IDS Central Ireland Tour 2022 - Itinerary

IDS Central Ireland Tour 2022

International Dendrology Society 

IDS CENTRAL IRELAND TOUR 2022 

With Tours Committee and Council Meetings 

Followed by 

IDS Celebrations: 

The 70th Anniversary of the 

IDS at Birr Castle 

Tour Organiser • Anke Mattern, Germany 

ITINERARY 

— PRE TOUR — 

Thursday, 13.10. till Wednesday, 19.10.2022

Thursday 

13. October 

2022 

Curvilinear range of glasshouses at National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin 

© Anke Mattern 

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Thursday 

13. October 


THURSDAY, 13. OCTOBER 2022 

— 

INTRODUCTION THE NATIONAL 

BOTANIC GARDENS OF IRELAND 

The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland comprises two gardens, one in 

Dublin, the National Botanic Gardens Glasnevin, on alkaline soils, and the 

other some 76 km to the south, in County Wicklow, the National Botanic 

Gardens Kilmacurragh on acidic soils. The National Botanic Gardens of 

Ireland has also had responsibility since 1913 for the 252 hectare John F. 

Kennedy Arboretum, in County Wexford. 

THE NATIONAL BOTANIC 

GARDENS GLASNEVIN, DUBLIN 

In 1790, the Irish Parliament granted funds to the Dublin Society (now the 

Royal Dublin Society), to establish a public botanic garden, and in 1795, 

the Gardens were founded on lands at Glasnevin, then on the outskirts of 

Dublin. The original purpose of the Gardens was to promote a scientific 

approach to the study of agriculture. 

By the 1830s, the original agricultural purpose of the Gardens had been 

overtaken by the pursuit of botanical knowledge. This was facilitated by the 

arrival of plants from around the world and by closer contact with the great 

IDS Central Ireland Tour 2022 

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gardens in Britain, notably Kew and Edinburgh, and plant importers such 

as Messrs. Veitch. By 1838, Ninian Niven as Curator had, in four years, laid 

out the system of roads and paths, and located many of the garden features 

that are present today. The Botanic Gardens came into state care in 1878, 

and today it is administered by the Office of Public Works (OPW). 

The ever increasing plant collection, and especially plants from tropical areas, 

demanded more and more protected growing conditions and it was left 

to Niven’s successor, David Moore, to develop the glasshouse accommodation. 

Richard Turner the great Dublin iron-master, had already supplied an 

iron house to Belfast Gardens, and he persuaded the Royal Dublin Society 

that such a house would be a better investment than a wooden house. So 

indeed it has proved. 

Richard Turner (1798–1881), born in Dublin, was an Irish iron founder 

and manufacturer of glasshouses. He is rated as one of the most important 

glasshouse designers of his time. His works included the Palm House at 

Kew, (with Decimus Burton), and the Palm House at Belfast Botanic Gardens. 

Primary amongst these was the Curvilinear Range of glasshouses at 

Glasnevin, the magnificent restoration of which was completed for the bicentenary 

of the Garden in 1995. This and the Turner Great Palm House, 

built in 1862, are both recipients of the Europa Nostra Award for excellence 

in conservation architecture. 

David Moore’s contribution to the Gardens, to its plant collections and to its 

reputation nationally and internationally is unsurpassed. His interests and 

abilities were wide ranging; he had studied the flora of counties Antrim and 

Derry, fungi, algae, lichens, bryophytes, ferns and flowering plants, before 

taking up his post at Glasnevin. While at Glasnevin he developed links with 

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Augustine Henry (1857, Dundee – 1930, Dublin), plant collector, 

physician, and forester. © National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin 


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Specimens from the National Herbarium, Glasnevin 


Botanic Gardens in Britain, in Europe and in Australia (his brother Charles 

became Director at Sydney). Moore used the great interest in plants that existed 

among the estate owners and owners of large gardens in Ireland to expand 

trial grounds for rare plants not expected to thrive at Glasnevin. The 

collections at Kilmacurragh, Headford, and Fota, for example, attest to this. 

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David Moore was succeeded by his son Frederick, who was made Curator 

at the age of twenty-two. Some of the gardening establishment figures of the 

day were sceptical that such a young man would be up to the job. Frederick 

Moore soon justified his appointment and went on to establish Glasnevin 

as one of the great gardens of the world. In due course he was knighted for 

his services to horticulture. 

A new purpose-built herbarium/library was opened in 1997, which houses 

the Augustine Henry Collection, which is of particular importance, representing 

the raw material upon which much of Henry and Elwes’ classic 

Trees of Great Britain and Ireland was based. It comprises ca. 9,000 specimens, 

and has been catalogued. 

The plant collections hold over 15,000 plant species and cultivars, from a variety 

of habitats from all around the world. Within the living collections at 

the National Botanic Gardens are over 300 endangered species from around 

the world, and six species already extinct in the wild. The soil at Glasnevin 

is strongly alkaline, whereas the soil at its sister garden at Kilmacurragh is 

acidic, enabling the a wide diversity of plants to be cultivated across the two 

sites. 


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14. October 


FRIDAY, 14. OCTOBER 2022 

— 

MOUNT CONGREVE 

COUNTY WATERFORD 

The great white mansion of Mount Congreve was the home of the Congreve 

family from when it was built in 1760, until the death of Mr. Ambrose Congreve 

in 2010. 

Ambrose Congreve, whom some members of the IDS tour of the South of 

Ireland in 2010 had the pleasure of meeting, was then aged 103; he was to 

die the following year, aged 104, on his way to the Chelsea Flower Show, in 

London. By virtue of an earlier agreement with the Irish Government, the 

estate was gifted to Ireland following his death, and is now in the care of 

Waterford County Council. 

Before the Second World War one of Mr. Congreve’s aunts, the Countess 

of Besssborough, was a great friend of Lionel Rothschild, whose garden at 

Exbury, in Hampshire, England is one of the great rhododendron gardens 

of the world. The sites of Exbury and Mount Congreve are very similar in 

that they both consist of thickly wooded hills sloping down to a river. Lionel 

Rothschild send lorry loads of rhododendrons to Ambrose Congreve, 

igniting a lifetimes passion, and which form the basis of the garden which 

we see today. 


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Mount Congreve has been designated a ‘great garden of the world.’ The 

gardens consist of 70 acres (28 hectares) of intensely planted north-facing 

woodland and a four acre (1.6 hectares) walled garden. The collection 

consists of over 3,000 different trees and shrubs, more than 1,500 rhododendrons, 

690 camellias, 300 Acer cultivars, 600 conifers, 250 climbers and 

1500 plants, plus many more tender plants. 

Arriving at the house the visitor has little impression of these great gardens. 

