The cottage that was once home to Liam and Noel Gallagher’s grandmother has been placed on the market.
Margaret Sweeney, the Oasis brothers’ maternal grandmother, lived in the two-bed Irish home for more than 20 years before her death in 2000.
The Gallagher’s mother, Peggy, grew up in County Mayo alongside her 10 siblings before she moved to Manchester, where Noel and Liam were brought up.
The quaint cottage in Sonnagh, near Charlestown, which has gone up for sale for £300k, clearly continues to have a special place in the Oasis brothers’ hearts.
While performing in Dublin earlier this year, Liam asked the crowd: ‘Anyone here from Mayo, Charlestown?’.
Responding to the cheers from the crowd, he said: ‘There’s only about five people there, you can’t all be f*****g from there.’
Noel has previously spoken fondly of spending his childhood summer holidays in Ireland while visiting his grandmother.
Speaking on the Late Late Show in 1996, he said: ‘When we used to have six weeks’ holidays in England for the school summer, my mam used to religiously drag us by the ear over across the Irish Sea.’
He went on to add that the burning turf on returning to Ireland ‘reminds you of your childhood’.
Speaking in Paolo Hewitt’s biography of the band, Getting High: the Adventures of Oasis, he recalled: ‘We used to go out in the country, picking blackberries to make jam. And my gran didn’t have any running water so you used to have to go over to the well.’
The Oasis lead guitarist has also spoken about his first visits to the local pub, scrapping in hay with his cousins and family gatherings.
‘They all used to start taking the p**s out of each other,’ he said. ‘I remember sitting there crying with laughter.’
The Gallagher brothers have maintained their connection to Charlestown, continuing to visit the town throughout their lives.
Barmaid Olive Durcan told The Irish Times: ‘I remember clearly when word got round that the boys were back in town; even if it was only Liam, everybody followed him.
‘He played the guitar in [the pub] JJ’s and there was a big singsong.’
Sweeney’s former home, a 900-square-foot bungalow, has an open plan living and dining area, with a traditional stone fireplace.
A fuel-burning stove divides the space from the kitchen behind, while the home also boasts a large family bathroom and two bedrooms, one with built-in wardrobes and an ensuite.
The cottage was renovated and extended by its current owner in 2003, following Sweeney’s death.
However, one of its major selling points is its six acres of land, something that Noel has continued to reminisce about.
The River Sonnagh intersects the land, and the grounds contain a natural spring and the ruins of a former corn mill.
‘The Gallager brothers spent many happy childhood summers in this house, enjoying the freedom of the countryside setting and soaking up the musical traditions of the Charlestown locality,’ estate agents at Hamptons International say.
‘It is said that the brothers honed their unique musical style from an early age and no doubt the traditional music sessions experienced in the area would have influenced the two brothers in their later career.
‘Having just played two sold-out gigs in Dublin, the residents of Charlestown may be expecting a visit from the famous Gallaghers as they are very proud of their Mayo heritage, and many fans are making the pilgrimage to Co. Mayo in the hope of having a chance encounter with their idols.’
