A Future for Irish Historic Houses - Irish Heritage Trust

Table of Contents Page
Foreword by An Taoiseach Mr. Bertie Ahern TD 2
Acknowledgements 3
Executive Summary 4
Section 1 Compiling the Study 7
1.1 Aims 7
1.2 Choice of houses and procedure 7
1.3 Terminology 8
Section 2 Historical Background 9
Section 3 Survey Findings 13
3.1 Present function of historic houses 13
3.2 Cultural heritage importance 15
3.3 Conservation issues 20
3.3 (i) Houses in the ownership of original families 20
3.3 (ii) Houses in state ownership 23
3.3 (iii)Houses in the ownership of institutions
and organisations 24
3.3 (iv) Houses in new private ownership 25
3.4 Further sources of threat 26
3.4 (i) Income/Funding 26
3.4 (ii) Decline in tourism 28
3.4 (iii) Taxation 30
3.4 (iv) Insurance 33
Section 4 National Trust Legislation 34
Section 5 Summary of Key Findings 38
Section 6 Key Recommendations 40
References 44
Appendix I Schedule of Houses in Survey and Location Map 45
Appendix II Summary of Findings for each House 49
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FOREWORD
The stated policy of Government ‘ to ensure the protection of our heritage and to promote its
enjoyment by all’ is the outcome of an increased awareness and appreciation of the value of
our heritage in recent years, both for its own value and the economic and educational benefits
that arise from it. To facilitate this commitment by Government, I placed heritage, including
both the built and natural environment within the remit of the Department of the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government, as Local Authorities, under central
Government, share responsibility for the implementation of heritage policies.
The built heritage includes a wide variety of structures from terraced houses to thatched
cottages, bridges and boundary walls to canals and castles, but the ‘Big House’ has a special
place in Irish architectural history. Once considered not to be part of our patrimony, these
magnificent eighteenth and nineteenth century houses, built by Irish builders, are now
increasingly valued for their architectural significance and for the wealth of superb interior
decoration created mainly by Irish craftspeople.
However, the problems of upkeep of these great houses in today’s world are obvious, and
have now been accurately chronicled in this study. Ideally, the best way for ensuring the
survival of many of these important houses is for them to continue in the loving care of the
original owners. Sadly, less than fifty houses, with their all important family contents, remain
in the hands of the families which built them, and many of these are finding it difficult to
survive. Some houses in state-ownership, or occupied by institutions such as schools, are
facing similar difficulties. A number of houses which have come on the market in recent
years have been fortunate to fall into the hands of new owners who have meticulously
restored and refurbished to a high standard as well as keeping the landscaped settings intact.
Conservation requirements can clash with the changes necessary to adapt these historic
buildings for modern use and to attract the tourist. Planning legislation should not mean the
inflexible preserving of the status quo; neither should it permit works which devalue the
intrinsic historical worth of the buildings and settings. Informed and enlightened judgements
need to be made when dealing with the built heritage and balanced solutions should be
sought.
The survival of this important part of Ireland’s built heritage is of major concern to
Government. Houses and owners vary in their needs and I welcome this study of a sample
fifty of these historic houses and the outlining of the problems faced by each individual
house, both private and in state ownership. The author, Dr. Terence Dooley, has produced a
detailed and independent view of the situation.. This study will be an invaluable tool in the
consideration and formation of policy on the preservation and enhancement of our historic
houses which will include consideration of the structures and legal frameworks which, in the
light of international experience, might most effectively address our needs.
I congratulate the Irish Georgian Society and the Department of the Environment, Heritage
and Local Government for the initiative shown in commissioning this informative and timely
study.
Bertie Ahern TD
Taoiseach September 2003
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Acknowledgements
The author would like to acknowledge the kind support of the officers and staff of the
Irish Georgian Society, particularly Desmond FitzGerald Knight of Glin; Sir David
Davies; Mary Bryan; Donough Cahill; Estelle Gittins, Lisa Lambert and Elspeth
O’Neill; Dave Fadden and Liam O Connell of the Department of Environment,
Heritage and Local Government; John Ducie, vice-chairman of An Taisce; Frank Carr
of KPMG; those at Bord Fáilte and the Heritage Council who answered my numerous
queries, and most particularly those house owners, managers, representatives and
architects who so willingly gave of their time and offered much appreciated
hospitality: Lord Altamont; Brian Bellew; Michael Bolton; Hon.Garech Browne;
Charles Clements; Rebecca Cogan; John Coote; Martin Corrigan; Thomas Cosby;
Jean Costello; Barbara Dawson; Lord Dunsany; Laurence Feeney; Bill Finlay,
Desmond FitzGerald Knight of Glin; Mother Magdalena Fitzgibbon; Sir Josslyn and
Lady Gore Booth; Major and Mrs. Hamilton; James Howley; Breda and Norman
Ievers; Andrew Kavanagh; Brendan Kiernan; Susan Kellett; Margaret and Patrick
Kelly; Knights of Columbanus [Billy Roe]; Eileen Lawlor; Samantha Leslie; Michael
Lynch; John Madden; Lord and Lady Meath; Sean Moran; Lord Henry Mount
Charles; Pyers O’ Conor Nash; Sir John and Lady Nugent; John O’Driscoll; Austin
O’Sullivan; Thomas and Valerie Pakenham; Sandra Peavoy; Michael Penruddock;
Alexander Perceval; Jim Reynolds; Lord Rosse; Sisters of Sion [Sister Phil]; Michael
Sword; Mrs. Sidney Waddington; David Wall; Lord Waterford; Egerton Shelswell-
White. Finally the author would like to express his gratitude to the National
University of Ireland and to the Department of Modern History, National University
of Ireland Maynooth.
The author
Dr. Terence Dooley is author of The decline of the big house in Ireland: a study of
Irish landed families, 1860-1960 (2001). He is currently NUI Fellow in the
Humanities, attached to the Department of Modern History, National University of
Ireland Maynooth.
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Executive Summary
Due to an amalgam of economic, political and social reasons, only a very small
proportion of historic houses (defined in this study as the country and town houses of
the Irish landed class) survive in Ireland today in the ownership of their original
families. Others have passed into the ownership of the state or of institutions and
organisations whereby their functions have changed radically from private residences
to hotels, country house bed and breakfasts, schools and colleges, hospitals,
government offices, and even a prison. Many more have disappeared completely from
the Irish landscape having been burned during the revolutionary period 1920-23, or
simply abandoned or demolished since the 1920s.
The preservation of all remaining historic houses, as well as their contents and their
surroundings, is now a national imperative. They provide the only architectural
evidence of the intermediate historical period between the golden era of the landed
class in the early eighteenth century and their gradual decline from the late nineteenth
century. Their preservation need not be seen as a celebration of the landlord
system that facilitated their construction but rather a celebration of the great
artistic achievements of the architects who designed them and the everyday
works of craftsmanship of those who embellished them.
The importance of historic houses, their parks and gardens to Irish and European
cultural heritage is now generally accepted. The Irish government, through its
participation in the Granada Convention of 1985, has committed itself to safeguarding
the built heritage of Ireland for the wider good of the future generations of Europeans.
***
This study set out to underscore the importance to Ireland’s heritage of the surviving
historic houses in this country, to ascertain their current status, identify the potential
threats to their future and make recommendations to safeguard that future.
For this purpose fifty houses were selected. Four categories of houses were
subsequently identified: those owned by the original families; those owned by the
state; those owned by institutions and organisations and those in new private
ownership (that is, houses more recently acquired by entrepreneurs and wealthy
business people.)
It was found that those owned by the original families are of particular importance
because most of them retain at least some of their original contents, something that
adds immeasurably to their historical integrity.
The main body of this report finds the houses, with very few exceptions, are
faced with difficulties which threaten their existence in the future unless
immediate steps are taken to avert these threats.
The state of the houses surveyed varies very much according to the funds which have
been available to sustain their maintenance. Their present condition also varies greatly
according to the levels of commitment which it was possible for previous generations
to give to their conservation and restoration. The financial pressures on the original
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family owners of historic houses during the twentieth century has had dramatic
conservational consequences. With very few exceptions, large areas of most of these
houses have fallen into disrepair, simply because their owners have not been able to
afford conservation and restoration costs.
While local authorities have made commendable efforts to restore houses and open
them to the public, other state owned houses have been neglected. The required
budgets necessary for ongoing maintenance has not consistently been made available
to some of these houses. Thus, the present restoration problems facing houses such as
Johnstown Castle or Tyrone House are now just as great and as costly as any privately
owned house. Furthermore, because these houses underwent a change in functions
(and this equally applies to institutionally owned houses), work was frequently carried
out with very little regard for good conservation practice. Thus, the character and
historic fabric of the houses suffered.
The financial burden of day-to-day maintenance, conservation, and restoration
of historic houses is now a major problem. The vast majority of owners claimed
their houses presently require complex and extensive restoration and/or
conservation work. The high cost of maintenance, in many instances, prevents it
being properly carried out. Major restoration and conservation works are
frequently beyond reach unless capital is raised through the sale of contents or of
land. When the latter is resorted to it often compromises the cultural heritage
value of the house and/or estate.
The antidote to these difficulties to date has been based largely on fiscal concessions.
Since the 1980s, much has been done to ease the taxation burden on historic house
owners in Ireland. The most beneficial tax concession is commonly referred to as
Section 482 that provides tax exemptions to owners who open their houses to the
public for a specified number of days per annum. While this report recommends
changes in the existing legislation to provide more flexibility for those most in need of
exemptions, it finds that most future benefit should come from adequate grants
effectively administered.
***
Another ongoing debate is whether in the interests of the heritage conservation
objectives involved, the state should continue to acquire historic houses and
associated properties which are coming onto the market. This debate has recently
been fuelled by the proposed sale of Lissadell House in County Sligo. Expansion of
the state’s portfolio of historic houses is highly problematic from both the
perspectives of the initial capital expenditure involved and the longer-term recurrent
expenditure implications of public presentation, maintenance and conservation. In this
context, the issues of efficacy, feasibility and practicality of legislating for a national
trust-type organisation to manage historic house properties and other heritage-type
properties needs to be researched and analytically appraised from the public policy
perspectives in the widest sense of costs and benefits.
Ideally workable national trust legislation should be put in place to facilitate the
identification, protection, conservation and presentation of the properties and
their contents to the public. Such legislation would be based upon the installation
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of the principle of inalienability (whereby properties in its ownership could not
be sold without an act of the Oireachtas) and the provision of favourable tax
concessions to encourage owners to donate their properties and others to donate
the funding that would be necessary to protect them into the future.
The success of trusts established under such legislation would depend upon the calibre
of the people engaged, their knowledge and understanding of the historic importance
of the heritage properties in their care. It may also depend upon educating those who
presently own or manage historic houses to appreciate the long-term benefits of trusts.
The future of Irish historic houses is by no means secure. Unless concerted action
is undertaken, a major component of the country’s architectural, historical and
cultural heritage, at both local and national level, is in danger of being
substantially lost forever to the Irish people.
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Section 1. Compiling the Study
1.1 Aims
This report was commissioned by the Irish Georgian Society and sponsored by the
Society and the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government to:
- underscore the importance of historic houses to Ireland’s heritage
- examine the current state of a sample group of fifty of these houses and to
identify through interview the threats to their future
- make recommendations regarding the steps necessary to safeguard all
historic houses into the future as part of the country’s national heritage.
1.2 Choice of houses and procedure
Fifty historic houses were chosen as a sample group. Twenty-five are houses that
continue in the ownership of the original families who built them; twelve are houses
owned by the state (including local government authorities); seven are houses owned
by organisations and institutions, while six are in new private ownership.
The twenty-five houses in the ownership of the original families are:
Ballinlough, Co. Westmeath; Bantry, Co. Cork; Barmeath, Co. Louth;
Beaulieu, Co. Louth; Birr, Co. Offaly; Borris, Co. Carlow; Castle Leslie, Co.
Monaghan; Clonalis, Co. Roscommon; Curraghmore, Co. Waterford;
Dunsany, Co. Meath; Enniscoe, Co. Mayo; Glin Castle, Co. Limerick;
Hamwood, Co. Meath; Hilton Park, Co. Monaghan; Killadoon, Co. Kildare;
Kilruddery, Co. Wicklow; Lambay Castle, Co. Dublin; Lissadell, Co. Sligo;
Lismore, Co. Waterford; Mount Ievers, Co. Clare; Slane, Co. Meath;
Stradbally Hall, Co. Laois; Temple House, Co. Sligo; Tullynally, Co.
Westmeath; Westport, Co. Mayo.
The twelve houses owned by the state and local government authorities are:
Ardgillan, Co. Dublin; Avondale, Co. Wicklow; Belvedere, Co. Westmeath;
Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan; Charlemont, Dublin; Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford;
King House, Co. Roscommon; Malahide, Co. Dublin; Newbridge, Co. Dublin;
Rathfarnham Castle, Co. Dublin; Shelton Abbey, Co. Wicklow; Tyrone
House, Dublin.
The seven houses owned by organisations or institutions, six are:
Aldborough House, Dublin; Bellinter, Co. Meath; Ely House, Dublin;
Headfort, Co. Meath; Kylemore Abbey, Co. Galway; Russborough, Co.
Wicklow; Townley Hall, Co. Louth.
Finally, the six houses in new private ownership are:
Abbeyleix, Co. Laois; Ballyfin, Co. Laois; Bellamont Forest, Co. Cavan;
Ledwithstown, Co. Longford; Luggala, Co. Wicklow; Strokestown Park, Co.
Roscommon.
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Forty-eight owners or representatives were interviewed at length. The Hon. Garech
Browne of Luggala agreed to a preliminary meeting but no follow up meeting
subsequently took place. The representative of Lismore Castle provided information
by e-mail only.
No set questionnaire was used. Such an approach would not have allowed the
flexibility that was necessary given the different circumstances that face each
individual house and individual owner. However, certain issues were targeted in all
interviews including:
- The historical importance of the house and its value to the cultural heritage
of the country.
- Conservation issues facing the house both in the short term and the long
term.
- Other potential sources of threat to the future of the house.
- The steps that owners would like to see taken in order to combat these
threats.
The amount and nature of information proffered by interviewees varied greatly.
Appendix 2 contains a brief summary of findings for each house based on these
interviews. It should be noted that the author of this report was solely dependent upon
the information supplied to him by owners/managers/representatives regarding the
present state and future threats facing each house.
It should also be noted that no attempt has been made to describe the valuable
contents of individual houses. This would be inappropriate and unwise.
1.3 Terminology
The term ‘historic house’ is used throughout this report as a blanket term for the
country and town houses used in the sample study.
The term ‘country house’ is used to describe the country residences of Irish landlords
(in the past more often referred to in this country as ‘big houses’.)
The term ‘town house’ is taken to mean houses located in the city of Dublin that were
originally built by Irish landlords as town residences.
The term ‘representative’ is a term of convenience used to describe people involved in
the running of state owned houses or houses owned by organisations, companies and
so on or people such as architects who agreed to speak on behalf of the non-private
owners.
The term ‘in new private ownership’ is again a term of convenience. It refers to those
owners drawn predominantly from the entrepreneurial or business classes (or in some
cases the entertainment business) who have bought historic houses as private
residences or with the intention of developing them as commercial enterprises.
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Section 2. Historical Background
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, a time synonymous with country house
building in Ireland, there were approximately 8,000 to 10,000 landed proprietors in a
population of around 5.4 million people. Possibly around one third of these were
absentee landlords who resided more or less permanently outside the country. The
remainder lived in country mansions, which they had built on their core estates. It is
difficult to determine with certainty how many country houses there were in the
twenty-six county area at this time, but the number certainly ran into thousands.
The majority of houses (forty-six) in this survey were country houses The other four
houses (Aldborough, Charlemont, Ely and Tyrone) were town houses built by landed
magnates who could afford to do so in the eighteenth century and who spent much of
their time in Dublin because of their involvement in pre-Union politics. By the latenineteenth
century most of these town houses had passed out of the ownership of
landlords who had largely retreated to the countryside after the passing of the Act of
Union in 1800.
The vast majority of historic houses (both country and town) were built during
various periods of landlord prosperity from the early eighteenth century to the mid-
1840s. There were also many more in existence that had been built prior to the
eighteenth century - castles, for example, such as Dunsany and Rathfarnham - which
were considerably remodelled or embellished during this same period.
The building and subsequent maintenance of houses were, in the main, dependent
upon the income derived from agricultural rents which these landlords drew from a
mass of tenants to whom they let their estates in holdings of various sizes. Estates
themselves varied greatly in size from the smallest at around 500 acres to those of
landed magnates such as the Marquis Conyngham of Slane who, by the 1870s, owned
almost 157,000 acres in Meath, Clare and Donegal.
In the 1870s, the owners of the forty-six country houses in the survey owned an
aggregate of over 1.1 million acres between them, or an average of over 24,000 acres
each. They were amongst the wealthiest families in Ireland. This wealth also
bestowed upon them social elitism and political power at both local and national
levels.
The scale and grandeur of their houses reflected the economic and socio-political
standing of Irish landlords. Decorated and furnished lavishly, the houses were
showpieces built by their owners to inspire awe in their equals and deference in the
lower classes. Eminent architects were employed to design them, the most skilled
craftsmen and women to embellish them and an army of servants (both indoor and
outdoor) to maintain the houses and their surrounding demesnes in great and often
extravagant splendour.
The majority of the country houses in this survey were amongst the largest houses of
their time such as Ballyfin, Bantry, Birr, Curraghmore, Headfort, Kilruddery,
Kylemore, Lismore, Russborough, Slane, Temple House, Tullynally and Westport.
They were centred upon vast demesnes which usually were surrounded by high stone
walls and comprised large home farms to keep the houses self-sufficient; kitchen
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gardens to service the families’ needs; ornamental gardens intricately designed and
laid out for leisure purposes; woodland for privacy, the rearing of game and
commercial use; parkland for the grazing of cattle; and a wide variety of outoffices for
the housing of animals or for the use of estate employees such as gardeners, masons
and carpenters.
Similarly, in their time, the town houses of Aldborough, Charlemont, Ely and Tyrone
were amongst the grandest and most important houses in the city. They, too, were
situated in extensive surroundings. Aldborough, for example, is regarded as the last
great mansion to have been built in Dublin during its golden age in the second half of
the eighteenth century. The scale and grandeur of the house and the size of its original
gardens are said to have been unprecedented.
To embellish their homes, Irish landlords toured the continent purchasing furniture
and works of art. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Irish houses benefited
from the increased impoverishment of the continental aristocracy. ‘Bargains’ were
acquired in France, Italy, Poland, Germany, Russia and elsewhere, so that Irish houses
became the repositories of fine art collections, silver, tapestries, china, porcelain,
glass, furniture and so on. Until the early 1880s at least, heirlooms were settled to
prevent heirs from selling them off, so that most houses were cluttered with valuable
contents.
The late 1870s initiated the decline of Irish landed estates and simultaneously historic
houses. The reasons for this decline have already been set out by the author of this
report in a book entitled, The Decline of the Big House in Ireland (2001). An
overview will suffice here.
From the mid-1850s, when the economy began to recover from the calamitous effects
of the Great Famine, most Irish landlords indulged in a spending spree on the
remodelling or embellishment of their existing houses and demesnes. They borrowed
very heavily on the collateral strength of their estates. Many of these landlords had
already inherited substantial debts from their ancestors but the booming economy that
characterised most of the period from around 1853 to 1877 gave rise to a great deal of
optimism that agricultural rents would in the future continue to sustain the repayment
of debts and charges and the maintenance of opulent and leisured lifestyles for
landlords.
However, this sense of optimism was misplaced. From the early 1880s, the political,
economic and social decline of the landlord class coincided with the rise of the Land
League and the Home Rule movements. The coincidence of economic depression,
Land League agitation and government intervention in the fixing of ‘fair rents’ (which
invariably meant lower rents) after the introduction of the 1881 Land Act led to a
rather dramatic decline in rental income. The Settled Land Act of 1882 acknowledged
the need of landlords to sell off their heirlooms in order to meet their charges. The
passing of this act began the process of stripping Irish houses of their valuable
contents. It was a process that was to continue during the remainder of the nineteenth
and most of the twentieth centuries.
As levels of indebtedness increased from the early 1880s, many landlords began to
sell off parts of their landed estates particularly their outlying estates that were located
10

a distance from their houses. In 1903, the Wyndham Land Act promoted the sale of
landed estates on a revolutionary scale because of its generous terms to landlords (it
offered them a 12 per cent cash bonus on the sale of their estates) and to tenants (it
guaranteed them that annuities repayable on loans advanced to purchase their
holdings would be less that their previous rents.) Landlords received colossal sums of
money, particularly those who owned extensive estates. The King Harmans, for
example, whose ancestors originally owned King House in Boyle before moving to
Rockingham, sold around 70,000 acres for over £625,000 or roughly £31.25 million
in today’s terms.
After debts and estate charges had been paid, many of the larger landlords were left
with significant capital sums to invest. Most also retained their demesnes and other
tracts of untenanted lands for farming purposes. Had not other factors intervened, they
might very well have continued to live rather opulent lifestyles.
These factors included World War I which had at least a psychological effect on the
(former) landed class; the revolutionary period which followed in Ireland from 1917
to 1923 that resulted in the malicious burning of around 300 country houses and the
abandonment of many more; the post-war worldwide economic depression that
decimated the investment portfolio of most country house owners and which
culminated in the Wall Street Crash of 1929; and the introduction of Free State land
legislation from 1923, the primary aim of which was the compulsory acquisition of
the remaining lands of country house owners.
To compound all of this, the simultaneous and rather dramatic increase in the level of
rates from the 1920s, exacting taxation, particularly in the form of succession duties,
and the Wealth Tax of 1974 all combined to drive owners to sell their houses,
abandon them or strip them of their remaining contents.
For decades after independence, government policy did nothing to alleviate the plight
of the owners of historic houses or to acknowledge the cultural heritage significance
of their homes. For example, houses taken over by the Irish Land Commission were
demolished or simply left to fall into ruins. More lamentable still was that houses
gifted to the state, such as Muckross, were left for decades to fall into disrepair before
their worth was recognised. When houses such as Castletown, regarded as being of
great international importance, faced imminent demolition, no official concern was
expressed. It was left to the efforts of individuals and the Irish Georgian Society to
save it.
The prevailing conventional wisdom in the Irish state of the twentieth century was,
therefore, unkind to historic houses. The destruction, abandonment and sale of
hundreds of them continued for the most part unabated. From the 1920s to at least the
1980s, historic houses tended to be bought by organisations, institutions, the state or
local authorities that all had damaging utilitarian plans for their adaptation and usage.
Many houses became hospitals, factories, schools, prisons and so on, with obvious
consequences for their original integrity. There is probably no more than about fifty of
the great houses remaining in the ownership of their original families. Most of these
have had at least some of their valuable contents dispersed throughout the world,
while the vast majority of those that have been purchased by the state, institutions,
organisations and individuals have scarcely any of their original contents in situ.
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The decline has slowed, however, since the mid-1980s largely as a result of a change
in attitudes. A number of advantageous fiscal changes have been introduced. The
praiseworthy efforts of various voluntary and public bodies such as the Irish Georgian
Society, An Taisce, the Heritage Council, the Government Heritage Service and
various county councils have also been important.
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Section 3. Survey Findings
3.1 Present function of the fifty historic houses surveyed
Essentially there are four categories of historic houses that have survived in Ireland:
- Houses which have remained in the ownership of the original families and
which continue to function as private residences.
- Houses which have been bought by members of the wealthy business
classes with the intention of using them as private residences or converting
them for a variety of commercial uses.
- Houses which have been bought by companies, organisations and
institutions and are used for a variety of purposes such as hotels, country
and golf clubs, hospitals, schools, and so on.
- Houses which have been taken over by the state or local authorities and
again which are used for a variety of purposes such as colleges, prisons, art
galleries and state department offices.
Of the fifty houses surveyed, twenty-five belong to the original families. Of this
number:
- Thirteen operate solely as private family residences. They are maintained
usually by farm income or private income or in some cases the commercial
exploitation of demesnes and gardens. They are:
o Barmeath, Co. Louth
o Beaulieu, Co. Louth
o Birr, Co. Offaly
o Borris, Co. Carlow
o Curraghmore, Co. Waterford
o Dunsany, Co. Meath
o Hamwood, Co. Meath
o Killadoon, Co. Kildare
o Kilruddery, Co. Wicklow
o Lambay Castle, Co. Dublin
o Lissadell, Co. Sligo
o Mount Ievers, Co. Clare
o Stradbally, Co. Laois
- In the case of the other twelve houses, the reduction of land below a viable
level has meant that house owners have had to seek alternative means of
supporting the running of their houses. Therefore, these twelve houses
combine the role of private family residence with a variety of other functions,
particularly country house accommodation. Some of them are associated with
the Blue Book or Hidden Ireland organisations, essentially marketing
organisations formed by historic house owners and others to attract people to
stay in unusual houses of interest. Other historic house owners have had their
outoffices developed into accommodation centres; some have even let parts of
their houses to tenants; while others have branched into such diverse activities
as opening leisure parks, hosting annual rock concerts and so on. These houses
are:
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o Ballinlough, Co. Westmeath
o Bantry, Co. Cork
o Castle Leslie, Co. Monaghan
o Clonalis, Co. Roscommon
o Enniscoe, Co. Mayo
o Glin Castle, Co. Limerick
o Hilton Park, Co. Monaghan
o Lismore, Co. Waterford
o Slane, Co. Meath
o Temple House, Co. Sligo
o Tullynally, Co. Westmeath
o Westport, Co. Mayo
Of the fifty houses, twelve more are owned by the state. They are:
- Avondale, Co. Wicklow, run by Coillte as a Charles Stewart Parnell
museum.
- Ardgillan, Co. Dublin, owned by Fingal County Council and open to the
public.
- Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan, run by Teagasc as an agricultural college.
- Belvedere, Co. Westmeath, owned by Westmeath County Council and
open to the public.
- Charlemont, Dublin, owned by the state and functions as the Hugh Lane
Art Gallery.
- Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, run by Teagasc as an agricultural centre.
- King House, Co. Roscommon, owned by Roscommon County Council and
open to the public.
- Malahide Castle, Co. Dublin, owned by Fingal County Council and open
to the public.
- Newbridge, Co. Dublin, owned by Fingal County Council and open to the
public.
- Rathfarnham Castle, Co. Dublin, a designated national monument, owned
by the state and open to the public.
- Shelton Abbey, Co. Wicklow run by the Department of Justice as an open
prison.
- Tyrone House, Dublin, used by the Department of Education and Science
as offices.
Of the fifty houses, seven are owned by a variety of organisations and institutions and
fulfil a variety of roles:
- Aldborough, Dublin, is owned by the Irish Music Rights Organisation.
- Bellinter, Co. Meath, owned by the Sisters of Sion and run as a convent
and conference and retreat centre.
- Ely House, Dublin, owned by the Knights of Columbanus and run as their
headquarters (although parts of it are used as offices by Fás, while the
basement functions as a Thai restaurant.)
- Headfort, Co. Meath, is owned by a board of trustees and is run as a
school.
- Kylemore, Co. Galway, is owned by the Benedictine nuns and run as an
international boarding school and a tourist centre.
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- Russborough, Co. Wicklow, is owned by the Alfred Beit Foundation.
- Townley Hall, Co. Louth, owned by the School of Philosophy and
Economic Science and run as a school and retreat centre.
Finally, of the fifty houses, six are in new private ownership:
- Abbeyleix is owned by the Abbeyleix Group Ltd. and it is used as a
family residence by Sir David Davies.
- Ballyfin, Co. Laois, has recently been purchased from the Patrician
Brothers by Ballyfin Demesne Company, which has plans to develop it as
a hotel.
- Bellamont Forest is owned by John Coote who uses it as a family
residence.
- Ledwithstown is owned by Laurence Feeney who uses it as a family
residence.
- Luggala is owned by Garech Browne who uses it as a family residence.
- Strokestown Park, Co. Roscommon, is owned by Jim Callary of Westward
Holdings Ltd and is open to the public. The former outoffices have been
converted into the National Famine Museum.
3.2 Cultural heritage importance
Traditionally there was a marked dichotomy in Irish society between the minority
who viewed historic houses as the creations of master architects and craftsmen,
cultural artefacts worth preserving for future generations, and the majority who would
quite gladly have seen them razed to the ground because they perceived them to be
symbols of hundreds of years of colonial oppression at the hands of usurping
landlords who shared none of the cultural, religious or political beliefs of the native
population.
It is probably safe to conclude that the majority have now become the minority and
arguably the worst times for these houses are over from the point of view of public
awareness and political enmity. Since the 1980s, governments have taken significant
steps in this direction through the introduction of fiscal changes, legislative provisions
to protect the built heritage through the planning code, the provision of an
architectural heritage advisory service and through the establishment of the National
Inventory of Architectural Heritage on a statutory basis. A programme of grant
assistance has been set up and conservation officers have been appointed to many
local authorities. (However, it should be noted that the resources which are being
dedicated to the fund for conservation grants is very modest and the continued
employment of conservation officers in those local authorities which have them in
place is under threat because of financial constraints.)
Much of this progress has been influenced by wider European and world
developments. For example, the UNESCO Convention concerning the protection of
the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, drawn up in 1972 and ratified by Ireland in
1991, recognises it is the duty of the state to preserve, conserve and transmit this
heritage to future generations. In 1985, the Council of Europe at Granada drew up
regulations for the protection of the architectural heritage of Europe. This was also
15