But, as a hint of what might lie in store, Mr. Congreve planted groups of 

purple leaved Norway maples, Acer platanoides ‘Faassen’s Black’ on the approach 

to the house. 

The visit by the IDS this year coincides with the reopening of Mount Congreve 

gardens following a major programme of works, which involved 

the development and restoration of the estate, led by Waterford Council, 

in partnership with Fáilte Ireland, the Irish Tourist Board. The funding of 

€3,726,000 has ensured Mount Congreve will remain a world-class garden 

and tourism destination, for the casual visitor as well as experts. 

In designing the garden layout Ambrose Congreve believed that “woodland 

gardens should not have all secrets exposed from one or two vantage 

points”. Thus, today it is easy to lose one’s way through the now mature 

plantings of the great collections of rhododendrons, camellias, and magnolias, 

all of which are at their most floriferous in springtime. However, for the 

visitor in October, the autumn colours, and the extensive collection of trees 

and shrubs provide much to satisfy the eye and interest. 

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Planted originally in groups of often up to five trees, conifers were intended 

to give structure to the garden. Mature specimens include the Incense cedar, 

Librocedrus decurrens; the Japanese umbrella pine, Schiadopitys verticillata; 

Wisselii Lawson cypress; Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Wisselii’; the smooth 

Arizona cypress, Cupressus arizonica var. glabra; and the blue wellingtonia, 

Sequoiadendron giganteum glauca rise through the oaks and other trees 

original to the site. 

For the dendrologist, there are many rare trees to catch the eye. Neolitsea 

sericea, Native of Japan, Korea (Cheju Do Island), and China Flowers produced 

in autumn in axillary clusters. This is an aromatic evergreen with 

remarkable young foliage, very uncommon but apparently hardy. Another 

is Meliosma oldhamii, named after Richard Oldham, the last plant-hunter 

to be employed full-time by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, who first saw 

this tree in Korea in 1863. Hundreds of varieties of Acer, should be at their 

autumn best in October. 

Some interesting new recent additions to look out for include Quercus 

lamellosa, Magnolia sinica, Zelkova sicula, Celtis tetandra, Mahonia moranii, 

Disanthus ovalifolius,Quercus x libanocerris, Magnolia martinii, Magnolia 

sphaerantha, Magnolia kobus ‘Pseudokobus’. 

Other extensive collections include those of Aesculus, Betula, Cornus, Eucalyptus, 

Eucryphia, Fagus, Hydrangea, Ilex, Quercus, Viburnum and many 

others. 


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CHAMPION TREES – MOUNT CONGREVE 

— Powlonia tomentosa, Irish Height Champion 

— Magnolia doltsopa; Sweet or Temple Magnolia: 

syn. Michelia doltsopa Irish Height & Girth Champion 

— Cupressus macrocarpa, Monterey Cypress: 

Height 32m Girth 6.46 in 1907. 

Planted in 1907 by Princess Marie-Louise on the occasion 

of the baptism of Ambrose Congreve. 

— Magnolia sargentiana var. robusta, Sargent’s Magnolia. 

This magnolia is a cultivar that originated here. 

Planted 1969. 

— Magnolia macrophylla, Large-leafed Cucumber Tree: 

Irish Height & Girth Champion 

— Photinia glabra, Japanese photinia: 15 x 31 (in 2002) 

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LISMORE CASTLE 


King John originally built Lismore Castle in 1185, although now predominately 

early c17 and c19, but incorporating some of the towers of the medieval 

castle, of the Bishops of Lismore, which took the place of the original 

castle. The first Protestant Bishop granted the castle and its lands to Sir 

Walter Raleigh, in 1589, but in 1602 he sold all his Irish estates to Richard 

Boyle, who afterwards became the 1 st Earl of Cork, becoming known as 

the “Great” Earl of Cork. Boyle had arrived in Ireland as a penniless young 

Lismore Castle Demesne © Anke Mattern 


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man, becoming one of the richest and most powerful nobles in the kingdom. 

From about 1610 onwards, he commenced rebuilding Lismore Castle. 

Earl of the County of Cork, usually shortened to Earl of Cork, is a title in 

the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1620 for Richard Boyle, ancestor 

of IDS Council member, Jonathan the 15th Earl of Cork and Orrery. The 

4th Earl of Cork, and 3rd Earl of Burlington, usually known as Lord Burlington, 

was the famous architect who published Andrea Palladio’s designs 

of Ancient Roman architecture and designed Chiswick House with William 

Kent. He had no sons, and on his death in 1753, he was succeeded in 

the Burlington estates and in the barony of Clifford by his eldest surviving 

daughter Charlotte Elizabeth Boyle, 6th Baroness Clifford. She married 

William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, in 1753. And that, as they say, 

is how the estates came into the ownership of the Cavendish family, Dukes 

of Devonshire. 

Among the building works of the 1 st Earl of Cork, were the massive garden 

walls, so thick that they could act as fortifications. Within these walls, the 

gardens, which were laid out from around 1605, are said to be the oldest 

continually cultivated gardens in Ireland. They offer spectacular views of 

both Lismore Castle and the surrounding countryside of the Blackwater 

valley. These historic gardens contain a fine collection of magnolias, including 

the magnificent Magnolia delavayi against the wall of the castle, 

camellias, rhododendrons, and other fine shrubs, as well as the herbaceous 

borders in the Upper Garden; overall, the gardens comprise seven acres, 

(2.88 hectares). 

Although the planting has changed to fit the tastes of subsequent owners, 

the walls and terraces of the Upper Garden remain as they were when commissioned 

by 1 st Earl of Cork. 

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It was the 6th Duke Devonshire, known as the Bachelor Duke in the 19th 

century, with help from his friend and architect Joseph Paxton (the visionary 

who designed Crystal Place, in London), who created the castle and Lower 

or ‘Pleasure’ gardens that you see today. Paxton’s newly restored greenhouse 

is of particular interest. The more relaxed surroundings of the Lower gardens 

also hold the Yew Tree Walk, where Edmund Spenser is said to have 

written ‘The Faerie Queen’ in a round 1590; the stately yews are much older 

than the garden itself. At the end of the last century the Devonshire family 

introduced sculpture into the gardens that subsequent generations have 

added to, culminating in 2005 with the renovation of the west wing of the 

castle into a contemporary gallery, Lismore Castle Arts. 

In April 2014 the Castle and Gardens were awarded an Eco-Merit, an award 

that recognizes the castle team’s environmental policy and improvement 

plan, a system of performance monitoring and pollution prevention. 

