Built in 1620, Lissan House is a country house set amidst mature woodland overlooking the Lissan River. The house is flanked by an extensive range of outbuildings, stables and a walled garden. The Lissan House Demesne extends to over 300 acres of land and gained enormous support through the BBC Restoration programme.

Following the recent sad death of Mrs Hazel Radclyff Dolling the Friends of Lissan Trust are continuing with the work of raising finance to restore Lissan House and the outbuildings. Hazel's wish was that the Trust should continue her work to reinvigorate the estate as a place for people to visit, work and live. This site was designed by Hazel herself and contains lots of interesting information and images about the estate. The Trust is in the final stages of preparing a business plan which will be submitted to funders with the aim of raising much needed finance for the restoration work.

The Trust recently held a number of open days and the response was overwhelming with over 2,000 people visiting the house over a number of weekends. The Friends of Lissan Trust would like to thank all those people who have visited the house and there are plans for further tours in Spring/Summer of 2008. The Trust is also grateful to all those people who have made donations towards the planned restoration work. Should you be interested in getting involved in the Lissan project feel free to contact us.

Lissan embraces two cultures and traditions, those of the Planter and the Gael. The name Lissan is derived from two old Irish words - lios, meaning a rath or a fort, and Aine, the name of a Celtic Goddess. Hence Aine's Fort, suggesting that the place had ceremonial or ritual importance.

What we can be sure is that Lissan lay at the heart of the ancient area of Glenkonkyne, a densely wooded territory ruled by the O'Neills that ran from the Sperrin foothills to the shores of Lough Neagh.