve of his musical direction. Whittaker senior was murdered in Kenya during a 1989 break in which Roger Whittaker’s mother beaten. He brought her back to England, where he lived until her death in 1996.

This left Whittaker and his wife Natalie at a crossroads. “I had started off by saying I wanted to live in a small house in Ireland. We’ll start again in Ireland in a simple manner. We saw this wonderful place near Banagher with 55 acres, wonderful mature trees and the remains of an old house. I looked at it said, ‘We’ve got to have this,’” he told the Irish Independent.

For 13 years before his own death in 2023 in France aged 87, Whittaker and Natalie enjoyed living in two country homes in succession in Co Galway. Now, their first Irish home – Lairakeen, outside Banagher – is for sale.

There had been a residence on the site since the early 18th century, and it was remodelled in 1870. It later suffered a fire in 1931, which left it extremely damaged.

The Whittakers acquired the ruin in 2002 for €672,000. Formerly known as Kilnaborris, they had it rebuilt and renamed. But the couple didn’t stay here long.

They sold it on again in 2005 at the top of the market for €5m, and used the proceeds to acquire The Old Convent at Eyrecourt, also Co Galway, into which they ploughed €1m in refurbishment.

Lairakeen House was placed on the market again in 2019 for €2.65m. Now it’s for sale again through Savills for €3.85m.

With a guest cottage, a studio apartment within a refurbished coach house and a recording studio, the 8,913 sq ft property spans almost nine times the size of an average Irish family home.

It is decorated in a baronial style, and comes with four formal reception rooms and five large bedrooms. The holdings also include a formal walled garden, and two islands located in the River Shannon.

The house is accessed by a sweep of stone steps, past pillars which are decorated with a faithful hound atop of each. A grand entrance hall includes a fireplace and staircase with a light coloured herringbone timber floor.

At the heart of the house is a traditional kitchen with rustic stone tiles and cream units.

It has a number of finely carved and detailed chimney pieces in marble, and there’s a show stopping mahogany version in the drawing room, which carved in an intricate plume pattern.

Because it was rebuilt within the last 25 years and upgraded again recently, Lairakeen will suit buyers looking for a period home and pocket estate, minus nasty surprises lurking behind the wallpaper.

Another advantage is the addition of a lift through its three floors, which would not ordinarily be permitted in a listed period property.

Lairakeen House is set along the banks of the River Shannon with grounds extending to 54 acres, of which 46 acres is divided into paddocks enclosed by a combination of stud railing, hedging and fencing.

Although close to the town of Banagher in Co Offaly, it’s actually located just inside the Galway county boundary.

Recent work at the five-bay period residence includes a whole new roof, the updating of electrical systems (including the three-storey walk-in elevator), it has been replumbed and had a comprehensive security system installed.

Included within the main residence is a double sound recording studio and office, which could also be converted into a cinema room.

Banagher (4.5 km away) is renowned for its fishing spots and boating on the River Shannon. The town is well served with everyday amenities including shops and several pubs, most notably JJ Hough’s Singing Pub, which was awarded Pub of the Year in 2025.

Savills won’t whistle if you offer the agency €3.85m for Lairakeen.