atified by Ireland in 1997 and two years later legislation to implement the convention
was put into place.
Similarly, at local level, community councils (such as Crossmolina with regard to
Enniscoe, Co. Mayo) and local government authorities (such as Fingal County
Council, Roscommon County Council and Westmeath County Council in regard to
Ardgillan, Newbridge, Malahide, King House and Belvedere) now regard houses as
significant local tourist attractions.
Finally, most owners themselves commented upon the fact that they have seen a
considerable change in attitude towards their houses since the 1980s. One owner
summarised the gradual change as follows:
‘I’ve lived through public desire to pull the place down, through indifference,
through reluctant acceptance that it should stand, to a desire to preserve it, and
now at last we are seeing an acceptance that it really is important Irish
workmanship.’
Thus the more prevailing attitude today is that it is right to embrace the legacies of the
past and to view these houses as cultural heritage artefacts, without necessarily
condoning the landlord system that facilitated their building. Indeed, for those who
remain to be convinced, sight should not be lost of the fact that it is just as important
to keep a record of a darker past as it is of a golden past.
If these houses are to be preserved into the future, it is imperative that they be
recognised as an integral part of the shared heritage of this country and, indeed, to
view them in light of what they have to offer in cultural heritage terms to Europe and
the world.
Architecturally, the surviving historic houses in Ireland are of national and European
importance:
o Ballyhaise, Bellinter, Belvedere, Ledwithstown, Strokestown Park,
Tyrone House and Westport were all designed by Richard Castle;
Johnstown Castle was designed by Daniel Robertson, perhaps more
renowned for his design of Powerscourt Gardens; William and
Vitruvius Morrison were involved in the design or embellishment
of Ballyfin, Borris and Kilruddery (where the domed ceiling was
after designs by Inigo Jones and the forecourt by Daniel
Robertson); Edwin Lutyens designed Lambay Castle; George
Semple designed Headfort; John and Isaac Rothery were both
involved in the design of Mount Ievers; James Wyatt and Francis
Johnson were both involved in the design of Slane, with possible
input also from James Gandon, Thomas Hopper and Capability
Brown.
o Aldborough House was the last great mansion to be built in Dublin
City during the second half of the eighteenth century. At the time,
it was regarded as a house of unprecedented grandeur.
o Ballyfin has been described as Ireland’s most lavishly appointed
early nineteenth-century house.
o Beaulieu, built in the 1660s, is regarded as being one of the first
country houses to be built in Ireland without fortification. Almost
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all the known examples of houses of this type and period have now
vanished. Therefore, Beaulieu is unique in that it provides an
example of a house that was built at a major turning point in the
development of Irish architectural design.
o Dunsany, one of the oldest surviving country houses in Ireland,
dating back over 800 years, has been reshaped and remodelled over
successive generations, so that it provides a microcosmic insight to
the changing tastes and fashions of country house owners from the
beginning of their building to recent times.
o The Gothic Church at Kylemore (built 1877-81) is of international
importance, described as ‘a cathedral in miniature’ as it
incorporates elements adapted from some of the finest English
cathedrals of the Decorated Era 1180-1215.
o Lambay Castle, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, is generally
regarded as one of the most important twentieth-century buildings
in the country. Lutyens, who is acknowledged as one of the most
important international architects of the late nineteenth, early
twentieth centuries, also designed the surrounding landscape. His
involvement with both house and landscape, therefore, makes
Lambay rather unique. It is, in fact, only one of five Lutyen houses
still in the ownership of the original families.
o Ledwithstown, Co. Longford, is a very small, important eighteenthcentury
house, probably by Richard Castle. While it is little known
in Ireland, its international importance has been recognised by
Steven Parissien who included it as his only Irish house in his book
Palladian Style (London, 1994).
o Townley Hall in Louth is widely regarded as Francis Johnson’s
Classical masterpiece.
o Tullynally was originally designed by Graham Myers (who
designed Trinity College, Dublin) but Francis Johnson, James
Shiel, Richard Morrison and J. Rowlson Carroll were all involved
in its remodelling at later stages.
o Tyrone House, built in the 1740s, is reputedly one of Richard
Castle’s first town houses and is the earliest and most important
example of his work to be built entirely of stone.
o A number of important architects were involved in different stages
of the design of Westport House including Richard Castle and
Thomas Ivory (born in Co. Cork.) The delicate Adam-style
plasterwork in the dining-room is regarded as being among the best
examples of James Wyatt’s work surviving in Ireland.
After they were built, these houses were embellished by craftsmen some of whom
were British or European but many more of whom were Irish and who had learned
their skills possibly training under some of the visiting international craftsmen. Thus,
Irish historic houses are perhaps the most important surviving evidence of the artistic
capabilities of native craftsmen of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (and in
some cases earlier):
o The principal rooms at Headfort were designed by Robert Adam.
This is his only country house work to have survived in its entirety
in Ireland. The importance of the Adam interiors at Headfort is
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emphasised by the fact that the World Monument Fund is presently
considering listing Headfort as one of its 100 most endangered sites
in the world.
o The oval room at Ballyhaise, designed by Richard Castle, is
possibly the earliest surviving room of its kind in the British Isles.
o The coved ceilings at Curraghmore are the work of the
internationally-renowned Francini brothers, while the delicate
plasterwork in the dining-room has been attributed to Antonio
Zucchi or his wife, Angelica Kauffman.
o The Francini brothers were also involved in the embellishment of
Tyrone House.
o The plasterwork on the ceilings at Dunsany and Ely House is
attributed to Michael Stapleton, possibly the most famous Irish
stuccodore of his time.
o A. W. N. Pugin designed the banqueting hall at Lismore.
o Malahide, described as the most distinguished of all Irish castles,
contains the only surviving great hall in Ireland to have retained its
original form.
o The ceilings at Belvedere are possibly the work of Barthelemij
Cramillion, a renowned French stuccodore, who designed the
ceilings of Mespil House in Dublin, which after its demolition in
1952, were removed to Aras an Uachtarain.
o The neo-Classical plasterwork, front hall and inter-locking
staircase at Glin are of major architectural importance.
Where contents are intact, they offer a remarkable insight to the evolution of a house
over succeeding generations dating back to the eighteenth century and sometimes
before. It should be emphasised that it is not the value of individual pieces that is
important but rather their cumulative significance:
o In houses such as Birr, Clonalis and Glin, the history of Irish
furniture, silver, glass and painting as well as craftsmanship is
elucidated.
o At Bantry, there is an extremely important collection of French,
Flemish and Irish furniture, Gobelin tapestries, and Savannerie
carpets.
o The collection of contents at Birr distinguishes it as one of the most
important houses in Ireland.
o Clonalis, one of the few houses to remain in the ownership of a
Gaelic landowning family, contains a veritable treasure trove of
Irish antiquaries dating back well over 500 years. It houses an
invaluable archive that contains over 100,000 letters from people
such as Napper Tandy, Daniel O’Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell,
William E. Gladstone and so on.
o Very important family archive collections are also housed in
Barmeath, Birr, Borris, Kilruddery and Stradbally. These archives
do not merely inform regarding the landed family; they tell us
much about the social, economic and political history of a whole
local area, and often of the country as a whole.
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It is not just the houses themselves that are important. The whole context of their
setting needs to be considered as the exterior surroundings of houses add to the
overall integrity. It is important to recognise that historic parks, gardens and
demesnes are all an important component of national heritage, rich in the
arboricultural, archaeological and horticultural legacy of previous generations.
The very nature of Ireland’s climate allows for the growth of a variety and richness of
plants that are associated with other climates, be it arctic, temperate, Mediterranean or
tropical. This makes many of the gardens attached to historic properties of great
international importance. For example:
o The gardens at Birr Castle are regarded as being scientifically the
most important outside the Botanical Gardens in Dublin.
o The undulating landscape at Ballyfin remains among the finest in
Ireland.
o The eighteenth-century gardens at Barmeath were designed by
Thomas Wright. The whole demesne has been designated an area
of specific scientific interest.
o The nineteenth-century gardens at Belvedere were the work of
Ninian Niven.
o Curraghmore belongs to the era of composed parkland layouts
from 1760 to 1840, other examples of which have since
disappeared under golf courses and other forms of development.
o The gardens at Kilruddery, reputedly laid out in the 1680s, are the
oldest formal gardens in Ireland to have retained their original
design and are of great horticultural importance.
o The gardens at Lismore are believed to be amongst the oldest in
Ireland and they retain much of their original Jacobean form.
o The gardens at Newbridge were designed by Charles Frizzell, a
member of the famous eighteenth-century Wexford land surveying
family.
Finally, Irish historic houses have strong associations with internationally renowned
politicians, military figures, adventurers, explorers, academics, literary figures and so
on. For example:
o Avondale was the ancestral home of Charles Stewart Parnell
(1846-91), the most prominent nationalist leader of the late
nineteenth century, at one time chairman of the Irish parliamentary
party and president of the Irish National Land League.
o In the early twentieth century, Belvedere was home to Col. Charles
Howard-Bury, a member of the first European expedition to Mount
Everest in 1921.
o Sir Shane Leslie of Castle Leslie, author and Celtic revivalist, was
a first cousin of British prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill, and
godson of Sir Randolph Churchill who was closely associated with
the foundation of the Ulster Unionist movement.
o Dunsany was home to the 18 th Lord Dunsany, Edward Plunkett,
prolific writer and prominent figure in the Irish Revival Movement.
His uncle, Sir Horace Plunkett, agricultural reformer and founder
of the Irish Co-operative Movement was also closely associated
with the house.
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o Lisadell was home to the Gore Booth sisters, Eva and Constance
(Countess Markievicz), and was associated with the poet, W. B.
Yeats.
o Lismore Castle and lands were once owned by Sir Walter Raleigh,
Elizabethan adventurer.
However, it should be considered that it has not always been easy for a house owner
in Ireland to advertise the political and or military connections of his/her family or the
role that they played in the British Empire.
3.3 Conservation issues
3.3 (i) Houses in the ownership of original families
In the past expert groups both in Ireland and in Britain have argued that the retention
of houses in the ownership of the original families is the most effective and cheapest
way of conserving them. The original families interviewed believe this to be very
much still the case. It is undoubtedly true that when the state takes over an historic
house, the public become more demanding with regard to their expectations of how
the house should look, what it should contain and so on. Furthermore, people have to
be employed to carry out work that in the past was done voluntarily by the owner
families. Family owners would contend, therefore, that financial assistance to them
would be much more cost effective and involve lower demands on the exchequer
relative to the option of taking their houses into public ownership.
Family owners would also contend, with some justification, that their houses should
be accorded priority attention because most of them retain substantial collections of
original contents, unlike most state owned and institutionally owned houses. A
collection of original contents adds immeasurably to the historic fabric and cultural
importance of a house. Thus, if the government is contemplating the purchase of
an historic house on behalf of the state it should give serious consideration to the
desirability of also purchasing its contents and appurtenances.
Unfortunately, the financial pressures during the twentieth century on original family
owners has had dramatic conservational consequences for the historic houses in their
possession. With very few exceptions, large areas of most of these houses have been
allowed to fall into disrepair. This is at least partly because most are over 200 years
old but there are other factors involved: a decline in family fortunes allied to an
exacting tax regime before the 1980s has meant that their owners have not been able
to afford restoration work or annual expenditure on their upkeep or the employment
of large staffs that are necessary to maintain them; in a changing social, political and
economic climate the post-independence generation of owners became apathetic
towards the maintenance of their houses; most houses became anachronisms in
twentieth-century rural Ireland, much too large for the needs of their owners, so that
large areas of them were closed off as the families reduced their living quarters to one
wing, one storey and so on. The result has been that most of the present generation
inherited what one owner referred to as ‘huge derelict monsters.’
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The present condition of these also varies greatly according to the levels of
commitment which it was possible for previous generations to give to their
conservation and restoration. In addition the future scenario related to the issue of
commitment can be bleak. As an owner put it: ‘I think it involves a huge amount of
work…. It isn’t necessarily going to be someone else’s cup of tea after me to do it. I
think it alternates.’
It is also true that the present condition of these houses reflects negatively upon
government fiscal policy that up to the 1980s made it very difficult for owners to
attempt to address restoration and conservation issues. Fiscal and other changes since
then - which have provided at least some incentive to invest money in restoration and
conservation - have meant that the present generation of owners are arguably more
committed to the preservation of their houses than their predecessors.
One of the most fundamental problems facing present owners is related to the fact that
as private houses they are much too large for ordinary family residences and much too
expensive to maintain on a private income. Temple House in Sligo, to take but one
example, has more than ninety rooms and even though it operates as a guesthouse,
only about 30 per cent of the house is actually in use. Because owners, either by
choice or by necessity, are neglecting large areas of their houses such as the
basements, top storeys (usually former servants’ quarters), wings and towers, this is
causing serious long term problems for the whole fabric of the house. Neglect leads to
dry rot, wet rot and so on invading large areas and spreading rapidly. The resulting
deterioration exacerbates the maintenance problems.
Nearly all owners claimed that at least part(s) of their houses required some major
restoration or conservation work. For the majority of owners, restoration is going to
be a very expensive and long drawn out process. The small number of houses in good
order or likely to have their problems remedied in the short term include Beaulieu,
Glin Castle and Slane, all of which are having or have had very significant sums of
money spent on restoration.
An indication of the restoration and conservation problems facing each individual
house is given in Appendix II. The most common and most expensive restoration
problems facing owners relate to roofs. There are owners who have been faced with
bills of up to €650,000 for the repair of their roofs. Some who have been unable to
afford this type of capital outlay have carried out temporary repairs that are crude and
in the long term will possibly do more harm than good. There is an ongoing struggle
against leaks coming through valleys, gutters, roof windows and chimneystacks.
Damaged and leaking roofs cause incalculable problems to the interior fabric as a
result of damp, which is the cause of the most common problems found in historic
houses and the principal cause of decay. Damp softens timbers and it weakens the
physical composition of materials. Consequently, plasterwork is destroyed, ceilings
cave in, wallpaper is damaged and so on. Most houses have several areas of dry rot
and/or wet rot. There are rooms in houses such as Castle Leslie that are in an
advanced state of dereliction where plaster ceilings have collapsed and floor joists and
flooring have rotted.
Windows are another ubiquitous problem. Well-maintained and easily opened
windows are essential for ventilation, which plays an important role in the healthy
21

condition of an historic house. Unfortunately, many houses seem to have windows
that cannot be opened.
Other houses now suffer from improvements carried out in the nineteenth century
when, for example, steel lintels were put into windows, which have subsequently
rusted and expanded putting pressure on the surrounding brickwork and stone facings
that now have to be replaced.
The present planning laws as stipulated under the Planning and Development Act
2000 rightly enhanced the powers of planning authorities and increased the
responsibilities upon owners and occupiers of historic houses to retain their character
and fabric. However, there remain a number of issues that require attention:
- There are still some owners who do not believe in seeking planning
permission before they carry out work on their houses. There needs to be a
mechanism to ensure closer observation of work on historic houses,
particularly those in private ownership.
- There are owners who complain of the fact that the current planning laws
are too restrictive. They fear what they call ‘the purists’ whom they
believe will put the actual houses before the ability of the families to live
in them. Under the present planning legislation, there needs to be a
mechanism for a review body allowing owners a degree of flexibility
where there is dispute over preserving the integrity of the building or
developing it in a way that will allow for a greater degree of commercial
use that is necessary to sustain the house. Each application needs to be
looked at on an individual basis.
- Fire officers are those who have come in for most criticism. ‘Get the fire
officer off our backs’ was the comment from one owner who complained,
with some justification, that the local fire officer was insisting on the
installation of glass-panelled fire doors in the basement of a house
designed by Richard Castle. The basement has Castle’s characteristic
vaulted ceilings, the integrity of which would, arguably, be compromised
by the fire doors.
- Owners and managers are widely of the opinion that there should be a joint
planning authority for historic houses. There is a worrying perception
amongst some owners that planning laws are full of ambiguities and that
they are being interpreted differently in different counties.
In summary, conservation issues vary from house to house, although most are faced
with short-term and long-term problems including the need to:
- Repair roofs, gutters and chimneystacks.
- Replace or restore windows.
- Eradicate dry or wet rot.
- Address damage caused to interiors by damp such as damaged ceilings or
plasterwork on walls by water ingress.
- Repair pointing in stonework to address the damp penetration problem.
- Replace dangerous electrical installations.
- Overhaul archaic plumbing systems.
- Provide a general cosmetic overhaul to interiors.
- Restore and develop outside gardens, woodlands and parklands.
22

- Repair estate walls and garden walls.
- Address the problem of collapsed or collapsing outoffices.
To carry out works of this nature requires a great deal of expert guidance and advice.
Guidance and advice are very costly. One owner recently received a bill for
professional fees of €150,000 from an architect to carry out work on a roof estimated
to cost around €650,000. He was also faced with other massive charges such as over
€135,000 for scaffolding. One owner claimed that: ‘There is no difficulty in obtaining
appropriately skilled staff for the maintenance of heritage properties; there is only a
difficulty in paying them.’
Because annual maintenance costs are so high, ongoing investment in vital
conservation and restoration work is not always possible. Heating costs, for example,
are enormous and most owners complain that they simply cannot afford to heat all of
their houses over an extended period of time. The problem here is largely an historical
one. The original builders anticipated at the time that fires would be lit in every room
throughout the year. Nowadays that is as impracticable as it is unaffordable so that it
is only parts of houses that are generally heated on a regular basis. This, in turn, has
repercussions for their conservation. Where temperatures are not appropriate, some
artefacts will deteriorate and/or the fabric of the house will suffer. Thus, an historic
house can be the antithesis of a well-run museum; it can often be the worst place to
house artefacts that require a certain room temperature to preserve them.
For private owners restoration is not simply a question of money alone, although this
is the major factor, it is also a question of time. A practical approach to restoration is
required but this can be very frustrating to the present generation of owners who
simply cannot see their houses being restored in their lifetime, at least not without
significant financial subsidies.
3.3 (ii) Houses in state ownership
In the past, various government departments and local authorities have expended large
sums of money on certain historic houses in their keeping. More recently, since the
early 1980s, Westmeath County Council has expended an estimated €5.7 million
(funded through the European Regional Development Fund) on the restoration of
Belvedere House and gardens. In the last year or so, around €4 million was spent by
the Department of Justice on the restoration of Shelton Abbey in County Wicklow,
which is now used as an open prison. Farmleigh, upon which an estimated €12 million
was spent on restoration, represents the government’s most costly project.
However, in earlier times before the introduction of proper planning laws, work was
carried out in many state owned houses with very little regard for good conservation
practice. The character and fabric of historic houses suffered greatly as they were
converted from residences into office blocks, prisons, educational institutions and so
on. Interventions were particularly unfortunate, crude in design and not easily
reversible. It was too often a case of huge sums of money being spent on these houses
but dreadful damage being done to their historic fabric. A few examples will suffice:
- When Aldborough House was owned by Telecom Eireann in the 1980s (it
is now owned by the Irish Music Rights Organisation), its grounds were
seriously compromised by the building of parking facilities for Telecom
23

workers; the integrity of the house was compromised by the installation of
large banks of toilets, offices and equipment stores; rooms were divided
vertically with studwork partitions in order to create cellular offices; a
surface-mounted heating system was installed, as well as an indiscrete
electrical system.
At Ardgillan, Malahide and Newbridge, parts of the landscape have been
compromised by the creation of football pitches
State owned houses continue to face their own particular difficulties:
- Houses such as Ballyhaise and Johnstown Castle face an uncertain future
due to Teagasc’s latest cutbacks, which has seen it attempting to sell off
some of its property.
- Standards of maintenance at houses such as Ardgillan, Malahide and
Newbridge may be hard to maintain due to shrinking budgets.
- The worst-case scenario is that local authorities or the state might pull out
of funding these houses and decide to sell them because they are too
expensive to maintain. In which case, who would buy a house such as
Rathfarnham, which is quite literally situated in the middle of a public
park owned by the county council?
3.3 (iii) Houses in the ownership of institutions and organisations
Conservation issues concerning these houses are arguably an amalgam of those facing
the above two categories. Because they have been taken over by institutions and
organisations, adaptations to new functions resulted in alterations being made with
very little regard for good conservation practice. A great deal of damage has been
done to the historic fabric. For example:
- At Ely House, rooms have been converted into offices, while the basement
houses a Thai restaurant. The fact that a large number of people pass
through the house on any given day also has its consequences.
- At Headfort, the house has been modified to function as a school, while
the parkland has been greatly compromised by its transformation into a
golf course.
- Similar, though less drastic, modifications have been made at Bellinter and
Townley Hall.
- At Ballyfin, which for decades functioned as a school, PVC windows were
installed in the bow room over the library; one wing was converted to cater
for a kitchen; reception rooms were converted into offices; a wall between
the dining-room and the billiard room was demolished in order to create a
chapel and on the bedroom floor a number of rooms were knocked into
one to form a dormitory.
These houses face the same ongoing conservation challenges as those in private
ownership. For example:
- At Ely House, the roof is in poor condition and requires urgent attention;
the chimneys are in a similar state and areas of the house are infested with
damp.
- At Headfort, all downpipes need to be replaced; the pointing between the
frame and masonry of windows needs to be repaired to prevent any further
water ingress; there is damp penetration at the east end of the dining room
24

- which needs to be eradicated immediately and there is dry rot on the
ground floor passage.
- At Kylemore, the servants’ wing needs to be re-roofed and the windows
need to be replaced. Large areas of the house are also infested with dry rot.
- At Townley Hall, where major work is ongoing, at least half of the roof
requires attention; some of the ceilings on the upper floors require
restoration and there is a problem with rising damp in the basement.
Since the Sisters of Sion were interviewed with regard to the future of Bellinter, they
have taken the decision to sell the house. In a press statement issued on 14 June 2003,
they outlined their reasons for doing so, which highlight the very real financial
difficulties facing many more owners of houses such as this:
‘Part of the process has been the consultation with professional advisors over
the need to refurbish and to bring the property up to the standard demanded for
its use as an Adult Education and Conference Centre. The costings of this as
well as its continued maintenance would be prohibitive.’
3.3 (iv) Houses in new private ownership
Houses in new private ownership present, in general, a different scenario. These are
houses such as Abbey Leix, Ardbraccan, Ballyfin, Castlehyde, Castlemartin,
Charleville, Luggala, Lyons and so on (not all included in this study).
In many cases these houses required large scale expenditure on restoration and
conservation by the new owners, as the houses had fallen into various states of
disrepair. Their previous owners generally did not have the levels of necessary
capital available to them to carry out restoration and conservation projects.
It should be noted however that not all new owners have inexhaustible funds available
for restoration and conservation works. Ledwithstown, for example, purchased by the
Feeney family, is maintained essentially from farm income and restoration works
have been assisted by various grants. Similarly Strokestown Park is largely
dependent on commercial tourism.
New owners, in the main, purchased houses that were largely, if not totally, denuded
of their original contents. Some new owners have made commendable efforts to
locate and acquire original furniture, paintings etc.. Similarly many new owners have
realised the importance of the setting of the houses and have carried out major work
in restoring gardens and parklands.
Of the houses in this study the new owners have very similar worries to those of the
owners in the other categories:
- While in the vast majority of cases the new owners have sufficient funds to
afford restoration, there are a significant number of new owners who
cannot afford to carry out very necessary work on limited incomes.
- Even some of the more wealthy owners are concerned about the
commitment of the next generation to the task of maintaining the houses.
- The future of a house such as Strokestown Park, so dependent on
commercial tourism to generate funds to maintain it, will inevitably be
affected by the down turn in the tourist industry.
25