CHAMPION TREES – LISMORE CASTLE 

— Abies alba, Silver Fir: Irish Height Champion 

— Acer rubrum, Red Maple: 


— Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood: 

Irish Girth Champion 

— Magnolia delavayi, Chinese Evergreen Magnolia: 

Irish Height Champion; 2nd greatest girthed of its kind in Ireland 


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Treefarns at Derreen Gardens © Anke Mattern 

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SATURDAY 15. OCTOBER 2022 

— 

DERREEN GARDENS 

COUNTY KERRY 

Derreen Grdens stand as testimony to the extreme determination and foresight 

of one man, the fifth Marquis of Lansdowne (1845-1927), who inherited 

the demesne as a very young man in 1866. 

The extensive lands in County Kerry including Derreen, came into the possession 

of the Petty-Fitzmaurice family when Anne, the daughter of Sir William 

Petty (1623–1687), who had inherited her father’s landholdings, married 

Thomas Fitzmaurice, 1 st Earl of Kerry. Petty had been sent to Ireland to 

survey all the land in Ireland, on the orders of Oliver Cromwell; a polymath, 

he had studied medicine at the Universities of Leiden, Paris, and Oxford. He 

was successively a physician, a professor of anatomy at Oxford, a professor 

of music in London, inventor, surveyor and landowner in Ireland, and a 

member of Parliament. 

The gardens, which extend to 24.28 hectares (60 acres), lie on a bare rocky 

promontory in the Bay, near Kenmare in County Kerry. Protected from 

the worst of the elements by the mountain of Knockatee (330m) at their 

rear and, on the other side of the bay, by a majestic-looking range of barren 

hills that stretches down the Beara Peninsula, it is amazing that these 

gardens were ever planted at all, given that their rocky wilderness location 


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offered little top soil or shelter. The 4th Marquis of Lansdowne had initiated 

the planting of the area in 1863, but it was the 5th Marquis who really 

became fascinated by Derreen and began planting in 1870. He understood 

the potential of the soft Kerry climate, which suffers few frosts and has 2m 

(80in) of rainfall a year. In addition, he took advantage of the amazing array 

of plants and seeds that intrepid explorers and professional plant hunters 

were bringing to Ireland from all over the world. Dr Augustine Henry, from 

County Derry, had opened the treasure chest of China’s wild flora while he 

served there as a customs official. 

The 5th Marquis used to stay at Derreen with his wife for three months 

of every year from 1870 to the 1920s, except during the period between 

1883 and 1894, when he was only able to snatch a few weeks between his 

postings, first to Canada as Governor General, and then to India as Viceroy. 

Over the years, the gardens took shape, following his carefully laidout 

plans. The original scrub of hollies and brambles which covered the 

land was replaced with European black pines (Pinus nigra) and Monterey 

pines (P. radiata), as well as groups of Griselinia, which are now 10m. (35ft) 

high. Along the shoreline a belt of holm oak (Quercus ilex) and groups of 

the New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax), interspersed with Olearia albida 

and Pittosporum tenuifolium, were planted to shelter the rest of the gardens 

from the sea. Then the top soil was brought in. The huge drainage system, 

which criss-crosses the garden, was installed, providing essential drainage 

tor the many rhododendron plants that were introduced in 1875. The 5th 

Marquis planted 100 Rhododendron arboreum hybrids, but before long they 

had grown to such a size that they were cutting off all light and air from the 

narrow walks. The decision was taken to cut most of them down. Today just 

few specimens remain, all well over 18m. (60ft). 

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It is said that the fifth Marquis employed 40 people to create the garden. 

While in India, he was ideally positioned to bring back rare species from 

the East. He also bought many exotic plants from the famous nursery firm 

of Veitch, and also from Waterer’s nurseries at Sunningdale in Berkshire, 

England. In the true tradition of the Irish gardener, William Robinson, the 

naturalization of hardy and exotic plants from other countries was such a 

success that these original plants have spread into large groups of tree ferns, 

myrtles and several species of Gaultheria. The Chilean lantern trees (Crinodendron 

hookerianum) and Chilean fire-bushes (Embothrium coccineum) 

do as well here as in their native habitat, as do the tall acacias from Australia. 

The Eucalyptus globulus were planted at ·Derreen as early as 1870 

and are among the largest recorded in cultivation. Drimys winteri, Clethra 

alnifolia, Myrtus luma and M. lechleriana, as well as the tree ferns (Dicksonia 

antarctica) all flourish in this warm climate and mountain setting. 

There is a published record of the early planting in the form of a catalogue, 

and, in some ways, Derreen was a trial ground (like the nearby garden of 

Rossdohan, on the opposite bank of the Kenmare River, for plants from 

Australia and New Zealand. The astonishingly fast rate of growth of many 

of the species meant that the· 5th Marquis was able to see them mature in 

his own lifetime. 

The estate was inherited by Viscountess Mersey, a granddaughter of the 5th 

Marquis, who was a keen gardener, subsequently being inherited by her 

son and daughter-in-law, David and Anthea Bigham, keen I.D.S. members. 

In turn, they have transferred the running of the estate to their son and 

his wife. Recently, Derreen has been undergoing the biggest planting programme 

for a hundred years, adding to the existing collection of rare and 

exotic trees and shrubs with new plants, some only recently introduced to 

the country. 


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© Dawros Gallery Garden, Charlotte Verbeek 

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DAWROS GALLERY GARDEN 

COUNTY KERRY 

Tucked away in a valley halfway up a mountain, Dawros Gallery & Garden 

is set in native woodland beside the Dromoughty waterfall. 

Charlotte and Andrew have developed the 5 acre garden over 30 years 

working with the elements of the setting. The naturalistic areas around the 

house transition into woodland gardens, fernery, bog with wildlife ponds 

and orchard. 

It all started with planting trees, providing the backdrop for Rhododendrons 

and other acid loving shrubs underplanted with perennials and bulbs. 

The creation of the garden, painting, jewellery and sculpture are closely 

intertwined through composition,colour and form. 



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Killarney National Park © Anke Mattern 

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SUNDAY 16. OCTOBER 2022 

— 

KILLARNEY NATIONAL PARK 

COUNTY KERRY 

South and west of the town of Killarney in Co. Kerry is an expanse of rugged 

mountainous country. This includes the McGillycuddy’s Reeks, the highest 

mountain range in Ireland, which rise to a height of over 1000 metres. At 

the foot of these mountains nestle the world famous lakes of Killarney. Here 

where the mountains sweep down to the lake shores, their lower slopes covered 

in woodlands, lies the 10,236 hectare (26,000 acres), Killarney National 

Park. 

The nucleus of the National Park is the 4,300 hectare Bourn Vincent Memorial 

Park which was presented to the Irish State in 1932 by Senator Arthur 

Vincent and his parents-in-law, Mr and Mrs William Bowers Bourn in 

memory of Senator Vincent’s late wife Maud. 

