A perfectly bucolic house in the Irish countryside carefully updated by its former owner

A variety of crops are grown in Burtown's kitchen garden throughout the year, ensuring a constant supply of fresh seasonal produce.

Andrew Montgomery

The Fennells were an old Quaker family, and the nearby village of Ballitore bears the imprint of an industrial Quaker past, with wool and flour mills. The Shackletons, Fennell ancestors among whom polar explorer Sir Ernest is the most illustrious, started a boarding school here, which educated philosopher Edmund Burke in the 18th century.

Showing off was not the Quaker way. The front of Burtown House is deceptively modest: a two-storey, early-Georgian villa that belies the fact that it stretches to three floors and a basement at the back. This façade was embellished in the 1780s with a curved central bay and tall, elegant windows.

The house of James's mother Lesley, near the stable yard.

Andrew Montgomery

Lesley painting in the Nutgrove.

Andrew Montgomery

The family have always been keen and knowledgeable gardeners. James's mother Lesley dug out semi-circular beds from the pasture at the back of the house, to form banks of lilac, mock orange and scented roses. She created vistas through to the surrounding landscape, fringing the steps and terrace of the house with daylilies, catmint and frothing, acid-green alchemilla. Still in charge of the flower garden, she can be seen most days, in a sunhat, with her secateurs and basket in hand. There is also a strong artistic gene: Lesley's mother, Wendy Walsh, was Ireland's most famous botanical artist and, when not gardening, Lesley is to be found painting in her studio in the yard.

James and Joanna on a secluded stone seat in the gardens, which was a favourite spot of his maternal great-grandmother, Mimi Storey.

Andrew Montgomery

James inherited the artistic eve. He is one of Ireland's foremost. photographers, specialising in houses, interiors, lifestyle and portraiture, and best known for the Vanishing Ireland series, a collaboration with his friend, the historian Turtle Bunbury. Over years of travel, James has worked on a steady stream of books on architecture in Ireland and England, Mexico and Sri Lanka, as well as on features in publications including House & Garden and Vogue.

After school, Joanna moved to New York and worked for ABS, a Californian fashion company, before heading to Geneva to work for the Lacoste family. Her adventurous spirit led her to travel in Africa, before she fell in love with Taxeo in Mexico. This kick-started a new career, as she began importing silver jewellery to sell wholesale in Ireland, which then evolved into her creating her own jewellery collection and dealing in semi-precious stones from Jaipur in India. (Somehow, she found time to train in interior design along the way.) The energetic pair joined forces in their twenties. Joanna admits with a laugh, 'I was charmed by James's photographic talent.' It led to a very fruitful partnership, travelling and producing shoots together.

James arranging flowers in the hallway of the main house.

Andrew Montgomery

But the call of Burtown was always there. James spent his childhood immersed in its woods and fields; with a friend he would fix sluices around the island gardens of the Nutgrove, where water runs down towards the River Griese, reclaiming it from the wilderness. Always out repairing gates, he remembers being aware of a slow decline - the stables began to fall down and the farm had to be sold.

When he and Joanna married in 2005, they moved back to Burtown and set about restoring the stable yard, where they lived while their children were young. Bella was born in 2006, with Mimi following in 2008 and William in 2010.

The light-filled drawing room.

Andrew Montgomery

At first, the couple continued their photographic forays to far-flung places. 'Bella went on 28 flights in her first year,' recalls James. But it became increasingly difficult with two more children and, in 2010, they decided to prioritise Burtown over photography – ‘against everyone’s advice’, adds James, wryly. It was a bold step, but being away so much was taking its toll. ‘I was missing too many key moments with the children,’ he says. Photography was changing, too, with digital taking over and shoot budgets disappearing. ‘And,’ he adds, with a laugh, ‘I couldn’t bear to miss another asparagus season.’

Filled with natural light, the beautifully decorated drawing room is enhanced by intricate original plasterwork, which was featured on the cover of the 2010 book by The Knight of Glin and James Peill, The Irish Country House.

Andrew Montgomery

Having renovated the stable block, they began to focus on restoring the vegetable garden. ‘We grew up picking vegetables an hour before eating them, so I understood the vast difference between home-grown food and what you buy in the supermarket. We hosted 100 WWOOFers over the next few years,’ recalls James, referring to the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms programme, in which participants stay with owners of large gardens, working for free in return for bed and board.

An equine painting by James's grandmother Wendy Walsh, who had a particular talent for depieting animals as well as botanical subjects, hangs above the fireplace in the study.

Andrew Montgomery

Then came the house: ‘all the boring bits – plumbing, electrics’, but also the addition of a cleverly designed new wing with a large kitchen looking out onto the garden. This is now the hub of family life. In 2012, they opened the garden café to the side of the house (which is now used for events and private parties) to showcase their produce. Joanna’s flair for cooking and love of bold flavours picked up from her travels meant she could use all the produce from their garden. They had 40 coachloads of visitors in the first year, with large groups coming to see the garden. ‘I still don’t know how she did it,’ says James.

With the help of Kim Dreyer, a Danish architect living in County Wicklow, they developed plans for The Green Barn Restaurant. ‘We wanted to keep the feel agricultural, with a Scandi/New England rustic elegance,’ says James. ‘Joanna focused on the paint colours and room schemes, while I was all about the details – the finish and styling.’

Mimi shelling broad beans in the kitchen at home, in preparation for a dinner with extended family and friends.

Andrew Montgomery

On a tight budget, they utilised their design ingenuity to keep costs down. Floors were made from scaffolding planks, split in half to double their number. Tables were built on site from old shuttering used to make concrete walls, sourced from Kilkenny Architectural Salvage. Painted boards, faded and full of character, came from an old army barracks on the Curragh and now make up the bar and dividing screens. Interiors are decorated with finds from their travelling – from Sri Lanka in particular.

With its new Parisian head chef, the celebrated Sylvan Costrowa, the restaurant is flourishing, its vibrant menus inspired by the day’s harvest. The vegetables have spread to polytunnels beyond the garden, boosted by biodynamic techniques. Another productive garden is being designed by James’s cousin, Arthur Shackleton, and an own-brand whiskey made from their barley, Burtown Bonded, is in the offing. James and Joanna have also bought an old fruit farm in Portugal, where they are creating an exclusive retreat with Lisbon-based architect Pedro Domingos.

Growing up, James would often try to imagine how he could revive the fortunes of Burtown. Now, with the house and gardens restored, the restaurant a success and so many new plans afoot, the place is buzzing with energy. No doubt, his Quaker ancestors would approve.