Simply Red star Mick Hucknall might be ‘Holding back the years’ to sell his sprawling Donegal estate.
The crooner is trying to sell his glorious estate nestled by Donegal’s glorious Blue Stack Mountains and put in on the market for €2.6m.
After failing to get anyone to bite, Hucknall, 58, and co-owner Chris De Margary, his former bandmate, decided to slash the asking price by almost half to €1.35m.
But now the pair have now decided to take the property off the market although it was still listed for sale on the agent Savills’ website yesterday.
But head auctioneer Pat O’Hagan told the Irish Daily Mail the property had been taken off the market.
The rambling 19,000-acre estate went up for sale two years ago, but despite the upturn in the property market, it couldn’t attract a buyer.
Hucknall, who amassed a fortune during his 30-year pop career, was looking to sell the estate in the north-west as he simply does not have enough time to enjoy it.
Hucknall bought the estate, with Chris almost 16 years ago.
Visitors to Glenmore have permission to stalk red deer and shoot for duck, woodcock and snipe on its 19,000 acres, while the estate is famous for its salmon and sea trout fishing.
The estate, which has a five-bedroom shooting lodge, was originally bought for €1.3m so the friends could indulge their passion for fishing.
Some people might be surprised to learn that Hucknall is a keen angler, but he has cast his line all over the world.
‘My favourite countries for fishing include Ireland, Canada, Iceland and Norway,’ he says. ‘The wonderful thing about fly-fishing is that it helps you to forget about all the troubles in the world. There’s nothing more relaxing,’ he said previously.
The lodge is just 90 yards from the River Finn.
Hucknall and De Margary have been keen fishermen for about 20 years, but there was also a less indulgent reason for them buying the estate.
‘We felt it was a philanthropic opportunity to raise the profile of north-western Ireland, and to take on the ecological challenges of maintaining and increasing the wild salmon and sea trout population,’ Hucknall says.
Since the musicians bought the estate, it has gained an international reputation and attracted visitors from all over the world, taking advantage of the fact it is so remote, it is at least an hour’s drive from either Donegal or Derry airports.
Hucknall said when the house originally went up for sale: ‘It’s been a great honour to care for the glorious River Finn.
‘However, Chris and I feel that now is the right time to pass the baton to someone who will gather enormous satisfaction from keeping the river in its pristine condition.’
Hucknall spends most of his time in England with his partner, Gabriella Wesberry, and their young daughter, Romy. He also has a vineyard in Catania, Sicily, where he produces wines under the label Il Cantante (The Singer).
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