The focal point of the National Park for visitors is Muckross House and 

Gardens. The house, a mid-19th century mansion featuring all the necessary 

furnishings and artefacts of the period is jointly managed by the Park 

Authorities and the Trustees of Muckross House. 

Killarney National Park contains many features of national and international 

importance such as the native oak woods and yew woods, together with 


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an abundance of evergreen trees and shrubs and a profusion of bryophytes 

and lichens which thrive in the mild Killarney climate. The native red deer 

are unique in Ireland with a presence in the country since the last Ice Age. 

Killarney National Park was designated as a Biosphere Reserve in 1981 by 

the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UN- 

ESCO), part of a world network of natural areas which have conservation, 

research, education and training as major objectives. 

DHU VARREN GARDEN 

COUNTY KERRY 

We started our garden in the year 2000 when we purchased an old farmhouse 

with approximately two acres of ground. There was no garden existing 

at that time. The south facing sheltered location, mild coastal climate 

and abundant rainfall made it a good location to create one. It is named Dhu 

Varren after the area in Portrush, County Antrim, where Mark was born. 

Mount Stewart Gardens in Northern Ireland has always been Mark’s inspiration. 

Over the last two decades we have travelled far and wide around the 

world looking at plants and gardens. Dhu Varren Garden is a collection of 

rare and unusual, often seldom seen, plants. Glasshouses have been added 

to broaden the range of plants we can grow and display. The planting and 

refining of the garden continue to this day. Retirement from our “day jobs” 

approaches which means we will have more time to polish and refine it. 

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Here are some of the countless plants that we now grow in the garden. 

Woody plants form the backbone of the garden interspersed with many 

other plant types. 

In no particular order here is a flavour of some of the woody plants that we 

grow. There are many more…! 

Telopea speciosissima flowering in Dhu Varren Garden 

© Dhu Varren Garden 


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TREE LIST DHU VARREN GARDEN: 

— Populus glauca 

— Neolitsea sericea 

— Heptacodium miconioides 

— Tapiscia sinensis 

— Arbutus Marina 

— Arbutus xalapensis 

— Arbutus x andrachnoides 

— Metrosideros umbellata 

— Metrosideros robusta 

— Cinnamomum camphora 

— Dacrydium cuppressinum 

— Nothofagus moorei 

— Magnolia sapiensis 

— Magnolia insignis 

— Magnolia rostrata 

— Cunninghamii lanceolata 

— Cunninghamii konishii 

— Phyllocladus trichomanoides 

— Phyllocladus alpina 

— Arthrotaxus cupressoides 

— Athrotaxus selaginoides 

— Mallotus japonicus 

— Eriobotrya deflexa 

— Podocarpus lawrencei 

— Brassaiopsis hispida 

— Brassiopsis mitis 

— Brassaiopsis bodinieri 

— Brassaiopsis hainla 

— Itoa orientalis 

— Aesculus chinensis 

— Aesculus wangii 

— Eucryphia moorei 

— Anopterus glandulosum 

— Carmichaelia odorata. 

— Nothaphoebe cavaleriei 

— Phoebe sheareri 

— Quercus lamellosa 

— Lithocarpus edulis 

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MUKROSS HOUSE ARBORETUM 

COUNTY KERRY 

Muckross Gardens adjoin Muckross House and are mainly informal in 

style. They date back to the mid-19th century when extensive landscaping 

was carried out by the Herbert family in preparation for the visit of Britain’s 

Queen Victoria in 1861. The house, designed by well-known Scottish architect, 

William Burn, was built between 1839 and 1843.Throughout their tenure 

at Muckross, lasting some 200 years, the Herberts played a very active 

role in social and political life and in the development and improvement of 

the Muckross Estate. 

However, due to financial problems, in 1899 the family was forced to sell the 

house and its demesne lands, the buyer being Lord Ardilaun, a member of 

the Guinness family. Lord Ardilaun sold the property in 1911 to a Californian, 

Mr William Bowers Bourn, who gave it to his daughter Maud, on her 

marriage to Mr Arthur Rose Vincent, later donating it to the Irish State, in 

her memory. 

Dicksonia sp. © Anke Mattern 


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Sequoiadendron giganteum © Anke Mattern 

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The gardens extend to an arboretum, with many southern hemisphere trees. 

Here, and in the wider demesne are many mature trees dating from the 19th 

and early 20th centuries. 

— Cupressus macrocarpa, Monterey cypress, 

14th greatest girthed tree in Ireland. 

— Sequoiadendron giganteum, 

Giant Redwood, standing 35m tall. 

— Pinus radiata, Monterey Pine, 

Irish Height Champion, situated on Queen’s Drive. 

— Pterocarya fraxinifolia, Caucasian Wingnut, 

2nd greatest girthed of its kind in Ireland. 

— Pseudotsuga menziesii, Douglas Fir, 

equal 13th tallest tree in Ireland. 

— Dicksonia antarctica, Soft Tree Fern, Irish Height Champion, 2nd 

greatest girthed of its kind in Ireland. 

— Reenadinna Yew Wood 

Reenadinna Woods, or the Mossy Woods as they are also known, is the 

largest area of yew woodland in Western Europe. It is a Special Area of 

Conservation and trees within it are estimated to be between 200 and 250 

years old The woods are about 25 hectares (62 acres) in size and is located 

on low-lying karst limestone pavement between Muckross Lake and Lough 

Leane on the Muckross Peninsula. It is estimated that the wood developed 

around 3,000-5,000 years ago. Also, these woods are home to an Alder, 

Alnus glutinosa, which is the Irish Height Champion. 


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BALLMALOE 

COUNTRY HOUSE HOTEL 

SHANAGARRY, COUNTY CORK 

The name of Ballymaloe is synonymous with that of Myrtle Allen, indeed, 

since 1947 when Ivan and Myrtle Allen purchased the house and its surrounding 

farmland, Ballymaloe it has been inextricably associated with 

the Allen family. Myrtle Allen was the first Irish woman to be awarded a 

Michelin star, she died in 2018 at the age of 94. She never saw herself as a 

celebrity, despite putting Ireland on the culinary map in the 1960s, opening 

the restaurant in the house in 1964, and with her pioneering TV shows and 

her seminal publication, The Ballymaloe Cookbook (1984). 

While Myrtle was undoubtedly the matriarch, the hotel and world-famous 

cookery school, (founded in 1983 by Darina Allen and her brother Rory 

O’Connell), remain very much a family business, run by her two famous inlaws: 

Darina Allen, who is married to Myrtle’s son Tim, and Rachel Allen, 

who is married to Darina’s son, Isaac. Both women may be major figures in 

Irish cooking, but there is no debate about whom they see as the original of 

the species. 

