Designed by Roberts, architect of several buildings in Waterford, the house was built by George Keane’s grandson. It is little changed today even though it was burnt to the ground in 1922 along with the houses of several other Irish Senators drawn from the ranks of the old Ascendancy. Senator Sir John Keane decided to fully restore the house which he did with direct labour. The walls were too solid to be damaged by fire but the Adams period plasterwork was carefully reproduced using old moulds available from London.

Inside the house are many reminders of the Afghan war of 1839 when an expeditionary force under the command

of force under the command of General Sir John Keane, a younger brother of Sir Richard Keane of Cappoquin, the first baronet, entered Afghanistan from India to forestall what was thought to be an imminent Russian invasion. There are prints depicting the fall of the Ghuznee Fort to the east of the Bolan Pass. The surprise capture of this fort in a daring night attack with the loss of only 17 British lives led to the surrender of the Afghan army marching up the valley. Kabul was occupied without further fighting and General Sir John retired to England to become Lord Keane of Ghuznee and Cappoquin with a pension of £2,000 a year for his and two successive lives - considered a lot of money in those days.