3.4 Further Sources of Threat
3.4 (i) Income/Funding
The point has been made in Section 2 that the historic houses in this survey were built
by very wealthy families usually on the strength of very large rental incomes (or in
the case of Kylemore on the strength of mercantile wealth) that not only financed their
construction but also subsequently financed their upkeep.
The point has also earlier been made that houses of this nature that are sold on the
open market in the present-day can only be purchased by very wealthy individuals,
institutions or companies. Indeed, this has become something of a trend in Ireland in
recent years as Irish and foreign businessmen have bought houses such as Abbeyleix,
Ardbraccan, Ballynatray, Castlehyde, Castlemartin, Castletown Cox, Charleville,
Corbalton, Humewood, Lyons, Stackallen, and so on.
While historic houses are faced with a multitude of difficulties, the most pressing is
the financial burden involved in their day-to-day maintenance, conservation and
restoration:
- Of the twenty-five houses owned by the original families, thirteen are
maintained by farm income and/or private income. These are Barmeath,
Beaulieu, Birr, Borris, Curraghmore, Dunsany, Hamwood, Killadoon,
Kilruddery, Lambay, Lissadell, Mount Ievers and Stradbally.
- Some of these houses have comparatively large farms attached to them: for
example, Tullynally has a 750-acre farm. But while a large farm such as
this might be sufficient to provide a comfortable livelihood to an ordinary
farming family, the point needs to be made that it is not sufficient to
support the annual upkeep of such a large house, let alone to carry out the
necessary restoration and conservation work.
- Borris is supported by the income from the estate farm of around 270
acres, the woodlands of around 250 acres, a golf course and some property
rents. Again, farm income is simply not large enough to enable the owners
to carry out all the work they would like to do. Mount Ievers is supported
totally by a dairy farm, which has a quota of only 16,000 gallons, hardly
large enough to run a small farmhouse, let alone an historic house.
- The diminution of estates and farms (Enniscoe, for example, has only 160
acres) means that twelve of the twenty-five owners have had to seek
alternative means of raising income. This has taken a variety of forms. To
give some examples:
o There are a number of houses that double as
hotels/guesthouses/bed and breakfasts/restaurants. These include
Ballinlough, Bantry (up until this year), Castle Leslie, Clonalis,
Enniscoe, Glin, Hilton Park and Temple House.
o Lismore is let to paying guests who are willing to pay €3,500 per
night (for a group of twelve.)
o Slane Castle rents out conference suites, caters for weddings and
parties and is an established concert venue.
o Westport is open to the public and its outoffices and grounds have
been developed to provide recreational facilities for family groups.
26

o Killruddery can no longer be maintained by farm income. The
owners claim that they are largely surviving off capital from the
sale of assets. Continued selling of assets obviously will affect the
financial security of the house in the long-term and also diminish
its cultural heritage and historical importance.
For most houses, the cost of restoring, repairing and improving is too great to be
affordable from the annual estate budget. As it is, the majority of owners argue that
they are forced ‘to grind out a living’ in order to hold on to their houses. Therefore,
major restoration work invariably necessitates raising capital through the sale of
contents or the sale of land for development purposes. Unfortunately, in both cases
either the integrity of the house or the estate is damaged with consequences for their
cultural heritage value. In the case of the sale of contents, this also diminishes the
attraction of the house.
Houses owned by institutions or organisations have similarly adapted their roles. Most
face the same difficulties as the private owners:
o The Irish Music Rights Organisation had major plans to develop
Aldborough House as its headquarters but it seems that the huge
restoration costs are possibly beyond its reach.
o The potential costs of restoration work on Bellinter have recently
forced the owners to make the decision to sell the house.
o The Knights of Columbanus have leased parts of Ely House to Fás
and the basement to a restauranteur.
o The trustees of Headfort, now functioning as a school, are currently
organising fund-raising drives in a bid to raise the finances to carry
out major restoration and conservation work on the house.
o The Benedictine nuns at Kylemore have successfully opened the
house as a tourist attraction. It is currently one of the most visited
tourist attractions in Ireland. Nevertheless, large areas of the house
require immediate attention.
Some owners have had to travel what are regarded as less-traditional routes, such as
Lord Mount Charles at Slane who has used the natural amphitheatre of his demesne to
host rock concerts. While not to everybody’s taste, this, arguably, is a case of a
country house assuming a role appropriate to the twenty-first century.
Virtually all of the private owners stated that they worry that the next generation may
not be willing to make the same financial sacrifices as them or else they stated that
they do not want to burden their children with the financial pressures they have had to
endure.
There are still owners who see very little benefit in opening to the public on a
commercial basis:
- They lack the capital to carry out the major repairs that are necessary to
make their houses presentable and interesting to the public.
- To open the house would require the employment of staff which owners
argue are not only difficult to get but also unaffordable.
- Some feel that the location of their houses is not conducive to attracting
tourists.
27

- Public liability insurance is unaffordable.
- Opening houses to the public is not always practical. A house such as
Ledwithstown, for example, while extremely important, is too small to
cater for groups of visitors. Furthermore, the owners claim they could not
justify charging an entrance fee as visitors might feel ‘ripped off’.
In the past, the vast majority of these houses have received some form of grant aid
from the state (often through the Heritage Council), the European Community (as at
Belvedere, for example) or from voluntary organisations (such as the Irish Georgian
Society). State-aided grants, while welcome, have been criticised for a number of
reasons:
- Owners are not satisfied with either the levels of grants available or the
mechanism through which they are distributed. This applies particularly to
county council grants, the funding of which has dwindled in the last couple
of years.
- The Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration Scheme has been successful in
aiding the restoration of many important gardens in Ireland. However,
those who availed of it complained that having to match the grant with
their own funds was in the long term too costly. To avail of the grant
owners usually had to raise their own share of the cost through a bank
loan. Furthermore, they were critical of the fact that there was no
subsequent funding available for maintenance of the gardens after they
were restored.
State owned houses present a different scenario. These are catered for from the annual
budgets made available by the relevant departments. In the past, these budgets have
not always been generous enough to allow for satisfactorily high levels of
maintenance. Thus, the present restoration problems facing a house such as
Johnstown Castle is just as great as any privately owned house. Moreover, there is
always the threat of the diminution of budgets in the future.
There is also the very real prospect that local authorities may have to generate more
income in order to maintain historic houses in their possession through the
commercial exploitation of the houses’ surroundings. The opening of caravan or
leisure parks, sale of development land or development of golf courses would have
damaging repercussions for the integrity of houses and their settings.
3.4 (ii) Decline in tourism
The argument has long been accepted that historical and cultural sites have an
important role to play in presenting Irish heritage to overseas tourists. Bord Failte
consistently points out, for example, that ‘Irish heritage is an integral part in the
enjoyment of a holiday for overseas tourists.’ 1999 figures show that Muckross, for
example, attracted almost 238,000 visitors (bringing around €700,000 in revenue to
the house) and Kilkenny Castle attracted almost 180,000 visitors (bringing €500,000
in revenue to the castle.) According to the latest Bord Failte figures (2001), historic
houses and gardens remain high on the list of top attractions: for example, Kylemore
Abbey attracted 186,452 visitors; Strokestown Park attracted 66,000 visitors; Bantry
House attracted 60,000 visitors and Belvedere House attracted 58,650 visitors.
28

Attracting significant numbers of people to an area has obvious spin off benefits for a
local community: Enniscoe, with its bed and breakfast accommodation, interpretative
centre, gardens, shops and so on is now the single largest employer in that area of
County Mayo; a house such as Castle Leslie in County Monaghan employs up to
thirty people during peak season, while the closure of Bantry House in 2003 has
negatively impacted upon the local economy.
However, it would be misleading to assume that the success of these houses reflects
the overall picture:
- While the numbers visiting houses such as Muckross and Kilkenny might
seem impressive, they are quite negligible when compared to numbers
visiting some of the great houses in Britain, where, for example, Woburn
Abbey can attract up to 30,000 visitors in any given weekend, let alone a
year.
- Visiting historic houses in Ireland probably reached its peak in the 1980s.
Since then, owners claim to have noticed a considerable decline in
numbers. In more recent years, the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in
2001 had a calamitous effect. This was followed by the events of
September 2001, war in Iraq in 2003, and the general downturn in the
world economy. Egerton Shelswell-White, who closed Bantry House to
the public in 2003, argues that country house visiting in Ireland has
reached a peak and that ‘the days of fifty people or so arriving on a bus are
over.’
- Bord Failte statistics show, for example, that the number of European
visitors to Ireland declined by 7 per cent in 2002 from the previous year,
while the number of USA tourists declined by a very significant 14 per
cent.
- In practical terms the indigenous population in Ireland is too small to be of
significant benefit to the historic house tourist industry. In order to attract
repeat visitors, houses must have alternative attractions. Developments at
Westport, for example, may not be to every aesthete’s taste, but in
practical terms they are necessary to continue to attract large numbers of
repeat visitors.
- Many of the houses in private ownership and some of those in state
ownership are in poor repair, as are their gardens, woodland and parkland.
They require large-scale investment to bring them up to appropriate
standards to attract visitors, but, of course, this is very much a catchtwenty-two
situation; in order to benefit from the tourist industry they have
to spend money that most families claim they do not have. The point has
been made time and again throughout this report that the original owners
in particular do not have the high levels of income that are necessary to
secure the future of their houses.
- Tourists are generally uninterested in houses that do not have original
contents. Visitors to King House in Boyle, for example, regularly
complain that the house has no original contents. If owners are forced
continuously to sell off contents in order to maintain their homes they are
simply making them less attractive in the long-term.
- There is a significant minority of visitors to houses and castles who are not
satisfied with the quality of houses/castles or with the prices charged to
view them. According to the latest Bord Failte figures, around 14 per cent
29

of visitors in 2001 were not happy with quality and/or prices, while
another 27 per cent were only ‘fairly satisfied’ with the quality and 39 per
cent with price. There is also, it seems, a significant minority who objects
to having to pay any admission to a state owned property feeling that it is a
form of double taxation.
- The approach taken by owners/managers in the presentation of their
houses to the public needs to be examined. It is difficult to generalise, but
there seems to be a tendency amongst original families to invariably
present their world, the world of the privileged landed class. On the other
hand, houses owned by the state tend to dwell more on the underprivileged
world of the tenantry. A more integrated approach is required.
After all, the history of a local landed estate in very much the history of a
local community. All aspects of the history of that local community should
be elucidated. This would tend to make the history of houses much more
appealing to a much wider public.
- Whilst the salvation of historic houses does not lie exclusively in tourism,
there should, nevertheless, be a concerted effort to promote these houses as
tourist attractions. In the past Bord Fáilte made some attempts in this
direction as did private initiatives such as the Blue Book and Hidden
Ireland groups. However, these have not been penetrative enough. There
needs to be a willingness amongst all organisations interested in promoting
Irish tourism at local and national levels to come together and work in
unison. As a consequence of the lack of promotion of heritage, Irish
tourism is not benefiting to the same extent as its European neighbours.
3.4 (iii) Taxation
There is no doubt but that the sale, abandonment, demolition or fall into disrepair of
the majority of houses in the past had much to do with a high tax regime. For decades
after the1920s, the consistently high levels of succession and death duties, income,
(super) tax and rates had crippling effects upon country houses. The Wealth Tax of
the early 1970s was for the Irish country house perhaps the most damaging fiscal
exaction introduced in independent Ireland.
However, since the 1980s, taxation is not the grim reaper it was for preceding
generations. Much has been done since then to ease the taxation burden, so that it is
now largely marginal, but not without its problems. The most beneficial tax
concession is commonly referred to as section 482.
To qualify for concessions under section 482, the Department of the Environment,
Heritage and Local Government must first of all approve a house or garden as
qualifying for the scheme. Being a protected structure does not mean automatic
qualification. When a determination is received from the department, the property
owner must complete a form for the revenue commissioners. Once this has been
cleared, the owner can offset all maintenance and expenditure on the property against
taxable income for tax relief in any one year. In return, the property must be opened to
the public for four hours a day for a minimum of sixty days, of which at least ten must
be weekend days between the beginning of May and the end of September. There is
also a stipulation that public advertisement to this effect must be made.
30

Some difficulties arise which relate mainly to the inflexibility of this fiscal
arrangement:
- While those who avail of section 482 status generally agree that it
represents an enlightened approach, they justly argue that it requires some
modification because it is of relatively little value to any owner who does
not have a high taxable income.
- Lambay Castle is unique in that because it is located on an island, public
access is severely limited by constraints of the tides and weather. In other
words, there are actually very few days in any given year that visitors can
travel to and from the island on the same day. Therefore, Lambay cannot
realistically be expected to open to the public and so it cannot claim the tax
exemptions under section 482. This is extremely unfortunate given the
great historic and cultural heritage importance of Lambay.
- The owners of some houses such as Borris do not avail of this exemption
because they do not open to the public, feeling that their house is too small
and would not sustain the ‘heavy traffic’ of large numbers of visitors. It
would also be very invasive as the house is not big enough for the family
to reside in separate apartments to those that they might open to the public.
- Owners have security worries, particularly those with valuable contents on
display, that their homes are being ‘cased’. For this reason, some refuse to
avail of section 482.
- Elderly owners, such as Mrs Sidney Waddington at Beaulieu, who in the
past lived alone, are expected to open under the same conditions as
everybody else. There should be some flexibility to cater for elderly
owners, as well as those who are sick and infirm. If, for example, they
have opened their houses for a specified number of years, they should be
allowed a period of grace until the house is taken over by the next
generation.
- Some owners argue that their houses are too small or too uninteresting to
attract large numbers of visitors. They, however, give the impression that
they are not fully alert to the provisions of the act. They seem to believe
that the income it refers to is income derived from admission fees charged
to the public. Their argument tends to be, in other words, that opening to
the public would not be viable in their cases, as income would not even
cover the costs involved.
- This leads to a much wider problem; one of ignorance regarding the
current fiscal legislation that is of benefit to historic house owners. A
striking aspect of the information proffered in interviews by the private
owners is that a large number of them seemed to be caught in something of
a time warp with regard to taxation and the burden it causes. It would seem
that some owners’ memories of the more exacting regimes of the pre-
1980s have clouded their perception of the current benefits. It is, therefore,
questionable if some owners are fully alert to the various exemptions
available to them. As one owner informed this author: ‘Being aware of tax
exemptions and understanding how they might apply are very different
things.’ And not being aware can cost money to find out. Another owner
claimed: ‘There is a serious lack of information. We have done so much
rooting to try and find out the information and it’s taken us a lot of time
and a lot of money and an awful lot of legal fees and consultancy fees to
31

find the best way to do things.’ There is, therefore, a strong argument to be
made for the fact that this type of information should be readily available.
- There is something of a quid pro quo arrangement between government
and historic house owners who agree to open to the public. This is
accepted by most who believe that if they are to benefit from tax
exemptions and other forms of state aid, there is an obligation and
responsibility upon them to facilitate access. As one owner put it: ‘You
can’t take that support and not have some sort of responsibility. You have
to do something in return.’ There are, however, some who regard the
public as ‘the enemy’. They quite obviously resent any infringement of
their privacy and their attitude towards the public is anything but a
welcoming one. Those who do not respect the spirit of the law and who
make it difficult for the public to have access to their houses should have
their tax exemptions disallowed.
There are a number of further concessions that could be implemented at little cost to
the government but of great benefit to historic house owners:
- In most cases, the sales of contents are subject to Capital Gains Tax. This
is an area that could lend itself to helping house owners solve some of their
restoration problems at no great cost to the state if the proceeds from the
sale of contents were allowed to pass into a tax-free maintenance fund.
- Likewise, in some European countries there is a lower tier of VAT, which
applies to repairs carried out on listed buildings. The application of such a
system in Ireland would go some way to compensating Irish owners for the
additional expenditure imposed upon them by the listing system.
- Houses such as Strokestown Park in Roscommon find themselves in the
position of getting local authority grants but simultaneously being billed
with substantial local authority rates because the historic property is being
used for commercial purposes. There should be remission of such rates in
order to allow for the continued conservation of the house.
- It would benefit all if owners were allowed to cede contents to the state in
lieu of taxation. The state could then allow these contents to remain in situ
for the benefit of public viewing.
There are unfortunately some houses that continue to be tied into legal structures that
are no longer suitable for the purposes for which they were originally intended, which
in many cases were designed to avoid taxation. At present these structures can prevent
the application of the exemptions now available. For example, houses constituted as
companies owned by discretionary trusts qualify for none of the exemptions available
to privately owned properties. The high tax costs involved in changing these
structures is prohibitive. This prevents reconstruction and where this does take place it
is often at the expense of the sale of contents, which, in turn, only leads to the
continued decline of the historic and cultural worth of the property.
Birr is an example. Like many properties in the past, Birr was placed in a company
with sufficient supporting assets to maintain the property. The shares of the company
were placed in a discretionary trust to provide for the owner’s succession.
Discretionary trusts cannot avail of section 482 exemptions. The continued existence
of the trust is now dependent upon the life of Lord Rosse. To reconstruct now would
be enormously expensive. The Birr Trustee Company emphasises that the entire estate
32

and heritage at Birr is in imminent danger if the estate is forced to pay a once off 6 per
cent discretionary trust tax liability and a 1 per cent annual levy thereafter on the
gross value of the estate. While amendments to discretionary trust legislation to
ensure the survival of the castle and its contents would be of greater value to the state
than a once off tax benefit to the government, amendments should be conditional on
the opening of the house to the public.
At the end of the day, it is not taxation that is the main problem for most of the
original owners; rather it is the lack of income/funding. More grant aid is essential
rather than more tax exemptions.
3.4 (iv): Insurance
Insurance costs, which have risen dramatically over the last five years or so, are a
huge threat to historic houses. On more than one occasion, Lord Altamont, for
example, has threatened to close Westport because of escalating public liability
insurance costs. Even for a relatively small country house an annual insurance
premium would cost in the region of €18,000.
Arguably, most concern should be focused upon houses in the ownership of original
families because of the value of their contents. Of the twenty-two original owners
who provided information on insurance, all said that the house and contents were
inadequately insured or that the house but not the contents were insured or that there
was no insurance at all. The point was very clear: adequate insurance was simply not
affordable. Thus, in the event of a major fire or burglary, there is a strong risk that
resources would not be available to make good the damage caused.
What is also of great concern is that country houses are beginning to become targets
of what Lord Henry Mount Charles describes as ‘creeping compensationitis’, a
disease that seems to be affecting Irish society in general. This is proving to be a great
source of concern to those private owners who have allowed public access to their
woods and parkland in the past. The most unfortunate aspect of this is that many
owners claim that they would be more than willing to allow greater access to their
woodlands, pleasure grounds and lakeshore areas if insurance was not such a burden
and the fear of litigation not so great.
33

Section 4: National Trust Legislation
In the past, when the government did not see fit to intervene, it represented a lost
opportunity to acquire houses of immense heritage value for the benefit of the public.
The current debate on Lissadell has once more drawn attention to the need to examine
in depth the case for legislation to give legal standing to national-trust type
organisations.
The point has earlier been made in this report that architectural heritage, as
exemplified in this case in historic houses, is a unique and special resource. In 2001, a
government publication from the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the
Islands and Duchas entitled Architectural Heritage Protection: Guidelines for
Planning Authorities (p. 3) pointed out that:
Our architectural heritage consists not only of great artistic achievements, but
also the everyday works of craftsmanship of the past. The creative challenge
faced by custodians of this heritage is to find appropriate ways to prolong its
cultural life, satisfying the requirements of a structure to be safe, stable and
durable on the one hand, and retaining its character and fabric of special
interest on the other.
In 130 countries worldwide national trust organisations or heritage foundations have
been established to date. In general terms, their role is to ensure the identification,
protection, conservation and transmission to future generations of the heritage of
individual states. In Ireland, An Taisce, The National Trust for Ireland, was
established in 1946 as an independent, non-governmental, charitable, non-profit
making organisation with a mission which includes the holding of property of heritage
value for the benefit of future generations. It does not benefit from the existence of the
national trust-type legislation which exists in other jurisdictions. Of particular concern
is the fact that An Taisce’s properties are not inalienable.
Of twenty-six European countries that have a national trust-type organisation, there
are only four including Ireland that does not have enabling legislation in place to give
statutory recognition and support to them.
Let us turn briefly to the need for such legislation within a European context. The
Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe (known as the
Granada Convention) was drawn up by the Council of Europe in 1985, although not
ratified by Ireland until 1997. Significantly, the Convention viewed the protection of
heritage in a wider European context setting out that the aim of the Council of Europe
was ‘to achieve a greater unity between its members for the purpose, inter alia, of
safeguarding and retaining the ideal and principles which are their common heritage’.
The Convention emphasised that architectural heritage constitutes an irreplaceable
expression of the richness and diversity of Europe’s cultural heritage and that it bears
inestimable witness to a common heritage of all Europeans. Ironically, by the mid-
1980s, the continued loss of so many historic houses in Ireland threatened to denude
the country of a rich and important part of its cultural heritage.
The Granada Convention was important in that it made it incumbent upon each party
to the agreement to take statutory measures to protect its architectural heritage. In
34

Ireland the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act 1999, since
consolidated in part iv of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, addressed the
Convention’s directives to implement appropriate supervision and authorisation
procedures to protect listed buildings by force of law.
The Granada Convention placed other responsibilities upon parties to the agreement
to protect architectural heritage:
- Article 4.2.c permits a public authority to require an owner of a protected
property to carry out necessary work on it or to carry out such work itself
if the owner fails to do so.
- Article 4.2.d allows for the compulsory purchase of a protected property.
o (Signatories to the Convention could reserve the right not to
comply with Article 4.2.c and 4.2.d above.)
- Article 6.1 directs that financial support be provided by public authorities
for maintaining and restoring architectural heritage within the limitations
of the budgets available. As has been argued already, county council
grants in Ireland, for example, are by no means sufficient in this respect.
- Article 6.2 puts the onus on the state to resort to fiscal measures to
facilitate the conservation of heritage if necessary. The fiscal measures
introduced in Ireland since the mid-1980s have gone some way in this
respect, but they need to be modified, amended and expanded where
necessary.
- Article 6.3 encourages the participation of private initiative in maintaining
and restoring the architectural heritage.
- Article 11 suggests that planning laws need to be flexible in order to allow
for the use of protected properties ‘in the light of the needs of
contemporary life’ which should facilitate ‘the adaptation when
appropriate of old buildings for new uses’. In this respect, some of the
original owners in this study complained that they were having difficulties
convincing local planning authorities to allow them, for example, to
convert stables into accommodation units.
- Article 12 suggests the need for flexibility with regard to public access
where it is possible that the consequences of permitting this access might
adversely affect ‘the architectural and historical character of such
properties and their surroundings’. As already noted in this report, Section
482 is not flexible enough in this respect.
- Article 14.1 directs that the state establish appropriate machinery for the
supply of information between the state, the regional and local authorities,
cultural institutions and associations and the public. This report has
already recommended that more information be made available to the
public (in this case house owners) regarding conservation issues, legal
fiscal entitlements and so on.
Since the 1980s, the role of the state in the preservation of Ireland’s cultural heritage
has greatly improved. But state ownership in Ireland is not the most progressive way
forward. The state will always be faced with the responsibility of prioritising its
expenditure. If the government is refusing to build schools and is closing down
hospital wards, can it justify to the public its involvement in expensive historic house
restoration projects? In 2002 ‘An Assessment of the Sustainable Tourism Potential of
35

the Properties Under An Taisce Management’ (David Owen) outlined a number of
reasons why trust ownership is more beneficial than government ownership:
- National trusts are more likely to attract funding from international bodies
or through legacies and donations.
- A trust can manage and maintain historic properties more cheaply than if
they were in state ownership.
- Trusts are more inclusive and transparent because decisions are made by
consensus arrived at by total membership.
- There is a sustainable argument that the existence of a national trust
overcomes the conflict of interests inherent in government ownership of
heritage and its responsibility for economic development.
An Taisce has admitted that, as presently constituted, it is not feasible for it to become
the owner of significant amounts of land and property on the scale of the National
Trust in Britain. The number of historic houses it might be able to acquire and/or
manage would be limited. In the recent past, the Government Heritage Service
repeatedly stated that it has no intention of taking over any more heritage properties.
With regard to houses in the ownership of local authorities, the fact is that despite
their best intentions, there remains the issue of the maintenance of the historic
character of these houses and surrounding features in the face of pressure to
commercialise them in order to attract visitors and generate more funds.
All of the above suggests the strong need to examine in depth the case for the
introduction of enabling legislation to give statutory recognition and support to viable
national trust organisations in this country. The two key elements to the success of
this type of legislation are the acceptance of the principle of inalienability and the
granting of tax exemptions on donations. Inalienability is essential because it ensures
that if a trust ceases to exist properties cannot be sold off without an act of parliament.
Likewise, tax exemptions on donations (either in the case of the property or more
importantly on funds for the endowment of the property’s upkeep) are another
prerequisite for success, guaranteeing the long-term upkeep and restoration of the
properties in the trusts’ or foundations’ hands.
In April 2002, a draft Heritage Trust Bill was presented by An Taisce to the Joint
Oireachtas Committee on Heritage and the Irish Language. The committee favourably
received the proposal that national trust legislation should be introduced in Ireland.
However, no further progress with this proposal has been made, which is to be
lamented for if such legislation could be successfully established, it would
undoubtedly enhance the prospects of the preservation of the remaining historic
houses in Ireland.
While this report strongly recommends the introduction of national trust legislation, it
should be noted that twenty of the private owners said that although they would
welcome the introduction of a trust under national trust legislation, they would not be
in favour of handing their house over to it. Private owners remain somewhat sceptical
about the prospects of trusts working in Ireland. Possibly the main reason for this
comes once again from a lack of knowledge regarding the working of such an
organisation:
o Some owners believed that they would not have the necessary
finances available to them to gift their properties to a trust or to be
36

able to accompany these finances with an endowment fund
necessary to maintain them into the future.
o Most perceive a trust to be a state organisation and they are
sceptical as to whether or not the state is genuinely committed to
the taking over of a relatively large number of houses and funding
their maintenance into the future.
o They feel that the best way to maintain these historic houses is to
give a commitment to provide funding to the families themselves to
maintain them. They are, they argue, already doing the preservation
work of a trust.
o There is a strong sense amongst the private owners of losing their
personal association with the house if it were to pass to a trust. One
owner said that the ‘trust does not appeal to me at all; I would
rather sell than lose control.’ Another owner pointed out that he
would rather live in ‘my own house … even if it’s on an acre of
ground than have to share it with a trust.’
Obviously the success of a national trust-type organisation in Ireland would depend
on the willingness of owners of historic houses in the future to transfer ownership to
trusts with endowments of income where appropriate. It would also depend upon the
calibre of the people involved in the trusts, their knowledge and understanding of the
historic importance of the houses, and their ability to organise a viable role for the
houses into the future. It may also depend upon educating those who presently own or
manage historic houses to appreciate the long-term benefits of a trust.
37