The history of Ballymaloe goes back several centuries, to the castle built 

towards the end of the 16th century, by the FitzGeralds of Imokilly, which 

was enlarged in 1602 by Sir John FitzEdmund FitzGerald. It was confiscated 

by Cromwell, then occupied for a time by William Penn, of Pennsylvania, 

when he was managing his father’s estate near Shanagarry, nearby. 

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© Ballmaloe Country House Hotel 

The estate passed to Lord Broghill, Roger Boyle, son of the Earl of Cork; 

He had been created Baron of Broghill in the Peerage of Ireland on 28 February 

1628, a few months before his 7th birthday! Broghill had a highly 

interesting career, to say the least, ably transferring his loyalties between 

the monarchy and the opposing parliamentarians, fighting first for King 

against the Irish rebels in 1641, and then becoming a close friend of Oliver 

Cromwell, to whom he provided invaluable assistance during his conquest 

of Ireland. Following Cromwell’s death he returned to Ireland helping to secure 

the island for Charles II. On September 1660 he was created 1 st Earl of 

Orrery. Eight years later he was impeached by the House of Commons for 

“raising money on his own authority upon his majesty’s subjects”; luckily 

for him parliament was prorogued and the matter went no further. In 1672 

he moved to his last home at Castle Martyr, and was rewarded In 1673 with 

appointment as Custos Rotulorum of County Limerick, which position he 

held until his death. 


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Sunday, 

16. October 


The gardens around Ballymaloe are there to enjoy, to wander around, perhaps 

with a glass of something in the hand. The internationally renowned 

Ballymaloe Cookery School, run by Darina Allen, with its extensive gardens, 

is located two miles from Ballymaloe House. 

BALLYMALOE 

FROM BALLYMALOE 

Ballymaloe House stands on the site of a 14 th century Norman Castle. The 

house, as we know it today, was built onto the castle turret om the 17 th 

century. Myrtle and Ivan Allen bought the house and surrounding farm 

when they married in 1948. The young couple brought up their 6 children 

at Ballymaloe and Myrtle taught herself to cook with the seasonal produce 

her husband was farming. The family and small army of farm labourers 

needed feeding. 

Due to a necessity to supplement their farming income and Myrtle’s obvious 

talent for producing delicious, simply prepared seasonal meals, they 

opened their family dining room ‘The Yeats Room’ to the public in 1964 

with a small advertisement in a local newspaper ‘Dine in a Country House’. 

Myrtle’s passion and talent for making the very best use of homegrown and 

local produce expanded her curiosity in the culinary arts and transformed 

her from a farmers wife to Ireland’s first female Michelin Star chef in 1975. 

34 


Sunday, 

16. October 


Using the very best local and seasonal ingredients is still at the centre of 

every meal served at Ballymaloe House. Supporting local artisan producers 

and growing as much of our own produce onsite remains fundamental to 

Ballymaloe House’s food philosophy. 

The Allen family still own Ballymaloe House and several generations of Allen’s 

still work in the business. The house is only 35km from Cork city and 

airport, and 4km from the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School and stunning 

Irish coast. 

Ballymaloe House is world renowned as Ireland’s Original Country House 

Hotel. Visitors are encouraged to arrive as a guest, depart as a friend and 

return as family. Follow the hashtag #whenatballymaloe to find out more 

about Ballymaloe House and things to enjoy in the area too. 



35

Monday, 

17. October 


Fota Island Arboretum © Anke Mattern 

36 


Monday, 

17. October 


MONDAY, 17. OCTOBER 2022 

— 

FOTA ISLAND 

CORK HARBOUR, COUNTY CORK 

The entire island of Fota was once the demesne of the Smith-Barry family, 

Earls of Barrymore. In about 1820 the Hon. John Smith-Barry commissioned 

the architect Sir Richard Morrison to enlarge the original house, to 

become a wide-spreading Regency mansion, to which was added a single 

storey wing in 1856. 

Fota House and its grounds occupy a sheltered wooded island in Cork Harbour 

and benefit from an extremely benign microclimate, ideal for a great 

diversity of rare and tender perennial plants, trees and shrubs. The estate 

has long been renowned for the expertise of the Smith-Barrys and their 

gardeners, and this standard has been maintained by the Office of Public 

Works, (OPW) in recent years. 

In the mid-1800s formal gardens were laid out by Mr J.H. Smith-Barry, with 

lawns and hedges, wrought-iron gates and rusticated piers, a temple and 

orangery. He also began to plant the arboretum, which is now world-renowned. 

The planting was continued by his son, Lord Barrymore, and by 

his son-in-law and daughter, Major and Hon. Mrs Bell, until the sale of Fota 

in 1975. 


37

Monday, 

17. October 


Today, the estate is much reduced, cared for by the Office of Public Works, 

with the Irish Heritage Trust, an independent charity, having taken responsibility 

for Fota House & the formal gardens in 2007. Fota House has been 

brought to life by the committed and engaged staff and volunteers. In 2015 

their very special work was acknowledged with a European Union Prize 

for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra award in recognition of the Frameyard, 

‘as an example of practical public volunteer involvement in a heritage 

project.’ In 2016 Fota House achieved full museum accreditation from the 

Heritage Council under their Museum Standards Programme. 

The arboretum and surrounding grounds are maintained to a very high 

standard by the OPW and their gardening team. Fota arboretum is home to 

many long-established trees, including the following exceptional examples. 

— Sequoia sempervirens, Coast Redwood: equal Irish Height Champion 

— Pinus nigra var. caramanica, Crimean Pine: 

— Abies recurvata, Min Fir; 2nd tallest of its kind in Ireland: Irish Girth 

Champion 

— Torreya californica, California Nutmeg: Irish Girth Champion 

— Pinus armandii, Armand’s Pine: 2nd greatest girthed of its kind in 

Ireland 

— Cupressus lusitanica, Mexican Cypress: 

— Abies grandis, Grand Fir: 2nd greatest girthed of its kind in Ireland 

— Phoenix canariensis, Canary Palm: One of only two Canary date 

palms known in Ireland. 

— Cinnamomum camphora, Camphor Tree: Very rare and tender tree. 

— Quercus ilex, Holm Oak: This exceptional tree is possibly the oldest 

tree in the arboretum. 

— Cryptomaria japonica ‘Spiralis’, Japanese Red Cedar: An arboricultural 

curiosity. 

38 


Monday, 

17. October 


Cryptomaria japonica ‘Spiralis’ with Head Gardener of Fota 

Arboretum David O’Oregon © Anke Mattern 


39

Monday, 

17. October 


PLANT 

NAME 

COMMON 

NAME 

DATE/ 

PLANT NO. 

