A British Labour Party member of the House of Lords, Baron Wilf Stevenson, is selling his West Cork riverside home, Glebe House, for nearly €4 million – a substantial increase of approximately €1.5 million from what he paid for it in 2016.
Glebe House: A History of Prominent Owners
The property has a long association with high-profile figures, dating back to former British Prime Minister James Callaghan, who frequently holidayed in the area. Other notable residents and visitors include former British ambassador to the United States, Peter Jay, his wife Margaret, and former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Made a lifelong peer in 2010, Stevenson served as a senior advisor to Brown and was a member of Labour’s think-tank, the Smith Institute. He also held a position as a director of the British Film Institute (BFI).
Prior to Stevenson, Glebe House was owned by former AIB senior executive David Duffy, who purchased the property from IT entrepreneur Leonard Donnelly. Duffy significantly renovated the house and added a pontoon before selling it to Stevenson in 2016 for €2.5 million.
Before becoming a private residence, the property served as a drug rehabilitation centre, Le Patriarch, in the 1990s.
Property Details and Current Market
The nine-acre estate features a 9,000 sq ft house with eight bedrooms and ten bathrooms, along with a guest cottage. It includes four reception rooms, a conservatory, a tennis court, a yoga room, and a gym. The property is currently listed with Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty and Charles P McCarthy.
Glebe House was quietly offered on the international market in late 2025 via JamesEdition at €3.95 million before being publicly listed this spring.
The wider Skibbereen area is also home to actor Jeremy Irons, and has become a popular destination for Irish actors including Paul Mescal, Robert Sheehan, and Saoirse Ronan, who recently received planning permission to replace her holiday home in RoaringWater Bay.
Film producer and educationalist Lord David Puttnam, a British Labour Party supporter and Irish citizen, also resides along the Ilen river.
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