Section 5: Summary of Key Findings
Only a small proportion of the original number of historic houses survive in Ireland
today, and an even smaller proportion survives in the ownership of original families.
The surviving houses have an important architectural and heritage value not only in
an Irish context but also in a European context:
- They provide examples of houses that were built at turning points in the
development of Irish and European architectural design.
- Many of the oldest surviving houses provide microcosmic insights to the
changing tastes and fashions of house owners from the beginning of their
building to at least the twentieth century.
- They have been designed by internationally important architects such as
Richard Castle, James Gandon, Francis Johnson, Edwin Lutyens and
James Wyatt.
- The interior designs of some of the houses are also of international
architectural heritage importance: for example the Robert Adam rooms at
Headfort; the oval room at Ballyhaise; the Francini ceilings at
Curraghmore and Tyrone House.
The historic parks, gardens and demesnes which provide the setting for historic
houses are all an important component of our national heritage, rich in the
arboricultural, archaeological and horticultural legacy of previous generations.
Houses in the ownership of original families, which still have significant collections
of original contents, offer a unique historical insight to the evolution of a house over
succeeding generations. In houses such as Birr, Clonalis, Glin and Newbridge the
history of Irish furniture, silver, glass, painting and craftsmanship is elucidated.
Arguably, the purchase of houses such as Ardgillan, Newbridge and Malahide by
Fingal County Council has had important social consequences. With the expansion of
the Dublin suburbs, these houses and their grounds now provide much needed
recreational facilities.
The work of public and private organisations such as the Irish Georgian Society,
Duchas, An Taisce, some county councils as well as the efforts of individuals have
been commendable in attempting to safeguard the cultural heritage importance of
these houses, often in the face of adversity.
In general, privately owned houses are sustained by farm income, private income or in
some cases the exploitation of house, gardens and demesnes through opening to the
public.
For most owners opening to the public has brought tax exemption benefits under
section 482. In general, taxation is not the burden that it has been in the past for
previous generations, although there is room for much more flexibility in the present
legislation. The legacy of previously exacting taxation has been decaying houses.
Today, taxation should be a marginal problem for most owners; it is lack of adequate
financial resources to maintain a historic house that is the real problem.
38

There remain a number of owners, most notably of Birr and Lambay, who are tied
into legal structures that prevent the application of exemptions now available. To
reconstruct would be enormously expensive for them. Unless they can reconstruct the
future of their houses is in imminent danger.
While the new owners have, in general, the wealth to restore and conserve historic
houses, the same cannot be said of many of the original families. It is fair to conclude
that the vast majority of the houses owned by the original families are faced with
extensive conservation and restoration work, which will require significant
expenditure. It is quite obvious that in most cases the cost of repairs and restoration is
beyond their capability. For most this work can only be afforded through the sale of
valuable contents, which, in turn, continues the diminution of the historic and cultural
value of their houses.
A related fundamental difficulty is that the onerous task of maintaining historic
houses on a day-to-day basis is now dependent on very few people, usually a small
number of family members. This level of manpower falls well short of what is
required for historic houses and gardens.
Grants are available from the public and private sectors, but, in general, these are
either inadequate or else amounts have to be matched by the house owners themselves
which usually necessitates borrowing, which, in turn, negates the original intention of
the grant.
The ability to generate funds in order to make a house sustainable is a major concern
also for institutional owners and even local authority managers and state agencies.
While some state owned houses have been commendably restored, others have
suffered from the inadequacy of planning laws in the past, which allowed for crude
and unfortunate interventions in design that are not easily reversible.
House owners and managers have been faced with the unfortunate dilemma of how to
maintain the integrity of the house and simultaneously run them as an everyday
business.
From independence to the early 1980s, successive governments showed a distinct lack
of interest in these houses. Government policy on a number of issues from land
acquisition and division to taxation to conservation impacted negatively upon historic
houses with the result that the twentieth century witnessed the demolition,
abandonment or sale of scores of these houses and the dispersal of their contents
worldwide.
Since the 1980s, the Irish government has pledged its support to the preservation of
the country’s built architectural heritage for future generations. Its commitment in
terms of fiscal policy is commendable, although there is ample scope for further
concessions.
39

Section 6: Key Recommendations
Introduction
This study is not concerned with the safeguarding of privilege but with the
preservation of the state’s architectural heritage and the handing down of it intact to
future generations. Historic houses should be recognised as the symbols of the
creative skills of architects and craftsmen, some of whom were of international
importance and most of whom were Irish.
It is imperative that the present and future governments act to ensure the continued
and careful preservation of historic houses for the benefit of future generations.
Political goodwill is of the utmost importance. There must be recognition that funding
for the conservation and preservation of these houses is necessary recognising that the
original families do not in most cases have the financial capacity to properly maintain
and conserve their houses.
It is important that the preservation of historic houses should not be seen to take
precedence over any other historic property. To do so would perhaps continue to
focus resentment upon historic houses and their owners. It must be approached in a
reasonable and practicable manner and one that is not seen to be burdensome to the
taxpayer or of greater priority than vital social services such as health or education.
There have been previous reports with recommendations with regard to the future of
historic houses. For example, over a quarter of a century ago, in 1977, An Taisce
published a major report on the future of historic houses, gardens and collections in
Ireland. Its two main recommendations were the establishment of a national trust to
secure the future of historic properties and secondly, the development of a support
structure of grants and tax relief for existing owners. Section 482 and the
implementation of a number of grant schemes have been of assistance but nothing has
been done with regard to legislation for national trust-type arrangements.
Recommendations
6.1 It is recommended that as an initial response to this report the government should
immediately issue a policy statement regarding the value it places on historic houses.
6.2 A specific inventory of all surviving houses and their important contents needs to
be carried out to ensure they are listed immediately in the Records of Protected
Structures maintained by local authorities and in the surveys being made for the
purposes of the national inventory of architectural heritage. There are many more
houses of great importance surviving that have not been mentioned in this report.
Their situation and circumstances peculiar to them need to be elucidated.
6.3 It is imperative that enabling legislation should be introduced to give statutory
recognition and support to viable national trust-type organisations for this country to
safeguard the future of the remaining historic houses. The fundamental success of
such legislation would be based upon the installation of the principle of inalienability
and the provision of favourable tax concessions that will encourage prospective
40

donors to gift their properties to the trusts and others to donate the funding that will be
necessary to protect them into the future.
As a preliminary step the issue of the efficacy, feasibility and practicality of
legislating for national trust-type organisations to manage historic house properties
and other heritage-type properties needs to be researched and analytically appraised
from the public policy perspectives, in the widest sense, of costs and benefits.
6.4 Grants or low interest loans are essential and need to be targeted at those original
owners in need of financial assistance who want to retain their houses and contents
intact and who are willing to provide good access to the public.
While section 482 has been of great benefit to owners, it needs to be reviewed and
modified in the light of the contents of this study. These modifications are over and
above the reforms that should be made to ensure that present beneficiaries under
section 482 give satisfactory access to the public and adhere to the spirit of the law. If
owners persistently make it difficult for members of the public to gain access to
houses, the benefits of section 482 should be withdrawn.
In particular, there needs to be a distinction with regard to the exemptions and
concessions allowable to original owners who may be financially struggling to
preserve their houses and new purchasers who have the private wealth to restore
houses themselves. It should be recognised that fiscal arrangements should be geared
more towards those original families who most need them in order to maintain their
homes.
6.5 Specific tax concessions need to be considered in relation to those houses
currently held in legal structures such as trusts and companies to which present tax
exemptions do not apply. Owners claim they are unable to dismantle these structures
because of the huge costing involved. There is a tendency in official circles to view
this problem with little sympathy because it is perceived they were created in the first
place to avoid taxation rather than to benefit the historic property. Whether that is the
case or not the stage has now been reached whereby it is more important to preserve
the built heritage than it is to benefit from a relatively insignificant taxation bill. The
owners who might benefit from any such measures would have, in turn, to
accommodate access to houses and contents.
6.6 There seems to be a great deal of confusion amongst owners regarding the nature
of tax concessions and grant assistance. It would be of great assistance to many
owners if a general paper on tax legislation could be prepared, perhaps by an
organisation such as the Irish Georgian Society, outlining entitlements in a coherent
fashion (although it should be emphasised that each owner has a responsibility to look
after his/her own fiscal affairs.)
6.7 Greater resources should be made available for the existing conservation grants
scheme operated by the local authorities and the Heritage Council. At present, local
authority budgets for heritage protection are completely inadequate. Of great concern
is the fact that funding for conservation grants operated by local authorities is now
being cut. Funding for 2002 was 40 per cent down on the 2001 levels.
41

6.8 Grants should be subject to some degree of means testing which would facilitate
targeting of grant assistance to the owners who do not have the financial capability to
undertake the necessary works of care and maintenance.
6.9 The possibility of the remission of rates in respect of historic houses (or parts of),
which are being used for commercial purposes, should be investigated. The
difficulties in this respect are exemplified by the case of Strokestown Park in County
Roscommon where the National Famine Museum is located. The owners find
themselves in the position of getting local authority grants but simultaneously being
billed with substantial local authority rates because the historic property is being used
for commercial purposes.
6.10 The possibility of exempting certain funds from taxation which are being
generated specifically for the conservation and restoration of historic buildings should
be investigated (including the disposal of property or artefacts associated with the
historic house which is intended to be conserved.) This could be similar in some
respects to the rollover relief allowed to owners of land acquired for infra-structural
projects.
6.11 Some policy initiatives should also be considered to alleviate the extra insurance
burdens on the owners of historic properties, particularly, though not exclusively,
those that have been included by local authorities in the record of protected structures.
6.12 There is an invaluable historical resource existing in many of the historic houses
surveyed in the form of estate archives, generally well preserved and in some cases
dating back several hundred years. These estate records often reveal the economic,
social, political and cultural life of local communities over a span of many
generations. Urgent consideration needs to be given to preserving this valuable
historical resource and to accommodating access for scholarly endeavour.
6.13 While planning laws are essential and generally well received by owners, there is
a need for a degree of flexibility in implementation that will allow families to generate
the income that is necessary to maintain a property. The installation of facilities that
do not damage the integrity of the house should not be prevented by the planning
regime. If rules and regulations are applied too rigidly, even where they are passed
with the best of intentions, it might limit the ability of house owners to generate
income. In particular there should be consistency in the application of the planning
legislation by the various local authorities.
Under the present planning legislation, there needs to be a mechanism for a review
body allowing owners a degree of flexibility where there is dispute over preserving
the integrity of the building or developing it in a way that will allow for a greater
degree of commercial use that is necessary to sustain the house. Each application
needs to be looked at on an individual basis. Such a mechanism might also prove
conciliatory in situations where owners find themselves at odds with government
officials they perceive to be meddling rather than helpful.
6.14 An appreciation of the historical and cultural heritage values should be promoted
through exhibitions of historic house art, contents and archive collections, conferences
and so on to raise public awareness. Houses should be regarded as an educational
42

asset, offering a unique insight to the country’s social, economic, cultural and political
history as well as the architectural heritage which they represent.
6.15 To reflect their economic value to the tourist industry, historic houses should be
promoted through a more effective and concerted marketing campaign involving
owners, interested private organisations and state tourism bodies.
6.16 Houses such as Belvedere, Kylemore, Strokestown and Westport, where a
professional approach has been taken to their managements and exploitation, have
been successful in attracting tens of thousands of visitors on an annual basis. The
management of a historic house and gardens is a skilled task. Privately owned houses
are in some instances too small and in others lack the funding to justify professional
management. Thus the establishment of an umbrella-type advisory service, funded on
a co-operative basis by the owners, voluntary organisations and the relevant state
agencies would be of great value.
43

References
Bateman, John, The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland (London, 1883).
Bence-Jones, Mark, A guide to Irish country houses (London, 1988, revised ed.)
Bord Fáilte, Properties of significant horticultural, scientific, historical, architectural
or aesthetic interest in Ireland (2003)
Craig, Maurice, The architecture of Ireland from the earliest times to 1880 (London,
1982).
Dooley, Terence, The decline of the big house in Ireland: a study of Irish landed
families, 1860-1960 (Dublin, 2001).
Glin, Knight of, Griffin, D.J. and Robinson, N.K., Vanishing country houses of
Ireland (1988).
Guinness, Desmond, and Ryan, William, Irish houses and castles (London, 1971).
Malins, Edward, and Glin, Knight of, Irish gardens: the heritage series ii (Dublin,
1977)
Mc Parland, Edward and Robinson, N.K. (eds.), Heritage at risk: a digest of An
Taisce’s report on the future of historic houses, gardens and collections in the
Republic of Ireland (Dublin, 1977).
Owen, David, An assessment of the sustainable tourism potential of the properties
under An Taisce management (2002).
Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh & Sykes, Christopher Simon, Great Houses of
Ireland, (London, 1999)
44

APPENDIX I
Schedule of Houses in Survey
Location Map
45

Appendix I: Schedule of Houses in Survey
Name of House Location Present Owner
1 Abbey Leix Abbeyleix, Co. Laois Abbeyleix Group Ltd.
2 Aldborough House Portland Row D.1 Irish Music Rights Organisation
3 Ardgillan Castle Balbriggan, Co. Dublin Fingal Co. Co.
4 Avondale Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow State
5 Ballinlough Castle Clonmellon, Co. Westmeath Sir John Nugent
6 Ballyfin Ballyfin, Co. Laois Ballyfin Demesne Co.
7 Ballyhaise House Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan State
8 Bantry House Bantry, Co. Cork Egerton Shelswell-White
9 Barmeath Castle Dunleer, Co. Louth Brian Bellew
10 Beaulieu Drogheda, Co. Louth Sydney Waddington
11 Bellamont Forest Cootehill, Co. Cavan John Coote
12 Bellinter Navan, Co. Meath Sisters of Sion
13 Belvedere Mullingar, Co. Westmeath Westmeath Co. Co.
14 Birr Castle Birr, Co. Offaly Lord Rosse
15 Borris House Borris, Co. Carlow Andrew Kavanagh
16 Castle Leslie Glaslough, Co. Monaghan Samantha Leslie
17 Charlemont House Parnell Square, D.1 Dublin City Council
18 Clonalis Castlerea, Co. Roscommon Pyers O’Conor Nash
19 Curraghmore Portlaw, Co. Waterford Lord Waterford
20 Dunsany Castle Dunsany, Co. Meath Lord Dunsany
21 Ely House Ely Place, Dublin 2 Knights of Columbanus
22 Enniscoe Crossmolina, Co. Mayo Susan Kellet
23 Glin Castle Glin, Co. Limerick Knight of Glin
24 Hamwood Dunboyne, Co. Meath Major Hamilton
25 Headfort Kells, Co. Meath Headfort Estate Co.
26 Hilton Park Clones, Co. Monaghan John Madden
27 Johnstown Castle Co. Wexford State
28 Killadoon Celbridge, Co. Kildare Charles Clements
29 Kilruddery Bray, Co. Wicklow Lord Meath
30 King House Boyle, Co. Roscommon Roscommon Co. Co.
31 Kylemore Abbey Letterfrack, Co. Galway Benedictine Nuns
32 Lambay Castle Lambay Island, Co. Dublin Patrick and Margaret Kelly
33 Ledwithstown Ballymahon, Co. Longford Laurence Feeney
34 Lissadell Carney, Co. Sligo Sir Josslyn Gore Booth
35 Lismore Castle Lismore, Co. Waterford Lismore Estate Co.
36 Luggala Roundwood, Co. Wicklow Hon. Garech Browne
37 Malahide Castle Malahide, Co. Dublin Fingal Co. Co.
38 Mount Ievers Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare Breda Ievers
39 Newbridge House Donabate, Co. Dublin Fingal Co. Co.
40 Rathfarnham Castle Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin State
41 Russborough Blessington, Co. Wicklow Alfred Beit Foundation
42 Shelton Abbey Arklow, Co. Wicklow State
43 Slane Castle Slane, Co. Meath Lord Mount Charles
44 Stradbally Hall Stradbally, Co. Laois Thomas Cosby
45 StrokestownPark Strokestown, Co. Roscommon Westward Holdings Ltd.
46 Temple House Ballymote, Co. Sligo Alexander Perceval
47 Townley Hall Drogheda, Co. Louth School of Philosophy and Economic Science
48 Tullynally Castle Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath Thomas Pakenham
49 Tyrone House Marlborough Street D. 1 State
50 Westport House Westport, Co. Mayo Lord Altamont
46

LOCATION MAP
47

APPENDIX II
Summary of Findings for each House in Survey
The summaries which follow are arranged according to
the alphabetical order of the names of the houses
surveyed. (The summaries for Ardgillan, Malahide and
Newbridge have been amalgamated because these
houses are all owned by Fingal County Council).
49

Abbey Leix, Abbeyleix, Co. Laois
Abbey Leix is located on the outskirts of the town of Abbeyleix in County Laois.
Originally built in the 1770s for Thomas Vesey, later 1 st Viscount de Vesci, it is now
owned by the Abbeyleix Group Ltd.:
- Abbey Leix was designed by James Wyatt and is amongst his earliest
commissions for Irish houses. The design was possibly executed under a
local architect, as Wyatt does not seem to have visited Ireland until the
mid-1780s when he oversaw the building of Slane Castle.
- Wyatt’s designs are most noticeable in the plasterwork on the ceilings and
walls of the principal rooms in the main block.
- The house was extended and altered in the Italianate manner in 1859-60 to
the design of T. H. Wyatt for the 3 rd Viscount de Vesci.
- The demesne is noted for its magnificent collection of trees, particularly
the oaks which are part of a primeval forest.
- The formal gardens were originally laid out by Lady Emma Herbert (wife
of the 3 rd viscount) and were inspired by the gardens of her Russian
grandfather at his palace at Yalta in the Crimea.
- Unfortunately, by the time of its sale in 1994, most of the original contents
of the house had been sold by the de Vescis in an attempt to maintain the
house. Family portraits have, however, been retained by the present
viscount.
- Other alterations were carried out that affected the original integrity of the
house. For example, in the 1960s the great library, with its scaliogla
columns and richly framed doorcases, was partitioned into three smaller
rooms.
51

In 1994, the Abbeyleix Group Ltd. acquired the house and its 1,200-acre demesne, to
provide a home for Sir David Davies and his family. This purchase reflects an
increased interest by members of the wealthy business class, both from Ireland and
overseas, in Irish country houses. The purchase and subsequent restoration of Abbey
Leix has involved considerable expenditure. It has been restored and updated under
the direction of John O’Connell FRIAI primarily to function as a family home.
It has now become a repository of Irish art and furniture. It also contains an important
collection of Wyatt furniture. The contents, many of which were original to Irish
country houses, have been collected by Sir David Davies over the last fifteen years
primarily from sources in Ireland, Britain and the USA.
The gardens have also been restored under John Anderson. The park and pleasure
grounds have been re-planted and a new pinetum has been created, the first private
one to be created in Ireland for over fifty years.
Abbey Leix presently offers full-time and part-time employment to over thirty people.
It is therefore of some importance to the local economy.
At present around one third of the annual running costs of Abbey Leix are met from
income generated by the estate. The remaining costs are met from trust income. While
the trust has the capital to continue to carry out restoration projects, this may not
always be the case for future generations. Sir David is concerned that when Abbey
Leix passes to the next generation, the running of the house may not be as affordable
as it is at present. Neither is he sure that the next generation will want to be saddled
with the financial burden and other responsibilities of maintaining such a large
historic house.
52

Aldborough House, Dublin
Aldborough House is located on Portland Row in Dublin 1. Originally built by the 2 nd
earl of Aldborough, it is now owned by the Irish Music Rights Organisation.
Aldborough House is one of four town houses included in this survey:
- It was the last great mansion to be built in Dublin city during the second
half of the eighteenth century, arguably the city’s golden age. The scale
and grandeur of the house – it has six principal rooms on the ground and
first floors - and the size of its original garden were unprecedented at the
time.
- The architect is unknown but given the sheer scale of the house and its
design, it most likely was a contemporary architect of note, although there
has also been speculation that it was the 2nd earl of Aldborough himself.
- The large forecourt has a private chapel on one side and what was
originally a theatre on the other, both attached to the house by curving
wings.
- The impressive cantilevered staircase is a major feature of this house.
Unfortunately the house has gone through a variety of roles since it was first built. At
different stages, it has been a school, a barracks, and a postal and telecommunications
depot. As a result, the original fabric of the house has suffered greatly. For example,
in the 1980s, when Aldborough was owned by Telecom Eireann:
- The original site was compromised by the construction of a car park to
provide for Telecom vans; the installation of a bank of toilets on the
ground and second floors; the vertical division of rooms with studwork
53

partitions in order to provide cellular offices; the surface mounting of a
central heating system and a new electrical system; the re-plastering of
extensive areas of the house following the treatment of dry rot.
- A new concrete staircase broke the former link to the main house,
effectively isolating one wing.
- Many of these interventions are extremely crude in their design and are not
easily reversible, in particular the former theatre which was virtually
redesigned as a storehouse by Telecom.
- Cement based mortars and renders were used. Short life artificial tiles were
used on the roof.
In short, while the building is in reasonably good structural repair, it is in a very poor
state of preservation as many of the original features have been lost due to poor
conservation practice and unnecessary intervention.
Presently, IMRO have extensive restoration and renovation plans for the house.
However, these will require a great deal of expenditure, which may be beyond the
organisation.
54

Ardgillan Castle, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin
Malahide Castle and Newbridge House have been included in this summary as,
together with Ardgillan, the three houses are all now owned by Fingal County
Council.
The three houses were purchased with their demesnes, by Dublin County Council:
Malahide in 1975, Ardgillan in 1982, and Newbridge in1985. Their acquisition was
largely influenced by the need to provide a necklace of major parks in the greater
Dublin area. Today, Malahide, for example, attracts around 75,000 paying guests per
annum, while the park attracts over one million visitors.
Ardgillan Castle is located near Balbriggan. It is an eighteenth-century house,
originally belonging to the Taylour family who were also associated with Headfort in
County Meath. The central section of the house was built in 1738 and the wings were
added in the late eighteenth century. Opened to the public since 1992, the furniture on
show was originally provided on loan, but is now owned by the County Council
Malahide Castle, is located in Malahide. It has been described as ‘the most
distinguished of all Irish castles’. Until it was sold in the mid 1970s, its owners, the
Talbots de Malahide, had the distinction of being the longest resident original family
in an Irish country house, having lived there for almost 800 years. It has a number of
interesting historical and cultural heritage features:
- Malahide contains the only surviving medieval great hall in Ireland to have
retained its original form.
- The rococo plasterwork is attributed to Robert West.
- Some of its original contents were bought back by Bord Failte. Individuals
have loaned other contents, while a number of portraits purchased by the
National Gallery of Ireland are also on loan.
- It houses the important MacDonnell collection of eighteenth-century Irish
furniture.
55

- There are twenty-two acres of ornamental gardens attached to the castle
containing over 5,000 different species of plants principally from the
southern hemisphere.
The sale of Malahide and the subsequent dispersal of one of the most important
collections of contents in Ireland was one of the most deplorable consequences of the
tax legislation of the pre-1980s era.
Newbridge House is located near Donabate. It was built in the mid-eighteenth century
for Charles Cobbe, later archbishop of Dublin. Traditionally it was believed to have
been designed by Richard Castle, but recent evidence now suggests that the design
may have been by James Gibbs.
As a result of an agreement reached with the council, the Cobbe family agreed to
leave most of the original contents in the house in return for continued right of
residence in part of the house. The family also retains the right to use the principal
room when the house is not opened to the public.
This arrangement has meant that the house continues to offer a unique insight to its
historical and cultural development:
- The most splendid room in the house is the red drawing room with its
rococo plaster ceiling attributed to Richard Williams.
- The grounds at Newbridge provide an excellent example of eighteenthcentury
landscape. It is probable that the landscape was designed by
Charles Frizzell, one of the famous eighteenth-century Wexford firm of
land surveyors.
While the work of Dublin (now Fingal County Council in preserving and restoring
these houses is highly commendable, there are a number of concerns:
- Parts of the original landscape at Malahide have been compromised
(though not irreversibly) to some extent by the creation of football pitches,
tennis courts, a par 3 golf course and mini golf courses, as well as an
extensive children’s playground. Similarly, at Newbridge, a children’s
park and playground was opened in 1999.
- Standards of maintenance continue to be maintained despite shrinking
budgets.
- Round-the -clock security costs are an ongoing problem though probably
no more so than with similar private properties.
- Perhaps the greatest worry is that local authority budgets may not stretch
in the future to cover the high maintenance costs of running these houses.
56