Geographic 

Location 

Abies 

pindrow 

West 

Himalayan 

Fir 

1847 W. Himalaya 

Agathis 

australis 

Kauri Pine 2011/0049 New Zealand 

Cedrus 

atlantica 

Glauca Group 

1850 Nth Africa 

Cryptomeria 

japonica 

Japanese 

Cedar 

xxxx 

Japan, 

China 

Cryptomeria 

jap. ‘Spiralis’ 

Grannie’s 

Ringlets 

c.1880 

Dacrycarpus 

dacrydioides 

Kahikatea 1916 New Zealand 

Eucalyptus 

lacrimans 

Adaminably 

Snow Gum 

1954 Australia 

40 


Monday, 

17. October 


HEIGHT 

1966 

HEIGHT 

1984 

ADDITIONAL INFO 

25m x 1.4m 31m x 1.3m “Fine shapely Tree” 

Badly damaged in 2019 by a 

limb from a neighbouring Pinus 

nigra (1847) 

33m x 3.3m 35m x 3.5m 

50ft high in 1892; “One of the 

oldest and tallest in these islands” 

31m x 3.2m 

35m x 3m 

18.9m x 1.9m 22m x 2.25m 

11ft in 1897, 15ft in 1903; The 

planting date is an estimate 

based on the growth records 

shown here. 

Formerly listed as Juniperus 

bermudiana. Name change 

Summer 2002 


41

Monday, 

17. October 


PLANT 

NAME 

COMMON 

NAME 

DATE/ 

PLANT NO. 

Geographic 

Location 

Firmiana 

simplex 

Keteleeria 

davidiana 

Chinese 

Parasol Tree 

1901 China 

2005/0014 

Liriodendron 

tulipifera 

‘Crispum’ 

Phyllocladus 

trichomanoides 

Phyllocladus 

trichomanoides 

var. alpinus 

Picea morrisonicola 

1952 

1941 New Zealand 

2000/0122 New Zealand 

1996/0067 Taiwan 

Pinus 

wallichiana 

Bhutan Pine 1847 Himalayas 

42 


Monday, 

17. October 


HEIGHT 

1966 

HEIGHT 

1984 

ADDITIONAL INFO 

Plant received from 

Westonbirt as a young 

seedling 

N.B Previously listed as 

‘Contortum’, Scion wood sent 

to RHS Wisley, Jan 2018. 

Repeated Jan 2021. 

Conifer Conservation Project 


43

Monday, 

17. October 



BLARNEY CASTLE 

CORK HARBOUR, COUNTY CORK 

Blarney Castle & Gardens is a world-renowned tourist destination, receiving 

in the region of 500,000 visitors per annum. In addition to the historic 

castle and stone, there are 80 plus acres of grounds and gardens of local, 

national and indeed international significance. The gardens at Blarney Castle 

date back as far as the 1700’s and areas such as The Rock Close still 

retain many original folly structures, as well as Yew trees that experts have 

44 


Monday, 

17. October 


estimated at over 600 years old. More modern developments to the gardens 

include an arboretum and pinetum with a collection of over 2000 trees 

from all over the world and a range of garden areas that include a working 

Kitchen Garden, native Irish Garden, Poison Garden, Fern Garden, Himalayan 

Walk, Vietnamese Garden, Tropical Borders and a new folly; a stone 

circle with a legend of its own. Blarney Gardens has built an international 

reputation in the horticultural world as a progressive and professional organisation, 

and has recently been accepted as a member of Botanic Gardens 

Conservation International. Blarney Castle and Gardens takes conservation 

very seriously and has established collections of rare and endangered native 

plants, working in conjunction with the National Botanic gardens, as well 

as working with other foreign organisations to create ex-situ collections of 

particularly endangered plant species from countries such as Vietnam. 

Within the estate there have been some changes in management practices 

and a shift to planting native species where possible. The growth of timber 

crops, such as Sitka Spruce, within the estate is being phased out in favour 

of the re-establishment of semi-native broadleaf woodland. This is being 

planted up on an ongoing basis using locally sourced plants where possible. 

In addition, areas of grassland have been set aside to create large swathes 

of wildflower meadow, again using locally sourced native seed. The estate 

boasts an impressive range of native wildlife. Blarney Castle & Gardens are 

the first estate in Ireland to be awarded the prestigious title of ‘Wildlife Estate’ 

from the European Landowners’ Organisation. The native woodlands, 

rivers and lake within the inner estate and in the separate pockets of ground 

around the village area, provide support for many increasingly rare species 

including otters, red squirrels, badgers, barn owls, buzzards, kingfishers, 

river lampreys, trout and salmon. 


45

Tuesday, 

18. October 



46 


Tuesday, 

18. October 


TUESDAY, 18. OCTOBER 2022 

— 

CAPPOQUIN 

HOUSE AND GARDENS 


Cappoquin House, the home of Sir Charles Keane, Bt. and his wife Corrine, 

stands high above the town of Cappoquin in County Waterford, where the 

Keane family have lived for the last 300 years, having acquired the estate 

from the family of the Earls of Cork in the early eighteenth century. 

It is believed that the house was built on the site of an old castle, of which 

the earliest known reference dates to 1598. In 1641 Capt. Hugh Croker on 

behalf of the Earl of Cork occupied the castle. It was subsequently captured 

by Oliver Cromwell in 1649 and was demolished; nothing remained of the 

castle, apart from one wall with a narrow doorway leading to a garden. 

The house is a fine classical building that dates from 1779, and it is still occupied 

by the descendants of the original owners. In the twentieth century, 

country houses of politicians became a regular target during the Civil War 

that followed Irish Independence, (as we shall see at Woodstock, in County 

Kilkenny) so, when Sir John Keane was elected to the Senate in the new 

Irish Free State, he anticipated an attack. With considerable foresight he 

removed the contents and many of the fixtures, and placed them secure- 


47

Tuesday, 

18. October 


ly in storage. It transpired that his premonition was well founded and the 

house was duly burnt in 1923. The house was subsequently rebuilt 1923 – 

1930, reproducing the fine interiors and ceilings, while the façade became 

the garden front, while the North front, facing into the enclosed courtyard, 

became the entrance. 

