durrow abbey co. offaly conservation plan - Offaly County Council

and a prolific growth of common reed. Within the
Island is St. Columcille’s Well.
The approach to the Island is via a mostly grasscovered
tarmac footpath leading from St. Columba’s
church. A gate and rudimentary signage has recently
been installed. The landscape at the causeway onto
the island is unkempt, littered with deadwood and
the path flooded.
Esker Riada
A roughly two kilometre stretch of Esker Riada,
the largest esker in Ireland, forms the nor thern
boundary of the demesne. With the establishment
of the demesne landscape the Esker was planted
as boundary woodland, the dominant species being
beech as well as sycamore, crab apple and oak.
Known as the High Wood, its steep sides rising
above the low-lying parkland and agricultural fields
adjacent to the south contribute greatly to the
enclosure and sense of remoteness experienced
within the demesne.
The Spiritual / Monastic Compartment
This area consists of St Columba’s Church and
Graveyard, St Columcille’s Island and Well including
the causeway and the adjacent woods and fen.
This area represents the origins and spiritual
associations of the site.
Access Compar tment
This area consists of the gate entrance off the N52
including the road, the gate lodge and surrounding
woodland and the avenue leading into the
demesne.
As the primary public access point to the demesne
this is primarily a functional area. Its future
management and development will have to facilitate
improved access to the monuments, and possibly
to the broader demesne landscape, without undue
impact to its component par ts.
CHARACTER AREAS
The Domestic Compar tment
This area consists of Durrow Abbey house, the
domestic landscape, the farm buildings, the walled
garden and motte.
The man made features form a distinctive grouping
created for a definite and integrated purpose
with the main house forming a focal point for the
surrounding landscape. The most modern features
– the house, outbuildings and farm buildings – and
the older walled garden would have been the focus
of life and activity for the demesne.
The Motte is a much older feature within this
compar tment and is included purely as an accident
of geography. In terms of the gardens and environs
of the house it creates an oppor tunity to create
another more ancient focal point (a microcosm of
the landscape layers) as well as a viewing point for
the wider landscape and features.
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