Avondale, Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow
Avondale is located near Rathdrum in County Wicklow. Originally built by Samuel
Hayes, it later became the home of the Parnell family. It is now maintained by Coillte.
Avondale was built in 1777 by Wicklow MP, Samuel Hayes, who, as an amateur
architect, possibly designed it himself. It is a rather plain two-storey house over a
basement, fairly typical of those built by the middling landed gentry:
- Historically, the most significant thing about Avondale is that it was the
home of Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-91), Home Rule MP, chairman of
the Irish parliamentary party, president of the Land League. The house is
now a museum to his memory.
- About 75 per cent of the furniture of the house is original to it, much of
which has come back from the National Museum.
- An aspect of Avondale that is sometimes overlooked is the fact that it is
also synonymous with the birth of Irish forestry. Its first owner, Samuel
Hayes, was a forestry enthusiast and noted expert and writer on the
planting and management of woods. When the state bought Avondale in
1904, it was somewhat appropriate then that it established its first forestry
school there with the result that Avondale is of central importance to
silvicultural practice in this country ever since. For example, it grew the
first Christmas trees planted in Ireland. Today the forest park is over 500
acres in extent and is a major tourist attraction in Wicklow.
57

Until 1984, the house continued to operate as a forestry college. Around 1989, a
restoration programme was undertaken by Coillte, the aim being to open the house to
the public as the historic home of C. S. Parnell. It is presently opened from March to
October each year attracting around 40,000 paying visitors per annum (based on 2002
figures.) Presently:
- The house and park is regarded as a major local tourist attraction, which is
of benefit to the local town of Rathdrum. The park is especially important
as a local amenity with its children’s playgrounds and so on.
- The house provides employment to around twelve people.
- The annual Parnell Summer School is held in the conference centre.
The house requires some restorative work:
- The windows need to be treated; the whole house needs to be rewired; the
original finish on the external walls has been coated over and this needs to
be removed; a number of missing fireplaces in the upstairs rooms need to
be replaced; some floors need to be replaced and the servants’ tunnel
requires attention where stones have become loose and dangerous.
- Outside, the management would like to convert some of the outbuildings
into a forestry museum, restore the stable yard area, restore the small
church built by the Parnell family and the walled garden.
However, the present management fear that rising costs, particularly in areas such as
insurance, may have repercussions for Coillte’s involvement with the house. There is
also a fear that in order to make it profitable, the house and park might be
compromised by the conversion of parts of the house or yards into commercial
enterprises such as shopping malls, restaurants and so on.
There is always the fear that a government body such as Coillte may be disbanded in
the future.
In the past, Avondale had the advantage of attracting large numbers of repeat visitors,
people who tended to bring relatives, friends and so on to visit it. In the last few years,
these numbers have declined. The events of September 2001 and the outbreak of Foot
and Mouth the same year were also other contributory factors. This decline is
worrying for any house dependent to a large extent upon tourist income.
58

Ballinlough Castle, Clonmellon, Co. Westmeath
Ballinlough House is located outside Ballinlough in County Westmeath. It is owned
by the Nugent family.
- Ballinlough is almost unique in terms of Irish country houses as it still
belongs to a family of Gaelic lineage who have continued to live there
since around 1415.
- The original castle was reconstructed in the 1600s and later in the 1780s.
The drawing-room is characterised by delicate Gothic plasterwork. The
chimney-piece in this room is identical to one at Curraghmore which is
known to have been designed by James Wyatt.
- The hall is rather unusual for the period in which it was constructed: it
rises through two storeys and is spanned by a bridge-gallery, behind which
is the staircase.
Ballinlough does not house an important collection of original contents. There are
very few important pieces of furniture left as most were sold in the 1920s to meet the
debts of the present owner’s great grandfather but it does contain a fine collection of
family portraits and other paintings.
The gardens and grounds are open to the public, but the house is opened only to
groups. The owners argue, perhaps justifiably, that the house is too compact for
opening on a more informal basis.
The house has a number of structural problems:
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- There is a problem with the battlements which are cracked and leaking
badly in various places.
- The north tower is infested with damp; this tower is either sinking or
leaning causing structural damage to the walls. The west tower is also
leaking.
- The ceilings on the first floor require immediate attention; large cracks
have appeared in the dining-room walls and ceiling and in the front hall
that are of major concern.
- The windows on the second floor need to be repaired or restored (at an
estimated cost of £1,500 each.)
When the present family took over Ballinlough, the house was maintained by farming
income and proceeds from Sir John’s business interests in England. At present the
owners foresee that the only way forward for the house is through the expansion of it
as a business venture, perhaps opening to groups of guests, and continuing to open
for pre-arranged lunches for groups.
Photograph courtesy Hugh Doran
60

Ballyfin Co. Laois
Ballyfin is located near Mountrath, Co. Laois. Originially owned by the Coote family
who built it in the early to mid-1820s, it was sold to the Patrician Brothers in the
1920s who, in turn, sold it in April 2002 to Ballyfin Demesne Company.
- Ballyfin has been described as the grandest and most lavishly appointed
early nineteenth-century house in Ireland.
- The chief architects involved in its design were William and Vitruvius
Morrison, although the original architect was probably Dominick Madden.
- The interior of the house, which has remained remarkably well intact, is
also by the Morrisons, and the spatial effects and the rich plasterwork are
quite magnificent. The house is fortunate in that it has escaped dry rot.
Ballyfin is one of the many Irish historic houses whose role changed quite
dramatically in the twentieth century when it was taken over by the Patrician Brothers
and used as a school. Its new role in the twentieth century meant that the original
integrity of the house and its surroundings were compromised to some extent:
- The house contains virtually none of the original contents. These were sold
or removed in the 1920s.
- Some PVC windows were instated in the bow room over the library.
- One wing has been converted to cater for a kitchen for the school and
rooms have been converted into school offices, staff dining-room and so
on.
- A wall between the dining-room and the billiard room was demolished in
order to convert the space into a chapel.
- One of the original dining-room windows was replaced with a stainedglass
window in order to celebrate the 150 th anniversary of the Foundation
of the Patrician Brothers.
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- On the bedroom floor, a number of rooms were knocked into one in order
to make a dormitory.
- The stables in the yard have also been converted for school purposes.
The new owners, who are planning to carry out extensive restoration work over the
next five years, are confident that most of the alterations carried out since the 1920s
are reversible. All capital outlay is to be provided by the Ballyfin Demesne Company.
At this stage:
- Application has been made for planning permission to carry out repairs to
the roof, gutters and parapets.
- The serious problem of decaying stonework, particularly around the
cornices, is being tackled.
- The windows are being repaired and the PVC windows are to be replaced
with the originals, which fortunately have been stored in the house since
they were removed.
- The school buildings constructed in the 1960s and 1970s are to be
dismantled.
The house is to be opened to paying guests. The new owners’ intention is that the
ground floor rooms will once again function as reception rooms as they did in the
nineteenth century. The owners state that the landscape will not be compromised by
the construction of a golf course or the sale of sites for development purposes.
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Ballyhaise House, Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan.
Ballyhaise is located on the outskirts of the village of Ballyhaise in County Cavan.
Originally the home of Brockhill Newhurst and then the Humphrys family, it was sold
in the early-twentieth century (c.1905) and has since been an agricultural training
college. Teagasc is now responsible for the house.
There are a number of reasons why Ballyhaise is of historic and cultural heritage
importance:
- It was built in the early 1730s to the design of Richard Castle.
- One of its main architectural features is the oval room, possibly the earliest
surviving room of its nature in the British Isles.
- Another architectural feature is the vaulted ceilings in the basement and
ground floor, similar to those at King House in County Roscommon. The
stucco work is of a high quality.
- The entrance hall contains a black Kilkenny marble chimneypiece believed
to have been adapted from a design by Inigo Jones.
- It has the distinction of being the oldest agricultural college in Ireland.
Obviously, the use of the house as an agricultural training college for the best part of a
century has affected the original integrity of the building:
- The house has had to be modified to provide toilet facilities, kitchens,
classrooms and so on. Work carried out in the 1960s, for example, such as
the erection of beauty board panelling, paid little attention to the original
Georgian character of the house.
- The beautiful wallpaper with the peacock design in one of the main
reception rooms, which was original to the house, was varnished over in an
ill-judged attempt to preserve it.
- In the 1980s, student accommodation blocks were built in the original
walled garden.
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At present, the house is structurally sound, although the roof does require some
attention. It is, of course, denuded of all its original contents.
The future of Teagasc will have a major bearing upon the future of this house. As a
result of recent developments, this future seems somewhat uncertain.
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Bantry House, Co. Cork
Bantry House is located on the outskirts of the town of Bantry in County Cork. It is
owned by Egerton Shelswell White whose ancestors first built it in the early
eighteenth century:
- The original house dates back to around 1720. Modifications were carried
out between 1820 and 1830. Victorian additions were added between 1840
and 1850. The architectural wholeness represents three distinct phases.
- The house continues to house a very important collection of contents,
including a large collection of French, Flemish and Irish furniture, Gobelin
tapestries, floor tiling from Pompeii and Savonnerie carpets. Most of the
furniture and works of art were collected by 2 nd earl of Bantry during his
continental tours in the first half of the nineteenth century.
- The hall is a veritable treasure trove of bric-a-brac illustrative of the
benefits of continental tours to Irish houses.
- The dining-room is dominated by copies of Allan Ramsay’s full-length
portraits of George III and Queen Charlotte. Family portraits.
- The Italianate gardens with magnificent terraces on the hillside behind the
house offering a stunning view across Bantry Bay. The gardens have been
restored as a result of funding provided by the European Regional
Development Fund through the Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration
Scheme administered by Bord Failte.
- In the 1940s, Bantry was probably the first Irish country house to be
opened to the public.
Between 1986 and 1988 a large area of the house (the entire east wing and the upper
floor of the west wing) that had been unoccupied since the 1940s was restored. The
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oof was repaired and a new entrance road created. These projects were funded by
money made available by the government to the Bantry area at that time. Grants have
since then been provided by the Heritage Council. There remains some work to be
done. For example, ten of the front windows need to be replaced, the brickwork
around them requires attention as does the conservatory at the back of the house and
one of the gate lodges has to be restored.
Despite the richness of what remains, the fact remains that many of the house’s
original contents have long since been sold off in order to finance the restoration and
upkeep of the house. This is a trend that seems set to continue as the present owner
has decided to sell more contents to clear bridging and terms loans (which he claims
were incurred as a result of actually opening to the public.)
Until 2003, eight rooms in the house were opened to provide guest accommodation,
while the central portion of the house was opened daily to the public. The house was
attracting up to 70,000 visitors per annum. Although this form of business saw an
annual turnover of around €1.35 million, the owner argues it was not enough to meet
the high levels of outgoings.
This year its owner took the decision to close the house to the public, although the
gardens have remained opened. His reasons for doing so reflect the pessimistic
outlook for country houses offering accommodation: the rise in wage levels; the
prohibitive nature of rising public liability insurance costs (by closing everything
except the gardens the present owner points out that he is saving a huge part of the
premium); the further costs of wages, PRSI and VAT; large overheads particularly
heating costs; and finally, the decline in tourist numbers.
There has been a good deal of local disappointment to the closure of Bantry. It is
generally felt that it will impact negatively upon tourism in the area with
consequences for local trade.
On a more positive note, the owner is definite that he wants to keep the house in the
family. And he hopes to re-open next year on a less labour-intensive basis with more
emphasis on using the house as a film location or for photographic shoots.
66

Barmeath Castle, Dunleer, Co. Louth
Barmeath Castle in County Louth is located a few miles from the town of Dunleer. It
is owned by Sir Brian Bellew whose ancestors built the original castle around 800
years ago.
Barmeath’s importance lies in the facts that:
- It is one of only a few country houses in County Louth still in the
ownership of the original family.
- The surviving estate takes in all of the townland of Barmeath with its
original wall around it. It is recognised as an area of special scientific
interest because of the woodland and the wildlife.
- The house contains a good collection of original contents. The furniture is
mainly eighteenth-century, but there are also some late seventeenth and
early eighteenth-century paintings. Most of the family portraits have
remained.
- The interior of the house contains a magnificent eighteenth-century
staircase; pedimented doorcases on the first floor; a Gothic fretted ceiling
in the long drawing room and an impressive mid-eighteenth century library
with an impressive Masonic stucco ceiling and superb eighteenth-century
fitted bookcases.
- There is an important family archive in situ going back to the thirteenth
century, one of the very few of its kind in Ireland.
- The eighteenth-century gardens were designed by Thomas Wright of
Durham. The artificial lake, with its rustic ornamental hump bridge, is
typical of his work. The archery ground is one of the oldest examples
surviving in Ireland.
The house is situated on a 300-acre estate. Of this, 200 acres are used as a dry stock
farm. The owner, Sir Brian Bellew, manages the farm himself with the help of one
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other part-time employee. A farm of this size cannot possibly sustain the upkeep of
such a large house. Consequently, original contents have been sold in the past to
finance repairs, restoration and conservation projects. The lack of income means that:
- Large areas of the house are in an advanced state of decay. For example,
about fifteen years ago, one wing, a nineteenth-century addition, had to be
demolished because of its dangerous state. Finances were not available to
restore it.
- Adequate insurance cover is unaffordable.
- Security is a huge problem. There have been a number of burglaries at the
castle and valuable contents stolen.
68

Beaulieu, Drogheda, Co. Louth
Beaulieu in County Louth is located just a few miles from the town of Drogheda. It is
presently owned by Mrs Sidney Waddington and is possibly one of the most
important privately owned houses in the survey:
- Beaulieu was built in the 1660s by Sir William Tichborne. This is the ninth
generation of the original family to have lived in this house over a period
of almost 350 years.
- Its historical importance lies in the fact that it was one of the first country
houses to be built in Ireland without fortification. Almost all known
examples of houses of this type and period have now vanished. Beaulieu is
therefore unique in that it provides an example of a house that was
constructed at a major turning point in the development of Irish
architectural design. Today it remains the finest and best-preserved
country house of its period in Ireland.
- Architecturally, the house has remained largely unaltered since the
seventeenth century. Again, this adds to its uniqueness as most houses
evolved over time and the architectural structure that survives today is
often radically different to the original structure.
- The interior of the house is equally as important. There is a very
impressive two-storey entrance hall that contains an equally impressive
chimneypiece and over-mantle that is adorned with a painting of the town
of Drogheda, in its own right a valuable primary source for the historian as
it depicts the town as it was in the seventeenth century. It also contains an
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impressive collection of portraits and paintings. On the east wall are two
full-length portraits of King William of Orange and Queen Mary. The
Queen Mary is an original. The hall also contains a painting of King
William of Orange (sitting on a black horse) painted by Jan Van Wyck. Of
most importance are the Baroque carved woodwork trophies symbolic of
the arts and war.
- The drawing-room has fine moulded panelling on the walls and a dramatic
high relief plasterwork ceiling. The ceiling features work attributed to
William van der Hagen. It was done in the style of Verrio, a seventeenthcentury
Italian who was involved in the decoration of Windsor Castle and
Hampton Court.
- Unfortunately, while the house contains important works of art and
furniture, the family has not managed to retain much of the original
contents. These were sold at various stages during periods of financial
difficulties by previous generations.
The house is located on a 400-acre estate, which is leased which contributes to the
running of the house along with Mrs. Waddington’s private income.
According to the owner, the house is presently in ‘perfect condition’. It is one of the
few houses in the survey that has all of its rooms still in use. Mrs. Waddington is
confident that no major restoration or conservation work is currently necessary,
except for some work on the kitchen passage.
One point worth making is that in the past, when the elderly Mrs. Waddington lived
alone, opening Beaulieu to the public in order to avail of tax exemptions under section
482 was regarded as being very dangerous to her own personal security as well as to
the security of the house.
70

Bellamont Forest, Cootehill, Co. Cavan
Bellamont Forest is located on the outskirts of the town of Cootehill in County Cavan.
Originally built in 1730s for Thomas Coote, Lord Justice of the King’s Bench in
Ireland, it is now the home of John Coote, an Australian entrepreneur:
- Bellamont Forest was designed by Sir Edward Lovett Pearce, nephew of
Thomas Coote.
- It has been described as one of the most perfect examples of a Palladian
villa in the British Isles. It is believed to have been inspired by Palladio’s
Villa Rotonda at Vicenza and his Villa Pisani at Montagna.
- The architectural structure of the house remains very much as it was when
originally built.
- The richly ornamented ceilings in the saloon and dining-room are very
impressive features.
- An interesting feature of the house is the broad paved passage that
surrounds it at basement level like a dry moat, and a 600-feet long
servants’ tunnel that connects the house to the outoffices.
- The house contains none of the original contents, although the
chimneypieces are original.
Since 1987, Bellamont Forest and its 1,000-acre estate have been owned by John
Coote who has carried out a number of important restoration and conservation
projects with the result that it is, according to the owner, in very good structural
condition. However, some major work remains to be done on the roof and the
chimneystacks may have to be dismantled and rebuilt.
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The house and estate have been placed in a trust for the owner’s son. In this regard the
present owner feels that the long-term future of Bellamont is secure.
72

Bellinter, Navan, Co. Meath
Bellinter is located approximately six miles from the town of Navan, County Meath.
Originally the home of the Preston family, it is now owned by the Sisters of Our Lady
of Sion, a Roman Catholic order of nuns dedicated to the improvement of relations
between the Jewish and Christian communities:
- Bellinter is a Palladian house built c.1750 by John Preston to the design of
Richard Castle. Part of its significance lies in the fact that it is one of the
very last country houses designed by him.
- The house is noted for its fine interior plasterwork, particularly in the main
reception rooms.
- There is a single entrance hall (rather unusual for a house of this size),
which is dominated by an impressive fireplace carved from stone quarried
at nearby Ardbraccan.
- The spiral wooden servants’ staircase is a most unique and impressive
feature.
- Because the house passed from the original owners, there are no original
contents left.
Bellinter is now situated on a very small estate of just fourteen acres. The Sisters of
Sion operate it as a centre to facilitate conferences, retreats, workshops and seminars.
Accommodation facilities now include forty-five bedrooms, a large conference hall,
two lecture rooms, a games-room and two lounges. The whole house is, therefore,
functional.
When the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion bought the house in the early 1960s, large parts
of it were in poor condition. In particular the roof was in a serious state of disrepair,
part of it having been blown off in a storm, and most of what was left leaking badly.
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In the early 1970s, it was stripped and replaced. The attic and top floor were infested
with dry rot and wet rot. This problem has largely been addressed. The east wing was
converted to provide accommodation quarters for the sisters, while the servants’
quarters in the west wing were converted to provide accommodation facilities. A
further block of fourteen bedrooms was added in 1969.
Despite this work, certain problems remain:
- The west wing of the roof continues to cause concern.
- In the 1970s, some of the original windows at the back of the house were
replaced by PVC ones. The originals windows and glass are still in the
possession of the owners who point out that they could be refitted if the
funding was available.
- More of the windows on the east wing will also have to be replaced.
- The stables and outoffices are in a state of advanced dilapidation.
When this author interviewed a representative of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, it
was pointed out to him that within the next two to three years, the owners would be
faced with the costs of major repairs including the roof. At the time they feared that
they would not be able to raise the necessary finances to enable them to carry out this
work.
Developments since then illustrate the fact that the future of a house such as Bellinter,
run by a religious order, is uncertain. On 14 June 2003, the Sisters of Sion issued a
press statement to say that ‘following prolonged reflection by the Sisters and in
consultation with the Board of Directors’, the decision had reluctantly been taken to
sell Bellinter. The reasons set out for this decision exemplify the dangers facing
institutionally-owned houses:
‘Part of this process has been the consultation with professional advisors over
the need to re-furbish and to bring the property up to the standard demanded
for its use as an Adult Education and Conference Centre. The costings of this
as well as its continued maintenance would be prohibitive. Another vital
aspect of this consultation and reflection has been the reality of diminishing
numbers of sisters able to form and continue to remain part of the community
resident in Bellinter…. It is intended that the Sisters at present living in
Bellinter, will move to smaller premises.’
74

Belvedere, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.
Belvedere is located near Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. Originally the home of the
Rochfort family, it is now owned by Westmeath County Council:
- Belvedere has been described as ‘an architectural gem’. It is a 1740s villa
designed once again by the highly influential Richard Castle and may
possibly be the earliest bow-ended house in Ireland. Originally it was
probably intended to function as a hunting lodge.
- The house is noted for its delicate rococo plasterwork ceilings especially in
the drawing-room, library and dining-room. The ceilings were possibly the
work of Barthelemij Cramillion, a renowned French stuccodore who
designed the ceilings of Mespil House in Dublin (which after its
demolition in 1952 were removed to Aras an Uachtarain.) These ceilings
have recently been restored.
- One of the main architectural attractions of Belvedere is the sham Gothic
ruin or folly, the largest in Ireland, built by Robert Rochfort, the so-called
‘wicked earl’, to block out the view of Rochfort House which belonged to
his brother with whom he had quarrelled. It is locally referred to as ‘the
jealous wall’.
- The park survives relatively intact and has been described as ‘one of the
most charming planned landscapes in Ireland’, probably having been laid
out by a professional landscape artist in the 1740s. In the late 1850s,
Ninian Niven, curator of the Botanic Gardens in Dublin, was
commissioned to draw up the plans for the further embellishment of the
grounds.
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- From 1912, it was the home of Col. Charles Howard-Bury, a leading
member of the first European expedition to Everest in 1921, which also
included George Mallory.
- Unfortunately, the original contents of Belvedere were sold by Christies in
1980.
Westmeath County Council bought the house in 1982. Since then, the house and
surroundings have gradually been restored. The process has been a slow one, largely
because resources were not readily available. However, thanks largely to the fact that
it was chosen as a flagship project for the area, funding was secured through the
European Development Fund. Westmeath County Council also made a significant
financial contribution to the restoration and development. To date, an estimated
around €7 million has been spent on the restoration of the house and gardens.
- The stables and parts of the basement and ground floor of the house itself
have been developed and interpretation introduced. There is also an
education room, a courtyard café, a gift shop, a children’s play area, a
small animal sanctuary and the Belvedere Tram.
- The gardens were restored under the Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration
Programme in 1998. The objectives of this project were to reinstate the
historic gardens, to conserve the parkland, conserve and develop the
woodland and to restore and conserve ‘the jealous wall’.
- In the nineteenth century the original Diocletian windows had been
replaced by regular tripartite windows. These have now been restored to
their original shape.
The house/centre is currently managed by Ms. Sandra Peavoy on behalf of Westmeath
County Council. Admission fees of €6 for adults and €3.80 for children and €85 for a
season ticket are charged. The first floor of the house is closed to the general public
but is opened to corporate functions, private parties, recitals, product launches and so
on. Further income is generated through the shop and restaurant.
Last year the centre attracted almost 70,000 visitors, almost 13,000 more than the
previous year. However, because of the precarious nature of the tourist market, there
is always the fear that a major downturn will have grave consequences for such a
project as Belvedere. As it is, the house/centre is currently being run on a deficit.
Under these conditions, it is a major challenge for the county council, even if it does
at the moment consider it a valuable amenity to the county.
There is a need to generate more income. Proposals are being considered to attract
more conferences, to extend facilities to cater for more people, and to establish
accommodation elements. It remains to be seen to what extent these developments
would affect the historic fabric of the house or compromise the surroundings, but the
intention is to make any further development as sympathetic as possible to the nature
of the site.
76

Birr Castle, Birr, Co. Offaly
Birr Castle is situated in the town of Birr in Co. Offaly. It is owned by Birr Trustee
Company, the sole trustee of the Oxmantown Settlement Trust, established in the time
of the 6 th earl of Rosse, father of the present earl, Brendan Rosse:
- Birr Castle has a medieval core, which has been extended and remodelled
by over a dozen generations of the Parsons family since 1620.
- Its collection of contents makes Birr Castle one of the most important
houses in Ireland. Unlike most of the other houses in the survey it is
extremely difficult to pick out anything specifically of note as the house is
a treasure trove of furniture, paintings, portraits, memorabilia, family
heirlooms and rare Irish and other antiquities. The muniments room, to
take but one very simple example, contains what is reputedly Ireland’s
only surviving example of Jacobean frieze. Thus, Birr offers a unique
insight to the original splendour of such houses and more significantly
how they evolved over the centuries.
- Like most owners, the Rosses have had to sell original contents down
through the years in order to carry out restoration work and to maintain the
house. Some of the contents, including a couple of Guardi paintings and a
particularly important suite of Chippendale furniture had to be sold in the
1980s to meet debts. Lord Rosse pointed out that nothing of Irish origin
was sold.
- The house contains a very comprehensive and important family archive.
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- The gardens are another outstanding feature. They are recognised
internationally as important botanical and horticultural resources.
- The park also contains what was once the largest telescope in the world, as
well as possibly the earliest example of a wrought iron suspension bridge
in the world, a turbine house where electricity was generated as early as
1879 and reputedly the world’s earliest surviving photographic darkroom.
While the castle is internally in good condition, its owners do claim that much
remains to be done to the fabric:
- There are serious ongoing problems with damp, particularly on the top
storey, as a result of a leaking roof.
- There is a consequential problem with collapsing interior plasterwork.
- The workshop tower and the whole of the east wall require urgent
attention.
The present owner contends that of much greater import is the fact that the whole
future of the castle is threatened by the capital gains tax implications of the legal
structure in which it has been placed. Like many properties in the past, Birr was
placed in a company with sufficient supporting assets to maintain the property and,
arguably, as a means of avoiding taxation. The shares of the company were placed in
a discretionary trust to facilitate the succession of generations.
The continued existence of Birr is now, it is argued, dependent upon the life of Lord
Rosse, whose death will trigger a discretionary trust tax liability of several million
euro in the fist year, and several hundred thousand in each year following (at 6 per
cent initially and 1 per cent annually thereafter on the total value of the gross estate.)
To reconstruct now would be enormously expensive and any reconstruction would
almost certainly be at the expense of assets, which, in turn, only leads to the continued
decline of the historic and cultural worth of the property. Possibly the only means of
safeguarding Birr at this stage would be to grant it some form of exemption from the
above discretionary trust tax liability of to provide the trust with charitable status.
78