The 2ha. south-facing garden, a combination of formal and informal planting, 

offers fine views over the Blackwater Valley. The gardens are the work 

of Lady Olivia Keane who, after years of neglect following World War I, 

designed the grounds. There are magnificent trees: Japanese cedars, an 

enormous maple, a Southern beech raised from seeds by Lady Olivia, an 

oak whose span measures about 30m and which is included in Owen Johnson’s 

Champion Trees of Britain and Ireland. As the ground rises beyond the 

hedged banks to the bleaching ground, the aspect stretches to reveal various 

terraces with their variety of rhododendron, azalea, camellia and magnolia 

and the clusters and tiers of roses, old-fashioned and modern. Notable trees 

include a Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa, and a Cabbage Palm, Cordyline 

australis, which is the 2nd greatest girthed of its kind in Ireland. 

From the garden’s elevated vantage point overlooking the majestic River 

Blackwater, one can glimpse sight of Lismore Castle, Dromana, and even 

the rooftops of Tourin House. 

48 


Tuesday, 

18. October 


DROMANA HOUSE 

AND GARDEN 


© Seamous O’Brien 

Like Cappoquin House, Dromana sits on a spectacular site overlooking the 

River Blackwater, and is also built on the site of an earlier castle, damaged 

during the Cromwellian invasion in the seventeenth-century. From the 13th 

century the estate has been in the possession of twenty-six generations of Mrs 

Barbara Grubb’s family, who have lived here for over eight hundred years. 


49

Tuesday, 

18. October 


Following demolition of the original castle, a new dwelling was constructed 

in the early 1700s, until work was commenced on a new much larger 

house in1780. What we see today is the original 1700s house, the mansion 

having been demolished following the sale and sub-division of the estate in 

the 1960s. Happily, Mrs Grubb’s parents were able to repurchase the house 

and part of the estate in the 1980s. However, the unique Hindu-Gothic gate 

lodge, with its bridge across the River Finisk, dating to 1826, became separated 

from the estate. 

The steeply sloping riverbanks are covered with oak woods and the important 

mid-eighteenth century garden layout, with its follies, the Rock House 

and the Bastion, is currently being restored. Extensive new plantings of interesting 

trees and shrubs have also been made in recent years. 

Perhaps of particular interest to fellow dendrologists, was Katherine, Dowager 

Countess of Desmond, was born at Dromana, where she died, supposedly 

from having fallen out of a cherry tree at the reputed age of 140, having 

allegedly worn out three natural sets of teeth! 

TOURIN HOUSE AND GARDEN 


One of Ireland’s best kept secrets is the stunningly beautiful Blackwater Valley, 

particularly that stretch of water that meanders its way through southwest 

Waterford, beyond Cappoquin, before spilling out in Youghal Bay. The 

Blackwater is tidal at this point and reaches an impressive width. 

50 


Tuesday, 

18. October 


Tourin commands a breath taking view of the river Blackwater valley. The 

oldest surviving feature within the demesne is Tourin Castle, an imposing 

towerhouse dating to 1560. The present owners’ family bought Tourin in 1780 

and in 1840 a more spacious manor house was built on a higher piece of 

ground, in the then fashionable classically proportioned Italianate Villa style. 

The design of the garden at Tourin dates from this period. A long formal 

Broad Walk led from the house, linking it to the pleasure grounds and beyond 

there, to the old walled garden, which belonged to the earlier Tower 

House. Two enormous Irish Yew trees flank stone steps at the start of the 

broadwalk and mature Cedar and Oak Trees also date from this period. 

Much of the planting visitors see at Tourin today is the work of the present 

owners’ Norwegian mother, Didi Jameson who was an enthusiastic and 

knowledgeable plantswoman, importing rare trees and shrubs from leading 

nurseries of the time. Much of her planting has now reached maturity. These 

include a fine Liriodendron tulipifera, Acers griseum and A. cappadocicum 

and a Metasequoia glyptostroboides, seen at the front of the House. Off the 

Broadwalk we find Juglans nigra, Cercidophyllum japonicum ( wonderfully 

toffee-scented in autumn), the spectacular dogwood Cornus kousa var. 

chinensis, several Magnolia including Magnolia campbellii and a fine collection 

of camelias. 

The superb mild microclimate, created as a result of the proximity of the 

Gulf Stream has meant that many trees have grown at an exceptionally rapid 

rate. Notable examples of the southern beeches including Nothofagus 

obliqua and the evergreen N. dombeyi from Chile and Argentina and the 

black beech N.solandri from New Zealand grow alongside a very tall Eucryphia 

x nymansensis ‘Nymansay and a copse of Thuia plicata. 


51

Tuesday, 

18. October 


The Original Tourin Castle, © Tourin House 

Beyond the Walled Garden a path brings one to an extensive area of newly 

planted native woodland containing a fine Taxodium distichum and 

Tourin’s champion London plane tree, Platinus x hispanica and an exciting 

new plantation of young rhododendrons, magnolias and acers. 

The demesne is not far from Dromana House and Gardens, as the crow 

flies, but a little upstream on the opposite side of the river. With a fine view 

of the Knockmealdown Mountains to the North, Tourin is surrounded by 

arable land and a 6ha garden, with mature broadleaved trees and a fine collection 

of shrubs and plants. 

52 


Tuesday, 

18. October 


The original dwelling place is Tourin Castle, an imposing tower house dating 

to 1560. Tourin was bought by Sir Richard Musgrave, Bt. in 1780. In 

1840 his grandson built the more spacious and classically proportioned Italianate 

house at Tourin which is home to the Jameson family, of Irish Whiskey 

fame. The present generation Kristin, Andrea and Tara are all three artists 

and passionate gardeners. 

When the house was built the existing garden was enlarged and redesigned. 

A long formal Broad Walk leads from the house to the pleasure grounds 

and beyond there to the walled garden, which belonged originally to the 

tower house. Successive generations of the Musgrave and Jameson family 

(Joan Musgrave had married Tommy Ormsby Jameson in 1920), have left 

their mark on the garden. The present owners’ mother, Norwegian born 

Didi Jameson, was a keen plants woman and the fine collection of trees and 

shrubs that she planted has now reached maturity. Magnolias are well represented, 

and further choice trees off the Broad Walk include the Katsura 

tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, the spectacular Chinese dogwood, Cornus 

kousa var. chinensis, and the unaccountably rare Rhododendron macrocarpum, 

a small tree bearing fragrant white, cup-shaped blossoms in April. 

The Broad Walk leads to the more informal path of the pleasure grounds, 

past a colourful array of plants, shrubs and a rock garden, to the walled garden, 

which has supplied the family with fruit and vegetables for generations. 

Today the Walled Garden is a mix of ornamental and productive planting 

and is at its best and most colourful in midsummer. Among the many fine 

trees in the pleasure grounds is a big Sitka Spruce, Picea sitchensis. 

The Mexican Pine, Pinus patula, and the London Plane, Platanus x hispanica, 

are both Irish Girth Champions. 