Borris House, Borris, County Carlow.
Borris House is located in Borris, County Carlow. It is owned by Andrew Kavanagh
whose ancestors, the MacMurrough Kavanaghs, included Diarmaid ‘na nGall’ Mac
Murchada, king of Leinster (1126-71) who was responsible for the introduction of the
Normans to Ireland:
- The present house was originally an eighteenth-century tower house,
incorporating an old castle. It was badly damaged in 1798 and restored and
castellated around 1820 to the design of Richard Morrison and his son,
William Vitruvius Morrison.
- The house still retains a lot of the original furniture from the earlynineteenth
century reconstruction and some of the pictures. The library
also dating from then is largely intact.
- The family archive is in situ as the present owner believes that a house
should not be separated from its intrinsic parts.
Borris is supported by the income from the estate farm of around 270 acres, the
woodlands of around 250 acres, a golf course and some property rents. The house is
in reasonably good condition but only because a lot of work has been carried out on it
in the recent past or is currently ongoing, partly funded by the Heritage Council. The
whole restoration project will cost in the region of €650,000. The owner emphasises
the point that the house would not have survived without state aid in the form of
substantial grants:
- The house is presently being re-roofed.
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- All the outside plasterwork needs to be treated, the decorative heads and
moulds around the windows, which are deteriorating, all have to be
restored or replaced.
- There is an 1820 wing that has effectively deteriorated to a shell (although
the roof is relatively intact) that needs to be restored.
- The house has a dry-rot problem that needs to be eradicated.
- On the demesne, the chapel has to be restored, as have a variety of
outbuildings. The twenty-foot high garden wall, dating back to the 1780s,
has to be partly restored.
Borris is one of the few privately owned houses in the survey that does not benefit
from tax exemptions under section 482 because it is not opened to the public (except
in a limited way to accommodate pre-booked groups.) The present owner does not
wish to open on a more regular basis for a number of reasons:
- The house is relatively small and the owners feel it is important that it
remains a family house; opening to the public on a regular basis would
make this very difficult.
- The present owner also points to the fact that the fabric of the house is
fairly fragile and would not sustain a constant flow of visitors.
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Castle Leslie, Glaslough, Co. Monaghan
Castle Leslie, formerly known as Glaslough, is located on the outskirts of the village
of Glaslough in County Monaghan. Ownership of the house is held in a trust, at
present managed by Ms. Samantha Leslie whose family has been associated with the
area since the seventeenth century:
- Castle Leslie is a Victorian house built around 1870 by Sir John Leslie, 1 st
baronet, to the design of Sir Charles Lanyon and William Henry Lynn. It
is, therefore, one of only a very few country houses built after the Famine
by Irish landlords (as opposed to houses such as Kylemore, St. Anne’s,
and Farmleigh built by industrialists, merchants, bankers and so on.)
- Amongst its chief architectural features is an Italian Renaissance cloister
said to have been copied from Michelangelo’s cloister at Santa Maria in
Florence.
- The decorative work on the ceilings of the dining-room and the drawingroom
and the Della Robbia chimneypiece in the drawing-room are all
impressive features.
- The house contains a very important collection of original contents.
- The Leslies were related to the Churchills through marriage: Sir John
Leslie’s wife, Leonie Jerome, was the sister of Sir Winstons Churchill’s
mother, Jennie. Sir Winston’s christening robes are on display in Castle
Leslie.
- It is the ancestral home of Sir Shane Leslie, author, playwright, Gaelic
Leaguer and Celtic Revivalist.
- The very important and extensive family archive has recently been sold to
the National Library of Ireland.
The house is located on a 500-acre estate, which is let on conacre. The house is run by
Samantha Leslie as a restaurant and country house hotel. In this way, it is a major
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source of local employment; in 2001-02, around thirty people were employed there in
a full-time or part-time capacity.
Major restoration work has been carried out on about two thirds of the house in the
last number of years, including the securing of the roof. This was done through a
mixture of borrowing, the sale of veneer timber from the estate woods, the sale of
house contents and archives, as well as small grants from a variety of different bodies.
Major work remains to be done:
- The long gallery wing and the old kitchens, all of which are in an
advanced state of decay, are in urgent need of restoration. The estimated
cost of this work is in the region of €1.25 million.
- The conservatory has collapsed allowing water into the back of the west
wing.
- The west wing is very badly affected by dry rot, which is spreading
quickly towards the main house.
- The outoffices are in an advanced state of disrepair.
The future of this house depends very much upon the tourist industry remaining
vibrant. It is not likely to survive from estate income.
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Charlemont House, Dublin
Charlemont House is located in Parnell Square in Dublin. Originally the home of the
earl of Charlemont, it is now owned by Dublin City Council and functions as the
Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art:
- This three-storey house was built in the 1760s to the design of William
Chambers. In the 1780s, James Gandon was involved in the remodelling of
the house. Its original form has been described as ‘art of the highest order
… an art of the intellect where the smallest detail played a crucial role in
the design.’
In 1869, the British government purchased the house for around £3,000. Around this
time, the library wing and the back rooms on the bottom floor were demolished. The
original front rooms were rearranged, as was the entrance front. The library was
dispersed and most of the original fittings of the house were removed around the same
time and brought to the Charlemont country estate at Roxborough Co. Tyrone.
Following the establishment the Irish Free State the house passed into the hands of the
Government. In 1929, it was reconstituted as an art gallery.
The house is said to be in very good condition and architecturally sound, requiring no
major renovations or restoration work. There are no plans to carry out alterations to
the original building but there are plans to extend the gallery.
This author was informed that the house will continue to fulfil its present role into the
future and in that respect there are no fears for its survival.
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Clonalis House, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon
Clonalis House is located about six miles west of Castlerea in County Roscommon.
Its present owner is Pyers O’Conor Nash:
- Clonalis is one of the few houses originally built by a Gaelic family that
have survived.
- Like Castle Leslie, it is one of the very few Irish country houses built after
the Famine, having been completed in 1880 to replace a late seventeenthcentury
house, the ruins of which can still be seen in the demesne. It was
reputedly the first mass concrete house built in Ireland.
- The house was designed by Frederick Pepys Cockerell, an English
architect, who died prematurely in 1879, a short time before Clonalis was
completed.
- The house is unusual in that architecturally it is a peculiar mix of Queen
Anne Revival and Victorian Italianate styles. Its main architectural
features include an impressive high entrance hall, the modillion ceiling
cornice of which is supported by arches and Ionic columns of pink Mallow
marble; its oak and pitch-pine staircase; its library with its very important
collection of over 5,000 books as well as its invaluable and substantial
archive which includes over 100,000 historical letters and other
documents.
- Historically, Clonalis is an important house because of its association with
the O’Conor Dons, descendants of the last high kings of Ireland, whose
associations with the lands of Clonalis can be traced back at least 1,500
years. The reputed inauguration stone of the O’Conors can be seen beside
the hall door (having been moved there from its original location at
Rathcroghan, about nine miles away.)
- The contents of Clonalis add greatly to its cultural heritage value. The
contents comprise the portraits, family papers, objects d’art and
memorabilia of a family stretching back over 500 years.
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- Clonalis House places in context much of the architectural heritage of the
west and midland areas as the O’Conors built Ballintubber Castle, held
Roscommon Castle as a stronghold over three centuries and founded
abbeys at Ballintubber, Knockmoy, Roscommon and Cong.
Clonalis is in relatively good condition. Major improvements have been carried out in
recent years with the help of American donations. However, there are some problems:
- Because the house was built with concrete, there are fears that it may
deteriorate very rapidly after a given period.
- Much of the parkland and woodland is over-mature and requires urgent
attention.
- The house is situated on a 700-acre estate. (Around 1,300 acres had to be
sold when the present owner took over in order to meet inheritance tax.)
The farm, which is worked extensively, is barely viable. It employs only
one man and the present owner states that the farm income does little more
than pay his wages. The other source of income comes from the opening of
the house to the public from June to September. The house income is
merely adequate to take care of the day-to-day maintenance costs; it is not
sufficient to finance major repairs or renovations. To supplement house
and farm income, the present owner works away from Clonalis so that
funds derived from the property can be dedicated solely to its maintenance
- The present insurance policy does not cover storm damage. A severe
financial crisis could, therefore, result from serious damage to the roof.
Insurance premiums are exorbitantly high, accounting for around 20 per
cent of the house’s income.
- The present owner has great security worries, given the importance of the
contents of the house. Like many owners, he has the continuous worry of
casual visitors who may be ‘casing the joint’.
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Curraghmore, Portlaw, Co. Waterford
Curraghmore is located outside the village of Portlaw in County Waterford. The
present Lord Waterford is a direct descendant of the Le Poers (or Powers) who arrived
in Waterford towards the end of the twelfth century and who later settled in Portlaw:
- Curraghmore dates back to the sixteenth century, although the original
castle tower that forms part of the existing house pre-dates it by some time.
- Curraghmore was enlarged and remodelled at various stages during the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Important architects involved in the
remodelling of Curraghmore included James Wyatt who worked there in
the 1780s. The dining-room is regarded as being among the two or three
finest Wyatt rooms in Ireland. He also designed the blue and yellow
drawing-rooms, the library and a number of smaller rooms.
- The central tower block overlooks a very large forecourt (550 feet long
and 192 feet wide) with long stable ranges on either side characterised by
pedimented archways with blocked columns and pilasters. This feature is
unique to Ireland and, in fact, there are only one or two examples of it in
Britain. It is more commonly seen on the continent. Its inspiration was
probably Vanbrugh’s Blenheim and Seaton Delaval. There is no evidence
as to the date or architect of the courtyard, but it was possibly designed by
John Roberts of Waterford.
- Regarding the interior, the stucco-work at Curraghmore has been described
as being of ‘great delicacy and charm’. The intricately designed ceiling in
the billiard room is the work of the internationally regarded Francini
brothers.
- The four roundels on the dining-room ceiling, depicting the four seasons,
have been attributed to Antonio Zucchi or his wife Angelica Kauffman.
The grisaille panels on the walls are by Peter de Gree.
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- The demesne is one of the most extensive and attractive in Ireland,
encompassing about 2,500 acres inside a demesne wall, which has a radius
of twelve miles.
- There is a shell-house on the demesne which dates back to the mideighteenth
century, built and decorated personally by Catherine la Poer,
Countess of Tyrone and heiress to the property in 1754, which is one of
the most spectacular examples of its type in this country.
Recently, much work has been carried out on the conservation of the windows at
Curraghmore, part funded by the Waterford County Council. However, the roof is of
ongoing concern.
The present owner is concerned that recent European Union legislation is curtailing
the estate company’s ability to generate income by preventing the cutting down of
trees on the demesne. In the past this has been a very valuable source of income.
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Dunsany Castle, Dunsany, Co. Meath.
Dunsany Castle is located outside the village of Dunsany, Co. Meath. It is presently
owned by Edward Plunkett, Lord Dunsany:
- Dunsany is one of the oldest surviving country houses in Ireland and
probably the oldest one in Ireland associated with a single family. It was
originally a castle founded very late in the twelfth century by Hugh de
Lacy which in 1403 passed by marriage to Sir Christopher Plunkett whose
second son was later to become 1 st Baron Dunsany.
- Through successive generations, Dunsany was modified and remodelled.
Some of the most significant changes took place in the 1840s under the
renowned architect, James Shiel.
- Because Dunsany has survived for over 800 years and because it has been
reshaped down through the ages, it provides a microcosmic insight to the
changing tastes and fashions of country house owners from the beginning
of such houses right down to the present day.
- Its present architectural features include a late eighteenth-century entrance
hall, which is rather less dramatic than that of most great houses. The
blend of the old with the modern is very striking in this hall. Beyond the
entrance hall is a very dramatic late nineteenth-century three-storey
staircase. The plasterwork on some of the ceilings is the work of Michael
Stapleton. The library, designed by Shiel, is characterised by Gothic
bookcases.
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- Dunsany has historical associations with the 18 th Lord Dunsany, prolific
author, poet and significant figure in the Irish Revival, as well as his uncle
Sir Horace Plunkett, agricultural reformer and founder of the Irish Cooperative
movement who spent much of his time there.
- The house also has a collateral association with St. Oliver Plunkett. Some
of his belongings are on display in the house, including his watch and ring
and what is reputed to be his crozier.
- Dunsany houses a valuable collection of furniture, paintings, book and
prints. There is still a significant family archive, most of which dates from
c.1750.
Dunsany is one of the very few country houses in the possession of the original
families that was fortunate enough to have had a very wealthy owner (the 16 th Lord
Dunsany) in the 1930s and early 1940s. For this reason, it is possibly in a better
condition than one might expect of a house of its age. However, simply because of its
age and, indeed, size, restoration and conservation work at Dunsany is continuously
ongoing:
- All the roofs require constant attention. In the 1870s, changes were carried
out at Dunsany under the guidance of Sir Gilbert Scott. He was responsible
for removing the eighteenth-century lead from the house and replacing it
with ashfelt. The ashfelt has now cracked, allowing water to seep into the
concrete underneath and there is now the danger that the concrete could
collapse into the rooms below. The roof is thus an immediate problem but
one that is presently unaffordable due to the huge cost involved.
- Also during the Scott renovations, steel lintels were put into the windows
on a new extension, which have subsequently rusted and expanded putting
pressure on the surrounding brickwork. These lintels and surrounding
stone facings will have to be replaced.
- The previous generation of owners kept the main part of the house in
reasonably good condition but they allowed the wings to fall into
dereliction.
- There is a possibility that the rising damp problem in the house is much
more serious than it seems. Work is currently ongoing to deal with the
humidity problem that is building at the base of the walls. This requires the
installation of perforated pipes leading to the various shores, which is an
expensive process.
- Outside the aesthetically challenged galvanised stables erected in 1907
when the present owner’s grandfather became Master of Foxhounds to the
Meath Hunt are in an advanced state of dilapidation.
With considerable hard work and effort, Lord and Lady Dunsany have made the estate
financially self-sufficient and the prospect for the future is secure.
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Ely House, Dublin
Ely House is located at Ely Place in Dublin City. Originally built in 1771 for Henry
Loftus, Earl of Ely, it is now owned by the Knights of St. Columbanus.
Ely has many distinctive interior architectural features:
- The staircase is regarded as one of the finest in any Georgian house in
Ireland. It consists of three flights of Portland stone with a life-size figure
of Hercules, also cut from Portland stone, at the bottom. The handrail is of
carved mahogany on a panelled balustrade which is decorated with gilt
figures of animals and birds emblematic of the labours of Hercules.
- The staircase is lit by a large Venetian window, which occupies the full
breadth of the wall on the half-landing.
- The elaborate stucco-work in the various rooms is amongst the most
impressive surviving in any historic house. Most of it is attributed to
Michael Stapleton, the outstanding Irish stuccodore of his time.
- The Adam-style dining room on the ground floor is regarded as one of the
finest Georgian rooms in the country.
- The mantelpieces of Sienna and Carrara marble are other outstanding
features of this house.
The present condition of the house is fairly good but like most historic houses, it has
its fair share of problems:
- In order to afford the maintenance of the house, parts of it are leased. Its
original integrity has been partly compromised by the creation of moderntype
offices in the house, which are used by Fás, a Thai restaurant in the
basement and the installation of modern toilets on different levels. The fact
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that a large volume of people travels through the house every day also has
its consequences.
- The roof is said to be in poor condition, requiring a great deal of
expenditure. The chimneys are in a delicate state and at least one of them
requires urgent attention.
- There are cracks in the entrance hall stonework.
- There are dips in the floors of some of the main reception rooms.
- Some areas of the house show evidence of damp, particularly the back
wall. It needs to be restored using a lime-based plaster, which the owners
say is not affordable at this particular moment.
The owners say that despite having made application to various state and other bodies
for grant aid, none has been forthcoming.
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Enniscoe, Crossmolina, Co. Mayo
Enniscoe is located outside the town of Crossmolina in County Mayo. It is presently
owned by Mrs Susan Kellett who is a direct lineal descendant of the Jackson family
who built it:
- Enniscoe is an attractive, small, two-storey Georgian house dating to
around 1790, probably to the design of John Roberts.
- It has been described as ‘a pure Georgian house’ meaning that because the
family was short of funds from the early nineteenth century, no
remodelling or even alterations were carried out in the Victorian or later
eras to change its structure or character.
- It is one of only about three houses in Mayo that have survived with the
original families and with their original contents. The collection of
contents, it should be noted, is quite small, most of them having been sold
or removed in the 1830s as a result of family circumstances.
- The interior of the house is characterised by very elegant late-Georgian
Adamesque plasterwork.
- No archives survive for the pre-1834 period but there is a good archive for
the period thereafter, which is currently kept in the house and is being
copied and indexed in the heritage centre on site.
The house is located on an estate of 160 acres, which is totally insufficient to maintain
a house of this size. At present, the house is successfully run as a country house bed
and breakfast. The house, along with its interpretative centre, gardens, shop, tearooms
and so on, is now the biggest employer in the area.
Structurally, the condition of the house is quite good, mainly because a lot of money
has been expended upon it since 1984, including funding from the Heritage Council
and the Irish Georgian Society. As a result:
- There are no dry rot problems.
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- The plasterwork has been restored and various rooms have been
redecorated.
- Some of the outbuildings have been restored and converted into an
interpretative centre. Some have been converted into self-catering
accommodation units.
- Because the house is run as a business, some modifications were necessary
such as the installation of bathrooms. Care was taken that these
renovations would not affect the integrity of the house.
However, problems do still remain:
- Major repairs are an enormous and continuous drain on income.
- As with most country houses, the roof requires attention. At present
funding is being sought for this particular project.
- The upkeep of the house is dependent upon the tourist market. At the
moment, the owner stresses that this market is not as good as it has been in
the past.
- Insurance costs are described as ‘horrendous’, thus the house is not insured
for its full reinstatement value.
- The owner admits that ‘the future of this property is by no means secure.’
Because of its manageable size, it is very much a marketable house that
could be quite easy to sell.
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Glin Castle, Glin, Co. Limerick
Glin Castle is located about one mile west of Glin village in Co. Limerick. It is
presently owned by Desmond FitzGerald, 29 th Knight of Glin, whose family
associations with the area date back to the early fourteenth century:
- Glin was built in the 1780s by Col. John FitzGerald, 24 th Knight of Glin,
originally as a three-storey double bow-fronted house with a long service
wing that incorporated a seventeenth century thatched ‘long house’. It was
subsequently castellated by his successor.
- Over the last number of years, Glin has been splendidly restored. Even the
third floor of the main block that had not actually been completed in the
eighteenth century has now been finished. Glin, therefore, offers a sharp
contrast to the other great houses in the survey:
o It has been said of Glin that ‘no Irish museum or country house
presents such an integrated view of the eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries.’
o The entrance hall is devoted to FitzGerald history, its walls covered
by family portraits. The main architectural feature of the hall is a
Portland stone chimneypiece.
o The house is characterised by superb woodwork, particularly the
unique ‘flying’ bifurcating grand staircase.
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o The neo-Classical plasterwork of the hall is possibly the work of
Dublin stuccodores – Charles Thorpe or Michael Stapleton. The
other neo-Classical ceilings are believed to be the work of local
stuccodores.
o It houses a unique collection of Irish furniture and Irish paintings,
much of which has been collected by the present owner (including
much of the original furniture sold out of the house in the past.)
Many of the original family portraits survive.
o The archives, which date mainly from the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries, are on deposit in the University of Limerick.
The house is located on an estate of around 400 acres, which is mainly run as a dairy
farm. Glin itself is run as a country house hotel. During peak season, it offers
employment to around twenty-five people.
The future of Glin is not without difficulties:
- Farming does not provide the necessary income to maintain a house such
as Glin. Its success as a hotel is, therefore, vital. The present owner
emphasised the serious repercussions that 11 September 2001 and an
outbreak of Foot and Mouth the same year had upon the tourist industry in
general and to their trade in particular.
- The contents of the house are not insured for their full value; it is simply
not affordable.
- There is a fear that at some stage in the future, the important contents of
the house may have to be sold off in order to continue to maintain the
house.
- The present owner has three daughters. Like many other owners he argues
that there is no guarantee that the future generations will be willing to
make the sacrifices of his generation to keep the house going. The future
of Glin is, therefore, very uncertain.
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Hamwood, Dunboyne, Co. Meath
Hamwood is located near Dunboyne in County Meath. It has been home to the
Hamilton family since 1764:
- Hamwood is a very important mid-sized Palladian house of unusual
design.
- The house is in good structural repair, major work having recently been
carried out reinstating and replacing sash windows as well as work to the
roof. The former was part funded by the Irish Georgian Society.
- All the rooms are in use, and the house is regularly open to visitors by
appointment.
- The original contents are largely intact with eighteenth-century Irish
furnishings and memorabilia overlain with important nineteenth and
twentieth century additions.
- The gardens of Hamwood, which are open to the public, contain a rare
collection of trees and shrubs collected in the nineteenth century. The
pinewalk contains giant Californian redwoods and Japanese maples. The
walled garden contains a rock garden created in 1802.
The house is maintained by private income. The farm which is attached is relatively
small and let on conacre.
Photograph courtesy of Hugh Doran
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Headfort, Kells, County Meath.
Headfort House is located outside the town of Kells in County Meath. Originally
owned by the Taylour family, it now functions as a preparatory boarding school
managed by a board of trustees:
- Headfort is a very large but very plain house built between 1760 and 1770
by Sir Thomas Taylour, 1 st Lord Headfort, to the design of George
Semple. The Taylour family connection with the house lasted until around
the mid-1990s when it was sold to the school that had been leasing it since
1949.
- Historically and architecturally it is extremely important because of its
association with Robert Adam who designed the principal rooms. Adam
had an immense influence on domestic architecture in Britain and Ireland.
This is his only country house work in Ireland to have survived in its
entirety.
- The importance of the Adam interiors is emphasised by the fact that the
World Monument Fund is currently considering Headfort for listing on its
100 most endangered sites in the world.
- The Headfort archive on deposit in the National Library of Ireland
constitutes one of the most comprehensive Irish country house and estate
archives.
- The house is centred on a demesne that is characterised by fine mature
woodland, most notably the pinetum which was laid out at the beginning
of the twentieth century and which contains over 250 species of trees.
Headfort began the transition to preparatory school in 1947. Because of its changing
role, a number of alterations were necessary in the past that compromised the original
integrity of the house, although it should be emphasised that most of these alterations
seem reversible:
- The ground floor rooms in the central block of the house are now used as
offices.
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- On the first and second floors, rooms that were previously used as
bedrooms are now used as classrooms. Toilets have been installed on both
floors.
- Some rooms have been subdivided to provide bedrooms and bathrooms for
staff members.
- Outside, metal fire escape stairs were erected on the east and west facades
and a bathroom block was added to the west wing.
Some restoration work has been carried out on the house in the recent past. Around
€170,000, for example, has been spent on the roof. Much more needs to be done:
- The rainwater disposal system requires urgent attention. All the downpipes
need to be replaced.
- The pointing between the frame and masonry of windows needs repair in
order to prevent water ingress.
- On the inside of the house, there is evidence of damp penetration that is
causing a deterioration of internal finishes, particularly at the east end of
the magnificent eating parlour. Because the wall decoration in this room is
of such architectural importance, it is essential that the spreading damp be
eradicated.
- Dry rot has recently manifested itself on the ground floor passage.
- As in many country houses, the electrical installation is quite old and
needs to be replaced as a matter of urgency.
The plans are for the house to continue as a school into the future. A great deal of
financial assistance is necessary from outside if the historic fabric of the house is to
survive. As a charitable trust, the school has limited funds available to it. Because of
its limited public access, it may not be able to secure funding such as county council
grants. A fund-raising campaign has now been launched to raise €2.3 million to
renovate the Adam rooms, restore the gardens and generally refurbish the school.
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Hilton Park, Clones, Co. Monaghan
Hilton Park is located near Clones in County Monaghan. It is owned by John Madden,
whose ancestors built the house in 1734:
- Hilton Park is one of only three great houses in Monaghan still in the
ownership of the original families.
- It contains an important collection of furniture, dating from 1820 to around
1875.
- The pleasure grounds and gardens have been restored thanks to funding
from the European Union.
Its main problems are:
- The maintenance of the house is very much dependent upon farming and
tourism and at present the 400-acre estate is simply not enough to maintain
a house of this size.
- To supplement income, the house now operates as a country house bed and
breakfast from April to September and caters for house parties in the
winter. Opening to the public as a guesthouse was not easy in the 1980s
given Hilton Park’s close proximity to the border and the attendant
tensions in the Clones area. Neither was it economically viable given the
poor image of Monaghan as a tourist attraction area. However, following
the easing of border tensions from the early 1990s as a result of the peace
process, business has gradually improved.
- Contents have had to be sold off in the past. There was a large auction in
1984, which was necessary to refinance the running of the house and to
carry out the refurbishment necessary to make it suitable for a bed and
breakfast. Much of the family porcelain, for example, was sold.
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- The only insurance that the owner now has is public and employee
liability. He has not had fire or burglary insurance for fifteen years because
it is unaffordable.
- The house requires some major conservation work:
o The roof is in urgent need of replacement. The lead is 125 years
old.
o Two of the armorial windows also need replacement, at a cost of at
least €12,000 each. The present owner argues that the rising costs
of maintenance have made it extremely difficult to afford this type
of necessary work.
o The courtyard is in serious disrepair as the owner has not to date
found a means of generating revenue from these buildings.
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Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford
Johnstown Castle is located a short distance from Wexford town. Originally the
ancestral home of the Esmonde family, it is now owned by the state and run by
Teagasc (Food and Agricultural Authority):
- The castle was last rebuilt around 1840 to the design of Daniel Robertson,
perhaps more noted for his design of Powerscourt Gardens in Wicklow. It
is a fine example of Gothic-Revival architecture.
- The last private owner, Capt. M. V. Lakin, gifted the house to the state in
1945. It was taken over by the Department of Agriculture that year which
undertook to maintain but not alter ‘the ornamental nature of the gardens
and pleasure grounds of the estate’.
- The grounds continue to be maintained to a very high standard, attracting
up to 40,000 visitors per annum. The demesne includes three man-made
lakes. The landscaping of the surrounding grounds, including the
construction of the castle lake, may also have been the work of Daniel
Robertson.
- The complex now also includes the Irish Agricultural Museum which is
located in the old farmyard, about 100 metres from the castle. It attracts
around 30,000 visitors per annum.
- The castle is actually located in a prime tourist area. Over 1.5 million
tourists arrive at Rosslare every year, which is only a few miles away. As
Johnstown is one of only a few surviving country houses between
Wexford and Dublin as one travels north, its commercial capacity could be
exploited much more fully.
Unfortunately, the castle has not been maintained to a high standard:
- The original integrity of the house has suffered greatly as a result of its use
as a residential agricultural college from 1945 to 1960 and its continued
use thereafter as a research institute. Rooms were converted into
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laboratories, classrooms and offices for soil research with little regard for
the historic integrity of the house. The main bedroom, for example, has
become an office. Toilets and shower facilities were installed. The original
main staircase was taken out to create a large dining hall for staff and
students. An original tower house of pre-Cromwellian origin was
demolished by the Board of Works in the 1940s. The billiard room was
divided into offices.
- There are very few contents original to the house – possibly no more than
twenty pieces or so.
- A conditions survey was carried out over five years ago at a cost of
£250,000. Amongst its proposals were:
o The restoration of the roof as the main priority. In the past minor
leaks were not attended to with the result that they have caused
magnified damage including damage to interior plasterwork.
o The electrical wiring needs to be overhauled.
o The drainage system needs to be completely overhauled.
It is estimated that the restoration project will cost around €5 million. The castle and
garden are at present in a bureaucratic limbo. A decision in principle has been taken
that they will have to be handed back to the Board of Works for restoration and
subsequent management.
As a combined attraction the castle, ornamental grounds and agricultural museum
offer large potential as a flag ship tourism and educational facility for the south-east
region.
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Killadoon, Co. Kildare.
Killadoon is located on the outskirts of Celbridge in Co. Kildare. It is owned by
Charles Clements whose ancestors built the house in 1765:
- Killadoon is one of only four country houses in Co. Kildare that has
survived in the ownership of the original families.
- The house was built for Robert Clements MP (later 1 st earl of Leitrim), the
eldest son of Nathaniel Clements MP, a prominent figure in eighteenthcentury
Dublin. The present owners are the sixth generation of the family
to reside there.
- The house contains an important collection of contents, which has allowed
it to retain much of its eighteenth-century character.
- One of its most impressive rooms is the drawing room which has remained
almost exactly as it was when redecorated by the 2 nd earl of Leitrim in the
1820s (the wallpaper, carpet, curtains and much of the furniture in the
room dates to this time.)
The present owner inherited the property from his cousin. In this transfer, he paid
55% Death Duties in 1974 and 40% Capital Acquisitions Tax in 1991. He points out
that the resulting dissipation of assets has severely compromised the family’s ability
to maintain the property.
Since 1991, significant conservation and restoration works have been carried out by
the present owner. However, he points out that much of the increasingly urgent
maintenance requirements, including the eradication of a serious dry rot problem, are
beyond the scope of his financial abilities.
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Killruddery, Bray, Co. Wicklow
Killruddery is located on the outskirts of the town of Bray in County Wicklow. It is
the home of Lord and Lady Meath whose family, the Brabazons, have been associated
with the area since the early seventeenth century:
- Killruddery is one of the earliest examples of an Elizabethan-Revival
mansion in Ireland. It was built in the 1820s to the design of Richard and
William Morrison, incorporating part of the earlier seventeenth-century
house.
- It houses an important collection of furniture, much of which is original to
the house.
- The impressive domed conservatory, added in 1852, now referred to as the
orangery, was recently restored thanks to EU funding. Originally, it was
designed by William Burn to replicate the Crystal Palace on a miniature
scale.
- The domed ceiling above the staircase, hall and gallery is reputed to have
been taken from designs by Inigo Jones and executed by a local man
named Henry Popje in 1830.
- The forecourt of the house was designed by Daniel Robertson, the
landscape architect involved in the design of the gardens at Powerscourt.
- The French-Baroque gardens, reputedly laid out in 1684, are the oldest
formal gardens in Ireland to have retained their original design and are of
great national importance. In fact, they are regarded as being amongst the
most important formal gardens anywhere in Great Britain or Ireland.
- The house contains a very valuable family archive.
In the 1950s, the discovery of dry rot allied to economic necessity demanded that
parts of the house be demolished. However, a great deal of Morrison’s design and
architecture remains, including the drawing-room and the dining-room with their fine
ceilings. While the structure of the present house is reasonably sound and the roof is
in good condition, there are a number of areas that do require attention:
- The existing plumbing system needs to be overhauled.
107

- Windows require painting and in some cases restoration.
- Fire alarms and security doors need to be replaced.
- Many of the rooms are in need of redecoration.
- The stonework needs remedial action.
- The gardens require a great deal of work and expenditure.
- Increasing insurance and security costs are an ongoing source of concern
to the present owners. (There was an arson attack on Kilruddery in 1993
which partially destroyed the Chippendale bookcases in the library.)
The integrity of the landscape has been compromised since the 1970s with the
building of industrial estates, council housing and the construction of the Southern
Cross motorway, all of which have infringed upon the original demesne. The owners
are constantly aware and bring to the notice of the local authority that any further
encroachment of urban development could seriously compromise the landscaping of
the seventeenth-century gardens.
The house can no longer be maintained by farm income. The owners claim that they
are largely surviving off capital from the sale of assets. Continued selling of assets
obviously will affect the financial security of the house in the long-term and also
diminish its cultural heritage and historical importance.
108

King House, Boyle, Co. Roscommon
King House is located in the town of Boyle, County Roscommon. Originally built for
the Sir Henry King in 1730, it is now owned by Roscommon County Council:
- King House is a very large and impressive historic house. It is unusual in
the sense that it was originally a country house but is now located within
the boundaries of a town. It is a Palladian mansion that at various times
has been attributed to such architects as Richard Castle or Edward Lovett
Pearce, although it was probably designed by William Halfpenny, an
assistant of Pearce’s.
- This rather austere four-storey eighteenth-century house has a very grand
reception gallery. The tripartite windows and the high vaulted ceilings are
of note. All four storeys are actually vaulted over, which is quite unusual.
- Just over fifty years after its building, King House was sold by the King
family and it became a barracks to the Connaught Rangers who were
stationed there from 1788 to 1922. When it ceased to function as a house,
its contents were dispersed.
For most of the post-independence period, King House was allowed to fall into decay.
In 1987, it was acquired by Roscommon County Council whose original intention it
was to demolish the house in order to provide a car park for the town. However, the
council instead began a major restoration programme in 1989:
- According to literature on the house’s restoration, the main aim of the
project was to retain the essential architectural and structural qualities of
the house and protect all the original fabric.
- The work included the complete reinstatement of the roof; the
reinstatement of structural arches; the provision of new floors where
necessary; and the re-plastering of the entire house both internally and
externally.
109

- A programme of continuos maintenance needs to be implemented to
ensure the conservation of the building. Work that needs to be done
includes the restoration or replacement of some broken windows, the
cleaning of the guttering, the mending of chimneys and some decoration.
The house is now an interpretative centre and museum opened each year from the
beginning of April to the end of September. The house complex contains a visitor
centre, restaurant and craft shop, the Ireland West and Boyle Public Library. It
attracts about 12,000 visitors per annum. To supplement tourist income, the house is
opened as a conference centre and for special events during the year.
The house is seen to be important to the local community not only because it attracts
tourists but also because of the amenity facilities it provides for local events.
The house incorporates modern interpretative exhibitions in the eighteenth-century
building. A development for King House is being compiled at the moment and it is
realised that period furniture and fittings are required to supplement the modern
exhibitions.
In reality King House is not achieving its full potential and as insurance, heating and
other maintenance costs continue to escalate pressure is being put on the management
of the house and also certain activities are being restricted. However, Roscommon
County Council offer assurance that the property will become a viable tourism project
in the future.
110

Kylemore Abbey, Letterfrack, Co. Galway
Kylemore Abbey is located between Letterfrack and Recess in Connemara, County
Galway. Originally built in the 1860s by Mitchell Henry MP, a wealthy Liverpool
merchant, it is presently owned by the Benedictine nuns:
- The location of Kylemore Abbey in a remote and scenic part of
Connemara, along with its neo-Gothic architectural design mark it as one
of the most dramatic and romantic Irish country houses. It is probably one
of the most photographed buildings in the west of Ireland if not in the
whole country.
- Historically, Kylemore is rather unique in that it was one of only a few
Irish country houses built in the post-Famine period.
- The house was designed by James Franklin Fuller and Ussher Roberts.
Besides its dramatic setting, the house is characterised by its neo-Gothic
battlemented and machicolated towers and turrets.
- The Gothic church, built between 1877 and 1881 also to the design of
Fuller, is a building of international importance. It has been described as a
‘cathedral in miniature’ as it incorporates elements adapted from some of
the great English cathedrals of the Decorated Era, 1180-1215.
Since the 1920s, Kylemore has been owned by the Benedictine nuns who came to
Ireland during the Great War when their abbey at Ypres was destroyed. It has since
become an internationally-renowned girls’ boarding school.
Architecturally, the house has suffered from some unfortunate changes down through
the years. For example:
- In the early twentieth century, the second owner of the castle, the duke of
Manchester, transformed the magnificent ballroom into an enormous
kitchen. It has since been converted into a chapel.
111

In the last number of years major restoration and conservation work has been carried
out on the castle. Much of this has been funded by the opening of the house as a
tourist attraction in the early 1990s. Kylemore Abbey contributes greatly to the local
economy providing over 100 jobs to people in the area:
- A section of the castle, the Gothic church and the six-acre Victorian walled
gardens have all been restored and opened to the public. The glasshouses
in the garden are still under restoration.
- A number of the main reception rooms have been restored and opened to
the public.
- The gardens were restored under the Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration
Scheme.
According to the present owners much work remains to be done:
- The servants’ wing needs to be re-roofed and the windows need to be
replaced. The nuns’ accommodation wing is in advanced state of disrepair
and in urgent need of attention.
- Areas of the house are infested with dry rot which needs to be eradicated
immediately. Already huge damage has been done by damp which has
caused the loss of some of the once-beautiful ceilings.
112

Lambay Castle
Lambay Castle is situated on Lambay Island, located approximately three miles off
the north County Dublin coast. The house is owned by the Lambay Estate Co. which
in turn is owned by a family trust, established by the late Lord Revelstoke. The house
and the estate are presently managed by Margaret Kelly (grand-daughter of Cecil
Baring, who created the present castle) and her husband, Patrick, one of the trustees,
who live in the castle all year round. The house is of historical importance for a
number of reasons:
- In the early twentieth century it was redesigned and transformed from a
small sixteenth-century house by Sir Edwin Lutyens into a castle for Cecil
Baring (later 3 rd Lord Revelstoke) who had bought the island in 1904 as a
home for himself and his wife. It is one of the very few Edwardian country
houses built in Ireland and is generally regarded as one of the most
important twentieth-century buildings in the country.
- Lutyens is acknowledged as one of the most important international
architects of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His preeminence
amongst his contemporaries was unquestioned. His most notable
work was arguably the Viceroy’s Palace at New Delhi. In Ireland he was
also associated with the design of the internationally renowned Heywood
gardens in Laois and the World War I Memorial Garden at Islandbridge.
- Lutyens also designed the landscape surrounding the house and an
extensive complex of other buildings (including another large house, six
cottages, farm buildings and a chapel.) Thus his association with the
design of the house and other associated buildings as well as the landscape
marks it as being rather unique and certainly of great international
importance. Also of great significance is the fact that Lambay is one of
only five Lutyens’s houses still inhabited by the original family.
- The original contents of the house are largely intact and the interior design
is just as it was when it was originally built. It also houses a fine collection
of paintings and portraits and an important photographic archive. Lambay,
therefore, provides a very rare insight into the design and workings of an
Edwardian house.
- Finally, the natural history of the island itself is of great importance. It
should be noted that Lambay is, in fact, the only inhabited island on the
east coast and is also a listed archaeological site.
113

Like the vast majority of houses in the survey, Lambay has problems, which are
universal to them all, but it also has particular problems specific to that house:
- As a discretionary trust, the Revelstoke trust is subject to a 1 per cent
annual levy on the gross value of assets. This imposes a burden for the
continued running of the castle and island which cannot be sustained
indefinitely. In 2002, the family had to pay in excess of €100,000.
- The trust has insufficient funds at its disposal to carry out the necessary
work immediately. The actual day-to-day maintenance of the house is
enough to exhaust the annual budget. Suffice to say, the trust does not
have at its disposal the resources of the extremely wealthy merchant
banker who first built it.
- Although progress has been made thanks to grants from the Heritage
Council and Fingal County Council, extensive restoration work remains to
be done. According to a recent condition survey, the house, contents and
landscape are all in a very poor state of repairs and in urgent requirement
of extensive conservation at significant expenditure.
- The house is unique in the sense that because it is located on an island,
public access is severely limited by constraints of the tides and weather.
Therefore, Lambay cannot realistically be expected to open generally to
the public. This means, of course, that it is not then in the position to claim
the various tax exemptions available to other houses that avail of section
482.
- Considerable extra expenditure is incurred by the fact that the house is
located on an island. The family has to operate a private ferry service to
and from the island and the family is also responsible for the maintenance
of the listed harbour on the island as well as the stone pier on the mainland
where the ferry is moored.
Because of the unique importance of Lambay in terms of architectural design,
landscape, the natural history of the island, the fact that it is a listed archaeological
site, the existence of its contents and archive, its preservation into the future is
obviously of great cultural importance. In order to accomplish this, a number of issues
have to be addressed:
- Given the unique circumstances associated with its location, which
prevents it from opening to the public on a regular basis, some form of tax
exemptions should be considered, given that the family are prepared to
extend the limited public access which they currently give to interest
groups such as architects and bird watchers. (The house is actually quite
small, despite having the grandiloquent title of a castle, so that realistically
it could not cater for groups of more than twelve at any given time.)
- The 1 per cent levy is the most significant drain on resources. It would be
of great benefit to be able to write conservation and maintenance costs off
against the levy.
- Relief on capital gains tax would also be of benefit provided that the sale
of shares in the trust are used for reinvestment in the house and surrounds.
114

Ledwithstown, Ballymahon, Co. Longford
Ledwithstown is located near Ballymahon in County Longford. Originally the home
of the Ledwith family, it is now owned by Laurence Feeney:
- Ledwithstown is a very important small eighteenth-century house of two
storeys over a basement that was possibly designed by Richard Castle. Its
international importance was recognised by Steven Parissien in his book
Palladian Style (London, 1994), as it was the only Irish house to be
included in his study.
- The original owners had obviously notions of grandeur beyond their social
status, for despite the smallness of the house, it has all the traits of a much
larger house. It is very thoroughly designed with well-integrated internal
decoration.
- The house has not been added to or architecturally altered since it was first
constructed.
- One of the main interior features of the house is the black Kilkenny marble
chimneypiece in the entrance hall.
- Unfortunately, the house has long since been stripped of its original
contents. Only a large glazed bookcase, specially designed for the library,
remains.
The house was vacant or let to non-paying tenants from the 1920s to 1984, with the
result that it fell into a very bad state of disrepair.
- The lead valleys on the roof were leaking badly.
- Water penetration in the top storey has caused a great deal of damp. There
is no central heating in the house, which means that large areas of it are
inadequately heated.
- The outer walls were soaked with damp with the result that floor joists
entering outside walls were completely rotted.
115

- There is also a dry rot problem in the wood panelling.
- A section of cornice from a chimneystack had fallen through the roof,
shattering the lead valley outlet from the central valley on its way. This
later caused serious water saturation damage.
The present owners began restoration work in the mid-1980s with the help of grants
and expert advice from bodies such as the Irish Georgian Society and the Heritage
Council:
- The roof was restored.
- New floors were installed.
- The drawing-room ceiling was restored.
- Currently, work is ongoing on the plasterwork.
A great deal of work is still required. This includes restoring doors and architraves;
fitting new door locks; and installing new fire grates (which could cost up to €2,500
each.)
The owners emphasise that they have dedicated their lives to the restoration of this
house at enormous expense but that they do not have the finances necessary to
complete restoration as quickly as they would like. It would cost, for example, almost
€10,000 to paint the hall alone and at least €300,000 to complete the whole
restoration.
The owners do not benefit from tax exemptions under section 482 because the house
is not opened to the public (except on request by interested groups.) It is not practical
for the owners to do so; it is simply too small.
116

Lismore Castle, Co. Waterford.
Lismore Castle is situated on the outskirts of the town of Lismore in County
Waterford. It is owned by Lismore Estates (Jersey) Ltd with an address at St. Helier,
Jersey. The principal beneficiary of the company is the marquess of Hartington (son
of the duke of Devonshire.)
The owners did not grant an interview with a representative. The information
contained in this report was provided by Mr. Michael Penruddock, estate manager, via
e-mail:
- Lismore is a predominantly early seventeenth and nineteenth-century
castle, incorporating some of the towers of a much earlier medieval castle
of the bishops of Lismore.
- In the late sixteenth, early seventeenth centuries the castle and lands were
owned by Sir Walter Raleigh, Elizabethan adventurer, before being sold to
Richard Boyle, later earl of Cork.
- In the seventeenth century, it was home to Robert Boyle, regarded as one
of the founders of modern chemistry.
- In the eighteenth century, it passed through marriage to the Cavendish
family when the heiress to Lismore married the duke of Devonshire. An
ambitious phase of rebuilding was carried out in the mid-nineteenth
century to the design of Sir Joseph Paxton, the architect of the Crystal
Palace.
- Around the same time A.W.N.Pugin was commissioned to design the
banqueting hall.
- It once housed the twelfth-century Lismore crozier and the Book of
Lismore.
117

- The castle’s gardens are believed to be amongst the oldest in Ireland.
Originally laid out by Richard Boyle, the so-called Great Earl of Cork,
they retain much of their original Jacobean form and are presently host to
an important collection of contemporary sculpture commissioned by
Lismore’s owner, Lord Hartington.
The castle was re-roofed about twenty-five years ago. The west wing and the Carlisle
tower at the southern end are not inhabited and are in a dilapidated state of repair
internally, although the walls and roof are said to be sound. The outoffices including
those in the old stable yard, the old sawmills yard and the old laundry are all in a poor
state of repair and require re-roofing. A recent estimate for the cost of re-roofing the
stable yard outoffices and a modest renovation of the west wing was put at €800,000.
The castle can be rented out for a minimum charge of €3,500 per night for up to
twelve guests. For additional guests, up to a maximum of twenty-three, there is a
further charge of €250 per person per night.
118

Lissadell House, Co. Sligo
Lissadell House is located near Drumcliffe, Co. Sligo, about ten miles north of Sligo
town. It is owned by Sir Josslyn Gore-Booth:
- Lissadell is a large Grecian-Revival house built in the early 1830s for Sir
Robert Gore-Booth to the design of Francis Goodwin of London. The
house has not been significantly altered since then.
- The large entrance hall – a lofty two-storey room with square Doric
columns below and Ionic columns above – has a Kilkenny marble floor
and a Kilkenny marble double staircase, noted for its iron balusters
decorated with eagles.
- The house also contains a sixty-five feet long apse-ended gallery, which
contains its original Gothic chamber organ pumped by bellows in the
basement.
- Those who write or comment about Lissadell tend to emphasise its
association with William Butler Yeats (who spent a great deal of his time
there), Constance Gore-Booth (later Markievicz), extreme nationalist and
the first female member of Dáil Eireann, and her sister, Eva, an
accomplished poet. This association, while important, should not
overshadow Lissadell’s greater importance as an architectural site of great
cultural heritage importance.
- The house contains a large collection of historically important contents. In
2002, there was a sale of some of what the owners considered to be the
less important contents from Lissadell in order to continue restoration
work.
119

Sir Josslyn claims that when he took over Lissadell, it was difficult to decide where to
actually begin with regard to restoration. It was not merely a question of money; it
was also a question of time:
- Wet rot had been a significant problem and had caused some structural
damage. There are still damp problems in the basement where the
limestone walls have acted like a sponge.
- Over a period of ten years or so, the roof was repaired so that it is now
watertight.
- All the windows have been restored.
It was quite evident during the interview with the Gore-Booths that they were not
entirely happy about the sacrifices they have had to make – financial and personal – in
order to keep Lissadell. They pointed to a number of factors:
- The house does not pay for itself. The 400-acre farm attached to the house
is much too small to maintain a house of this size. Money that has been
made in the past from forestry has had to be ploughed straight back into
the management of the woods. And the house now attracts less than 10,000
visitors in any given year.
- Insurance is a major source of concern. Public liability is proving a
problem largely because members of the public see it as their right to be
able to walk the grounds of the house at all times of the year. In the recent
past, there have been a number of lawsuits from people who claim to have
injured themselves on the grounds.
- The present owners say that they cannot justify spending on restoration for
the rest of their lives or sacrificing so much of their time and energy. They
say that the house is simply too big and inconvenient and they would
advise their children not to burden themselves with the problems
associated with running an historic house.
Since this interview took place the Gore-Booths have taken the decision to sell
Lissadell. They have made it public that they think the state should purchase it. This
has given rise to much debate as to whether or not the state should intervene.
Obviously, if Lissadell is sold to a private purchaser, there is the possibility that the
new owner might choose to close it and its grounds completely to the public. This
might very well have wider ramifications for the local community in terms of trade
and tourism. If the state is to intervene, it cannot simply purchase the house on its
own; it must also purchase its contents for a house such as Lissadell without its
contents loses much of its cultural heritage value.
As this study goes to press, news has been received that Lissadell has been sold to a
private buyer.
120

Luggala, Roundwood, Co. Wicklow
Luggala is located near Roundwood, Co. Wicklow. It is presently owned by Hon.
Garech Browne. A preliminary meeting was held with Mr. Browne but no follow-up
meeting proved possible.
121

122

Malahide Castle, Malahide, Co. Dublin
Ardgillan and Newbridge House have been included in this summary as, together with
Malahide Castle, the three houses are all now owned by Fingal County Council.
The three houses were purchased with their demesnes, by Dublin County Council:
Malahide in 1975, Ardgillan in 1982, and Newbridge in1985. Their acquisition was
largely influenced by the need to provide a necklace of major parks in the greater
Dublin area. Today, Malahide, for example, attracts around 75,000 paying guests per
annum, while the park attracts over one million visitors.
Ardgillan Castle is located near Balbriggan. It is an eighteenth-century house,
originally belonging to the Taylour family who were also associated with Headfort in
County Meath. The central section of the house was built in 1738 and the wings were
added in the late eighteenth century. Opened to the public since 1992, the furniture on
show was originally provided on loan, but is now owned by the County Council
Malahide Castle, is located in Malahide. It has been described as ‘the most
distinguished of all Irish castles’. Until it was sold in the mid 1970s, its owners, the
Talbots de Malahide, had the distinction of being the longest resident original family
in an Irish country house, having lived there for almost 800 years. It has a number of
interesting historical and cultural heritage features:
- Malahide contains the only surviving medieval great hall in Ireland to have
retained its original form.
- The rococo plasterwork is attributed to Robert West.
- Some of its original contents were bought back by Bord Failte. Individuals
have loaned other contents, while a number of portraits purchased by the
National Gallery of Ireland are also on loan.
123

- It houses the important MacDonnell collection of eighteenth-century Irish
furniture.
- There are twenty-two acres of ornamental gardens attached to the castle
containing over 5,000 different species of plants principally from the
southern hemisphere.
The sale of Malahide and the subsequent dispersal of one of the most important
collections of contents in Ireland was one of the most deplorable consequences of the
tax legislation of the pre-1980s era.
Newbridge House is located near Donabate. It was built in the mid-eighteenth century
for Charles Cobbe, later archbishop of Dublin. Traditionally it was believed to have
been designed by Richard Castle, but recent evidence now suggests that the design
may have been by James Gibbs.
As a result of an agreement reached with the council, the Cobbe family agreed to
leave most of the original contents in the house in return for continued right of
residence in part of the house. The family also retains the right to use the principal
room when the house is not opened to the public.
This arrangement has meant that the house continues to offer a unique insight to its
historical and cultural development:
- The most splendid room in the house is the red drawing room with its
rococo plaster ceiling attributed to Richard Williams.
- The grounds at Newbridge provide an excellent example of eighteenthcentury
landscape. It is probable that the landscape was designed by
Charles Frizzell, one of the famous eighteenth-century Wexford firm of
land surveyors.
While the work of Dublin (now Fingal County Council in preserving and restoring
these houses is highly commendable, there are a number of concerns:
- Parts of the original landscape at Malahide have been compromised
(though not irreversibly) to some extent by the creation of football pitches,
tennis courts, a par 3 golf course and mini golf courses, as well as an
extensive children’s playground. Similarly, at Newbridge, a children’s
park and playground was opened in 1999.
- Standards of maintenance continue to be maintained despite shrinking
budgets.
- Round-the –clock security costs is a ongoing problem though probably no
more so than similar private properties.
- Perhaps the greatest worry is that local authority budgets may not stretch
in the future to cover the high maintenance costs of running these houses.
124

Mount Ievers, Co. Clare.
Mount Ievers is located on the outskirts of Sixmilebridge in Co. Clare. It has been
owned by the Ievers family since it was built in the eighteenth century:
- Mount Ievers is one of the very few country houses in County Clare to
have remained in the hands of the original owners.
- It is an unusual tall eighteenth-century house of three storeys over a
basement, its height further accentuated by a steeply pitched roof and very
tall chimneystacks. It has been described as ‘the most perfect and also
probably the earliest of the tall Irish houses’.
- The house was designed by John Rothery with an input from his son,
Isaac.
- The house retains much of its original character. Architecturally, it has not
been altered since the time of its building. Its character is enhanced by the
collection of furniture and heirlooms collected by successive generations
of the family.
- The long gallery on the top floor is a feature rather unique to Irish houses
of eighteenth-century origin.
125

Structurally, the house is sound. The roof was restored in the mid-1960s and more
recently funding was received from the Heritage Council for necessary work on the
guttering. Over the years a great deal of other restoration work has been funded by the
Irish Georgian Society.
The house is maintained from a dairy farm income, based on a very small milk quota
of 16,000 gallons. The level of income this quota generates makes it extremely
difficult to maintain a house and grounds of this size and even more difficult to carry
out restoration projects.
126

Newbridge House, Donabate, Co. Dublin
Malahide Castle and Ardgillan have been included in this summary as, together with
Newbridge House, the three houses are all now owned by Fingal County Council.
The three houses were purchased with their demesnes, by Dublin County Council:
Malahide in 1975, Ardgillan in 1982, and Newbridge in1985. Their acquisition was
largely influenced by the need to provide a necklace of major parks in the greater
Dublin area. Today, Malahide, for example, attracts around 75,000 paying guests per
annum, while the park attracts over one million visitors.
Ardgillan Castle is located near Balbriggan. It is an eighteenth-century house,
originally belonging to the Taylour family who were also associated with Headfort in
County Meath. The central section of the house was built in 1738 and the wings were
added in the late eighteenth century. Opened to the public since 1992, the furniture on
show was originally provided on loan, but is now owned by the County Council
Malahide Castle, is located in Malahide. It has been described as ‘the most
distinguished of all Irish castles’. Until it was sold in the mid 1970s, its owners, the
Talbots de Malahide, had the distinction of being the longest resident original family
in an Irish country house, having lived there for almost 800 years. It has a number of
interesting historical and cultural heritage features:
- Malahide contains the only surviving medieval great hall in Ireland to have
retained its original form.
- The rococo plasterwork is attributed to Robert West.
127

- Some of its original contents were bought back by Bord Failte. Individuals
have loaned other contents, while a number of portraits purchased by the
National Gallery of Ireland are also on loan.
- It houses the important MacDonnell collection of eighteenth-century Irish
furniture.
- There are twenty-two acres of ornamental gardens attached to the castle
containing over 5,000 different species of plants principally from the
southern hemisphere.
The sale of Malahide and the subsequent dispersal of one of the most important
collections of contents in Ireland was one of the most deplorable consequences of the
tax legislation of the pre-1980s era.
Newbridge House is located near Donabate. It was built in the mid-eighteenth century
for Charles Cobbe, later archbishop of Dublin. Traditionally it was believed to have
been designed by Richard Castle, but recent evidence now suggests that the design
may have been by James Gibbs.
As a result of an agreement reached with the council, the Cobbe family agreed to
leave most of the original contents in the house in return for continued right of
residence in part of the house. The family also retains the right to use the principal
room when the house is not opened to the public.
This arrangement has meant that the house continues to offer a unique insight to its
historical and cultural development:
- The most splendid room in the house is the red drawing room with its
rococo plaster ceiling attributed to Richard Williams.
- The grounds at Newbridge provide an excellent example of eighteenthcentury
landscape. It is probable that the landscape was designed by
Charles Frizzell, one of the famous eighteenth-century Wexford firm of
land surveyors.
While the work of Dublin (now Fingal County Council in preserving and restoring
these houses is highly commendable, there are a number of concerns:
- Parts of the original landscape at Malahide have been compromised
(though not irreversibly) to some extent by the creation of football pitches,
tennis courts, a par 3 golf course and mini golf courses, as well as an
extensive children’s playground. Similarly, at Newbridge, a children’s
park and playground was opened in 1999.
- Standards of maintenance continue to be maintained despite shrinking
budgets.
- Round-the –clock security costs is a ongoing problem though probably no
more so than similar private properties.
- Perhaps the greatest worry is that local authority budgets may not stretch
in the future to cover the high maintenance costs of running these houses.
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Rathfarnham Castle, Co. Dublin
Rathfarnham Castle is located in the village of Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin. Originally
built by Robert Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin and later Lord Chancellor of Ireland, it
is now owned by the state:
- Rathfarnham Castle dates from the late sixteenth century and is considered
to be one of the earliest examples of a fortified house in Ireland. As such it
marks an important stage in the transition from military castle to country
house in Ireland.
- In 1913 the castle and part of the estate were purchased by the Society of
Jesus (Jesuits). They subsequently used the castle as a seminary. In the
1920s, they added two large wings.
- In the 1980s, the Jesuits decided to sell the castle. In 1986, it was declared
a national monument and in 1987 it was purchased by the state through the
Office of Public Works. At the same time, Dublin County Council
purchased the grounds. The castle is now opened to the public.
Since 1988, the OPW has carried out a good deal of work on the castle including reroofing
it; removing the 1920s wings; renovating the eighteenth-century kitchen wing
and re-rendering the exterior of the castle. However much work remains to be done:
- The top floor and the basement areas have not been touched. They are in
poor decorative order.
- None of the principal reception rooms have been restored. All are in need
of cosmetic attention, which may be very costly. For example, it has been
estimated that it will cost in the region of €100,000 to strip the paint off the
ballroom ceiling alone.
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- None of the principal rooms are decorated or furnished, which is a great
source of disappointment to visitors and explains the relatively low
number of annual visitors
- The integrity of the original gardens has been much affected by the
building of the Rathfarnham by-pass through the walled gardens.
- Of most disappointment is the fact that the restoration work on the castle
that has been ongoing since the late 1980s has not yet been finished. Due
to financial constraints, the necessary funding has not been made available
to complete the restoration project.
There are other lesser problems. For example, the castle has had its fair share of
vandalism. Located in a public park, security is a problem at night and graffiti on
walls is rather unpleasant.
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Russborough, Co. Wicklow
Russborough is located near Blessington in County Wicklow. It was built in the early
1740s for Joseph Leeson, the first earl of Milltown. It is now owned by the Alfred
Beit Foundation, a company limited by guarantee:
- Russborough was designed by Richard Castle who died shortly before the
house was completed. The interior decoration was completed by Francis
Bindon.
- Russborough has been described as ‘arguably the most beautiful house in
Ireland.’ It has been little changed from its original structure.
- It is built of local silver-grey granite and its entrance front, extending to
700 feet, is believed to be the longest in Ireland.
- The Francini brothers were responsible for much of the impressive
plasterwork, notably in the saloon, which is regarded as one of the finest
rooms in any country house in Ireland. Another striking feature of this
room is the sprung mahogany floor.
- It has been said of Russborough that ‘Irish country houses are generally
distinguished by their architecture rather than their contents, but
Russborough is a striking exception to this rule.’ It provides the setting for
a remarkable collection of paintings, furniture and objets d’art collected by
Sir Alfred Beit, his father and uncle, most particularly for an important
part of the famous Beit collection of paintings.
Russborough is managed by the Alfred Beit Foundation. The house is faced with a
number of problems:
- An endowment fund was established by Sir Alfred Beit for the Foundation.
This fund has gradually been diminished as a result of capital expenditure
on restoration and conservation work, as well as annual maintenance.
- The income accruing from opening the house to the public has been
declining in recent years as the number of visitors has declined.
Russborough does not attract the number of repeat visitors that are
attracted to houses such as Powerscourt or Avondale largely because of
their extensive gardens.
- With the support of the Heritage Council, a conservation plan for
Russborough was prepared in 2001.
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- The trustees are aware that a business plan must be put into operation that
will attract more visitors to the house. They are not in a position to
disclose the details of this plan, but it would obviously involve the
installation of various attractions to entice more visitors to the house. Any
such business plan, however, would require financial support. The
implementation of a business plan must be delayed until the necessary
additional security measures have been completed.
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Shelton Abbey, Arklow, Co. Wicklow
Shelton Abbey is located near Arklow in County Wicklow. Originally the home of the
Howard family, it is now an open prison owned by the state and administered by the
Department of Justice:
- Shelton was built in 1770 by the Rt. Hon. Ralph Howard, later 1 st Viscount
Wicklow. Around 1819 it was transformed into a Gothic Revival abbey to
the design of Richard Morrison.
- The original fabric of the house has been greatly compromised by the fact
that since the late 1940s it has operated as a hotel, a school and now a
prison. Rooms have been divided; toilet and shower facilities have been
installed; modern kitchen facilities have been added.
- Likewise, the demesne has been spoiled by industrial development and the
stables and other outoffices have long since been demolished.
- No original contents have survived, with the exception of some fireplaces.
In the last year or so, the government has expended around €3 million on renovations
including the insulation of the roof, the installation of a new central heating system,
the insulation of walls, the restoration and replacing of windows, the replacement of
inside doors and the eradication of dry rot.
Obviously, this house’s present role prevents it being opened to the public. It will
continue as an open prison, at least for the foreseeable future.
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Slane Castle, Slane, County Meath.
Slane Castle is located on the outskirts of Slane village in County Meath. It is
presently run by Lord Henry Mount Charles whose family has been associated with
the area since 1701:
- Slane is a very large and very early Gothic Revival castle associated with
some of the most important architects of their time. It was begun in the
1780s to the design of James Wyatt and completed to the design of Francis
Johnson. Johnson was responsible for the design of the Gothic entrance
gates. There is evidence to suggest that James Gandon, Thomas Hopper,
‘Capability’ Brown and others may also have been consulted at various
times.
- It has been described by A.J. Rowan as ‘a building of exceptional quality,
and a particularly fine example of what might be called the ‘Classical’ type
of castle.’
- The magnificent entrance hall was designed by Wyatt and Jonhson.
- The original library at Slane was described as the first Gothic interior in a
neo-Gothic house or castle in Ireland.
- The neo-Gothic ballroom was designed by Thomas Hopper, a favoured
architect of King George IV.
- The road from Dublin to Slane was reputedly built for the visit of George
IV to Slane in the early 1820s.
- Slane’s association with rock concerts since the 1980s has arguably given
it a modern cultural importance far removed from its historical role as the
centre of a landed estate.
In 1991, extensive damage was caused to the castle by a fire, which completely gutted
the east wing. The present owner points out that at the time no state funding was made
available to aid its restoration.
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Lord Mount Charles also points out that the restoration project at Slane alerted him to
many hidden dangers that he had not been aware of. For example, there was rampant
dry rot in the castle. The main beams supporting the ballroom ceiling were completely
rotten where they went into the walls, but there was no visible evidence of the decay
on the outside. Secondly, major renovations that encounter structural engineering
problems are very expensive.
The restoration, carried out over a ten-year period, has been a major success.
Promotional literature for the castle now describes it, with some justification, as ‘a
combination of old charm and modern day comfort’. It is opened to the public for
tours and caters for conferences, banquets and so on.
Photograph courtesy Newsfile
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Stradbally Hall, Stradbally, Co. Laois
Stradbally Hall is located on the outskirts of the town of Stradbally, Co. Laois. It is
presently owned by Thomas Cosby whose family has been associated with Stradbally
since the late 17 th century.
- The present house, built in the early 1770s, replaced the original house of
the late-seventeenth century. Almost a century later, in the late 1860s, Sir
Charles Lanyon was employed to enlarge and remodel the house which he
did in his characteristic Italianate style.
- Its principal architectural feature is its rather unique gallery with its pink
marble Corinthian columns and elaborate barrel-vaulted ceiling.
- The estate archive which is in situ has recently been catalogued.
Stradbally House is located on a 550-acre estate, of which 300 is woodland. Of all the
other houses in the survey owned by the original families, it is probably the one in the
most advanced state of disrepair:
- The roof requires immediate attention. Gutters and chimney surrounds
need to be sealed.
- All of the rooms need urgent cosmetic attention particularly those on the
bedroom floor.
- Most of the contents of the house, including a valuable collection of
paintings, were sold in the 1980s, while some valuable contents were also
stolen when the house was burgled three times in four years.
Stradbally is not opened to the public (except for pre-booked tours and society
outings.) Therefore, it does not benefit from tax exemptions. One has to say that even
if it was opened, its advanced state of decay and the fact that is has been denuded of
most of its contents and virtually all of its paintings means that it probably would not
be attractive to the public.
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The present owner fears for the future of the house and the ability of the family to
retain it without some form of government assistance. The farm simply is not large
enough and profitable enough to maintain a house of its size. Other business ventures
are being contemplated such as the conversion of servants’ quarters to apartments, but
these will require a substantial injection of capital.
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Strokestown Park, Strokestown, Co. Roscommon.
Strokestown Park is located on the outskirts of Strokestown in Co. Roscommon.
Originally the home of the Mahon family, it is now owned by Westward Holdings
Ltd:
- Strokestown is a seventeenth-century Palladian mansion, regarded as one
of the finest of its type built in Ireland. Major remodelling of the original
house was carried out in the 1730s to the design of Richard Castle. It is
now the only surviving house of its type in Roscommon.
- Thomas Mahon, 2 nd Lord Hartland, was largely responsible for the
planning and development of Strokestown; its characteristic wide streets
were said to reflect his attempts to have a street wider than the Ringstrasse
in Vienna.
- The house remained in the Mahon family (later Pakenham Mahon) until
1979 when it was sold to its present owners. With financial assistance of
James Callary and under the guidance of Luke Dodd, the restoration of
Strokestown was amongst the largest privately funded restoration projects
in Ireland.
- The library, with its coved ceiling, has original early nineteenth-century
wallpaper and Chippendale bookcases.
- The original kitchen retains much of its historic integrity. Its balustraded
gallery is a major feature of Castle’s houses.
The house was opened to the public in 1987. The outoffices now house the National
Famine Museum that was opened in 1994. The restoration of the walled pleasure
gardens was completed in 1997 and that of the Georgian fruit and vegetable garden in
2000. The house and Famine museum projects have received substantial funding from
the EC, the Irish Georgian Society, Bord Failte, the Heritage Council and the Great
Gardens Restoration Scheme.
At its peak the house was attracting up to 70,000 visitors per annum. That number has
now declined to around 60,000 per annum.
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The house is a major source of local employment. There are twelve full-time and
thirteen part-time workers employed. The number of visitors attracted to the area has
obvious trade benefits for the town.
Despite the extensive restoration programme there still remains much to be done:
- There is evidence of subsidence at the front of the house. The Ionic portico
built around 1830 is showing signs of shifting.
- There is a dry rot problem in areas of the house, particularly the butler’s
pantry, the dark room and the gentleman’s study.
- The top floor and the basement as well as the kitchen yard and the
farmyard are in a serious state of dilapidation.
- All the windows need to be restored and some may have to be replaced.
The house and its surroundings must cover its own running costs. If there is a
continued downturn in the tourist market, this may not always be the case.
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Temple House, Ballymote, County Sligo
Temple House is located near Ballymote, County Sligo. It is owned by Alexander
Perceval whose family have been associated with the house since it was built in 1760:
- This is a very large (it has more than ninety rooms) two-storey Georgian
mansion. It overlooks Temple House Lake and is surrounded by 1,260
acres of farm and woodland.
- It is one of only four major houses surviving in County Sligo.
- In 1864, the house was redesigned by a London-based firm of architects
whose sister company, Johnson and Jeannes, made the furniture for the
rooms. Much of the original contents remain intact.
- The estate has recently been designated a European lichen conservation
area. The estate wet-woodlands and fenlands surrounding the lake have
been designated a Special Area of Conservation.
The house is now run as a guesthouse offering specialist accommodation. It is closed
in February and March to allow for necessary maintenance and restoration work. This
is the only viable alternative available to the family as the farm is not large enough to
support such a large house on its own:
- The house is, in fact, so large that the family cannot afford to use it all; at
the moment they work out of only 30 per cent of it. Sixteen bedrooms, for
example, are not in use. Obviously, this means that the remainder of the
house is in danger of decay.
- A serious dry rot problem in two wings was eradicated some years ago.
- The ongoing cost of renovations is a continuous burden. In 1998, the
family had intended to spend £8,000 on painting various rooms, but a
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hurricane that year meant that they had to spend £40,000 instead on
repairing damages to the house and coachyard.
- The present owners have restored one room a year since they took over in
1976. At this rate it will take almost a century to complete the work and, of
course, long before then, many of the restored rooms will be back to
square one. Thus, the problem becomes as much one of time as of money.
- Work has now been carried out on around 30 per cent of the rooms but the
owners state that completing the work is at present unaffordable and they
cannot afford to match euro for euro grants that may be available.
- Insurance costs continue to be a major problem.
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Townley Hall, Drogheda, Co. Louth
Townley Hall is located near Drogheda in County Louth. Originally the home of the
Balfour family it is now owned by the School of Philosophy and Economic Science:
- Townley Hall was completed c.1799 to the design of Francis Johnston. It
is acknowledged as his Classical masterpiece.
- The central rotunda, lit by a glazed dome, with its impressive cantilevered
staircase is the most impressive feature of this house.
In the 1950s, Townley was sold to Trinity College Dublin and used by the Agriculture
Science Department. Subsequently, changes were made that affected the original
fabric of the house:
- The four chimneystacks were removed below the slates. The house is now
centrally heated.
- The dining hall was converted into a laboratory (although it has
subsequently been restored by the present owners.)
- Other rooms were converted into offices, study areas and so on.
- Original floorboards were cut up to facilitate electrical wiring of the house.
Like most houses that were sold in the twentieth century, and which subsequently
changed their roles, Townley Hall has been denuded of its original contents.
Since the 1970s, the house has been owned by the School of Philosophy and
Economic Science. It is a registered educational charity. As in the past, the School
continues to maintain the house through the voluntary work of its members.
Major restorative work is ongoing at Townley Hall. For example, all of the sash
windows on the ground floor have been restored; the house is presently being rewired;
restoration work is being carried out on the central rotunda. These repairs have been
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financed by state grants and voluntary contributions. After this phase, much more will
still require to be done:
- At least half of the roof requires attention. The west roof is worst affected
and requires immediate attention including re-slating. The stones of the
west parapet require realignment. All of the lead gutters on the south
parapet and half of those on the east parapet need to be replaced with
copper ones. Work on the west roof, gutters and stone is scheduled to take
place in the summer/autumn of 2003.
- There are a number of masonry defects which require work, including
cracked stones in the portico. The work on these is also scheduled to take
place in the summer/autumn of 2003.
- Some of the ceilings on the upper floors require restoration or replacement.
- Apart from the ground floor windows, all the other windows in the house
(around sixty) need to be repaired or replaced. The shutters on the
windows require similar attention.
- There is a problem with rising damp in the basement which needs to be
eradicated.
- There are plans to rebuild the four chimneystacks and the kitchen wing at
the rear of the house.
The owners point out that part of the ethos of the School of Philosophy and Economic
Science is to plan for the long-term future and that Townley Hall is very much part of
that future.
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Tullynally Castle, Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath.
Tullynally Castle is located outside Castlepollard in County Westmeath. It is owned
by Thomas Pakenham whose family has owned the estate since the mid-seventeenth
century:
- It is one of only two great houses in County Westmeath still in the hands
of the descendants of the original owners, the other being Ballinlough.
- Tullynally is more extensive in area than any other Irish castellated house
in Ireland.
- The various phases of work at Tullynally Castle can be attributed to some
of the most important architects of their time. Tullynally was originally a
seventeenth-century two-storey house, partly designed by Graham Myers,
the architect of Trinity College Dublin. It was modified in the eighteenth
century and Gothicised in the early nineteenth century to the design of
Francis Johnson who gave the original house a battlemented parapet and
round corner turrets. In the 1820s the house was further enlarged, this time
through the design of James Shiel. Then in the late 1830s and early 1840s,
Sir Richard Morrison was employed to enlarge the castle once again. In
1860, J. Rawson Carroll designed the tower that was added to the corner of
the stable court.
- Its main architectural features include a magnificent two-storey hall; an
octagonal dining-room designed by James Shiel that has wallpaper
originally designed by A.C. Pugin for the British House of Lords; and a
very impressive library which houses an important collection of books.
- The castle contains an important collection of family portraits and Irish
Chippendale and Regency furniture.
- The library has been described as ‘possibly one of the best country house
libraries left in Ireland’.
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- The house was one of the first in the British Isles to be centrally heated
and the heating system was designed by Richard Lovell Edgeworth,
inventor and father of novelist, Maria Edgeworth.
- The gardens of Tullynally have been restored recently with the help of
grants under the Leader Scheme; they now attract up to 5,000 visitors per
annum.
Tullynally has remained in reasonably good condition. Its upkeep is presently funded
by the estate farm of around 1,000 acres; the leasing of ex-labourers’ cottages; the
leasing of parts of the house to seven families; and private income from other sources.
- In the recent past, huge sums of money have been expended on the roof
and other restoration projects, partly funded by the Heritage Council.
However, the roof still requires a good deal of work; in particular there is a
problem with old lead tanks used to collect water which have now become
permeable.
- Because heating costs are so high, the family live in only a small section of
the house that has its own ‘mini-heating system’. They only open the main
rooms in the summer or for special occasions.
- The owners argue that because the maintenance of the house is largely
dependent on the estate farm, any downturn in agriculture will have a
detrimental effect on their ability to continue.
- Insurance costs are a source of concern; the contents of the castle are not
insured to their full value.
- The owners worry that the next generation may not have the personal
motivation to keep Tullynally going. They recognise that to do so is very
much a personal choice.
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Tyrone House, Dublin
Tyrone House is located on Marlborough Street in Dublin. Originally built in 1740 for
Sir Marcus Beresford, it now houses the offices of the Department of Education and
Science. The Office of Public Works is responsible for its upkeep and maintenance:
- Tyrone House was designed by Richard Castle. It has been suggested that
this was Castle’s first ‘big house’ and the earliest important example of his
work to be built entirely in stone. In the mid-eighteenth century, it was
considered one of the most elegant private houses in the city.
- Much of the interior is of mahogany finish, including the whole of the
main staircase and the unusually wide-panelled wainscoting.
- Much of the interior plasterwork was carried out by the internationallyrenowned
Francini brothers.
- The main reception rooms on the first floor are characterised by beautiful
ceilings.
- As a whole, the large rooms, hall and staircase are thought to be amongst
the most impressive in Dublin.
Much of the original integrity of the house and its surroundings has been
compromised over the years. There was originally a five-acre garden at the rear of the
house, which has long since disappeared under development. The integrity of the
house itself has also been compromised by its conversion from a private residence to
what is effectively an office block. In the recent past, new toilets, tea stations, a lift
and an escape stairs serving Tyrone House were incorporated in a link to the rear of
the house.
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Very little work has been carried out on this house in recent years. Despite the fact
that it is state-owned, the necessary finances to carry out restoration work have not, it
seems, been made available until quite recently. It is now proposed to carry out
extensive renovations which will include repairs to the roof slating, valleys, parapets
and gutters; repairs to damaged and defective stones and pointing on the external
walls; refurbishment of windows and shutters; treatment of damp in the basement and
the restoration of plasterwork; the upgrading of the mechanical and electrical services.
The house will continue to function as government offices for the long-term.
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Westport House, County Mayo
Westport House is located on the outskirts of Westport town. It is owned by the
Browne family whose ancestors first built the house in the early-eighteenth century.
- Westport is the largest and probably the most important house surviving in
the west of Ireland. Indeed it is one of the very few houses of national
importance surviving in the west.
- It is the work of several architects, chief amongst these being Richard
Castle who designed the main block of the house in the early 1730s and
Cork-born architect Thomas Ivory who designed the enlargements to the
house in the late 1770s. In the 1780s, James Wyatt was employed to
redesign the interior of the house, while his son, Benjamin, was
responsible for some later renovations.
- The delicate Adam-style plasterwork in the dining room is regarded as
being among the best examples of Wyatt’s work. The room itself is
regarded as one of the finest of its type in Ireland.
- The entrance hall to Westport is significant for the fact that it is the only
surviving interior designed by Richard Castle that remains intact.
- The grand imperial staircase of Sicilian marble was designed by George
Wilkinson.
- The two columns standing on the south front of the house are replicas of
the original columns from the doorway of the Treasury of Atreus at
Mycenae which were brought back to Ireland in 1812 by the 2 nd marquis
of Sligo and later presented to the British museum by his descendant, the
6th marquis, in 1906.
- Much of the original contents of the house have survived intact. They
include portraits by Kneller, Reynolds, Coats and Hone; a collection of
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landscapes by James O’Connor of Westport as well as by Barrett, Wooten,
Chalon and Gibson; an impressive collection of Irish and Old English
silver and Waterford glass.
- The family archive has recently been purchased by the National Library of
Ireland.
The house is presently run by Lord Altamont as a family business. In the 1960s, it was
one of the first Irish houses to be opened to the public. Since then the walled garden
has been converted into an animal and bird park, while the outbuildings have been
converted into a bar, restaurant, children’s play centre and shops. Such developments
on this important demesne may not be to the purists’ taste but arguably they have
been necessary in order to keep the house going. Since the 1960s, over three million
people have visited the house and gardens. Today it employs up to 100 people during
the summer months and it is generally accepted that the publicity which Westport
House has received down through the years has contributed greatly to the growth of
tourism in the area and consequently the growth of the local economy.
The house is now in relatively good condition. In the last number of years major work
has been carried out on such projects as the rewiring of the house and the replacement
of most of the windows, both partly funded by the Heritage Council. The roof requires
attention and funding for the same is currently being sought.
The owners claim that the survival of this house is very much dependent upon the
tourist market. They also regard insurance premiums and the uncertainty of the
insurance market in Ireland as the most serious problem facing Westport and, indeed,
all historic houses open to the public in Ireland. Lord Altamont has, on more than one
occasion, claimed that the escalating costs of insurance (public liability increased by
61 per cent in 2002) could cause him to close the house.
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