53

Wednesday, 

19. October 


Araucaria araucana at The National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh 


54 


Wednesday, 

19. October 


WEDNESDAY 19. OCTOBER 2022 

WOODSTOCK HOUSE 

AND GARDEN 

INISTIOGE, CO. KILKENNY 

The extensive mansion that once existed among these beautiful grounds 

was three-stories high over a part-raised basement. A country house in the 

classical style, built between 1745 and 1747 for Sir William Fownes to designs 

prepared by the renowned Irish amateur architect Francis Bindon. 

Bindon also had provided a master plan for the laying out of the formal 

landscape around the mansion which set out the framework for the gardens 

we see today. The house was to be burned to the ground during the Irish 

Civil War, in 1922, leaving the remaining walls of Woodstock House we see 

today. 

William Frederick Fownes Tighe, grandson of Sir William Fownes, married 

Lady Louisa Lennox, the daughter of the Duke of Richmond, on the 

April 18, 1825. One of Louisa’s greatest contributions to the estate was the 

development of the gardens within the grounds of Woodstock House. The 

creation of these wonderful outdoor spaces began in 1840 when the grotto 

and gardens were first laid out. The centre window of the garden front elevation 

of the house was altered during the 1850s to allow access from the 

drawing room to the garden below. This direct access to the gardens was 


55

Wednesday, 

19. October 


possible with the installation of a cast iron staircase that was designed by 

Richard Turner. He was also responsible for the majestic glass house which 

stood in the terraced flower garden that was laid out between 1853 and 

1856. (During his lifetime Richard Turner designed and built conservatories 

for a number of country houses and many of these survive today, such 

as the beautifully restored example at Ballyfin in County Laois. Turner was 

also responsible for the creation of a glass houses on a grand scale, such as 

at Kew, and in 1845 he completed the famous curvilinear glass houses of the 

National Botanic Gardens, in Glasnevin in Dublin.) Flanking the conservatory 

on the opposite end of the flower terrace is a cast iron seat with similar 

detailing. The gates entering into the walled garden are also by Turner. The 

original conservatory was sadly demolished in the 1950’s and badly damaged 

with much of the iron work being sold for scrap metal. What you see 

today is a recreation of the original by the very talented Power family of 

New Ross. 

By 1860, a Scottish man, by the name of Charles Mac Donald, came to 

Woodstock as the head gardener. He was responsible for the establishment 

of the winter garden which was composed of four large sunken flower beds 

to be found on the south side of the house. These sunken areas provided a 

micro climate and protection to the plants from the worse effects of the winter 

weather. In each of the panels, there was a coloured gravel and miniature 

conifers laid out in different geometric patterns. The drawing rooms on the 

garden front of the house, being situated on a floor above the garden, would 

have been able to take full advantage of the view of these artistic creations. 

Lord William Pitt Lennox, visited the house in 1865 and recorded “I will 

merely say that the house contains a valuable library and some good paintings. 

The gardens can find no equal in the United Kingdom… .” 

56 


Wednesday, 

19. October 


The blackened walls of Woodstock House stood until 2001 when the central 

section of the entrance front collapsed during a violent storm. A steel 

support structure was quickly put in place to limit further collapse of the 

fragile building, but the gardens have been wonderfully restored by Kilkenny 

County Council. In 1998 work began on this ambitious project, and 

has continued over the years to return the gardens to the condition that 

they previously enjoyed, referencing contemporary photographs from the 

National Library. The gardens are being restored to the period 1840 -1890 

with every effort being made to use plants and materials typical of the era. 

The estate is notable for two stunning avenues, one of Monkey Puzzle, 

Araucaria araucana, and another or Noble Fir Abies procera. The arboretum 

is home to many fine specimen trees from Asia and South America 

in particular. A number of these trees are recognised as champion trees, 

including two Coastal redwoods, Sequoia sempervirens, one the Irish Girth 

Champion, and the other being the Irish equal Height Champion. Another 

Irish Girth Champion is a European Larch, Larix decidua; the Lawson Cypress, 

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Erecta’ is both Irish Height Champion 

and 2nd greatest girthed of its kind in Ireland. A Mountain hemlock, Tsuga 

mertensiana, is also the Irish Height Champion and 2nd greatest girthed 

of its kind in Ireland. Another outstanding conifer is the Himalayan hemlock, 

Tsuga Dumosa, which is the 2nd tallest and 2nd greatest girthed of its 

kind in Ireland. The Bentham Cypress, Cupressus lusitanica var. benthamii 

is also the 2nd tallest of its kind in Ireland, and Irish Girth Champion. These 

trees were as published by the Irish Tree Council in 2005, but time and the 

weather may have changed their status in the interim. 

— END OF PRE TOUR — 


57

Wednesday, 

19. October 


Podocarpus salignus fruits at The National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh 

© Seamous O’Brien 

58 


Wednesday, 

19. October 


International Dendrology Society 

IDS CENTRAL IRELAND TOUR 2022 

ITINERARY 

— MAIN TOUR — 

Wednesday 19.10.22 till Sunday 23.10.2022 


59

Wednesday, 

19. October 


KILMACURRAGH NATIONAL 

BOTANIC GARDENS 

COUNTY WICKLOW 

Thomas Acton I (d. 1671) came to Ireland as part of Oliver Cromwell’s 

invading army, and in lieu of wages was granted a substantial parcel of land 

in the area, including the ruins of Saint Mochorog’s Abbey. The monastery 

orchard (on the site of the present walled garden) was still extant in 1708 

and appears on an estate map dating from that time. 

THE HOUSE AND EARLY GARDEN 

Thomas Acton II (1655-1750) had the old abbey buildings torn down in 

1697 and, from the stone salvaged, he built a fine, perfectly proportioned 

Queen Anne house to the design of the noted architect, Sir William Robinson 

(1643-1712), whose best-known work is the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, 

completed in 1687, a year before the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. 

Kilmacurragh House was at that time surrounded by a formal Dutch-style 

landscape park, following the fashions of the period, and elements of this, 

such as the remains of canals, great avenues, and sweeping vistas, survive 

in the present garden. Thomas Acton II was also responsible for the Deer 

Park, an area of forty acres, (16.19 hectares), carved into primeval oak and 

alder forest, completely surrounded by a six-foot deep ha-ha, and the old 

paddock walls that now surround the visitor carpark. 

60 


Wednesday, 

19. October 


JANE PARSONS 

AND THE BIRR CASTLE CONNECTION 

Thomas Acton’s son, William Acton (1711-1779), married Jane Parsons 

of Birr Castle in 1736. To celebrate their wedding, a two-mile long beech 

avenue was planted in 1736 and fragments of this survive today. In 1750, 

his wife received a premium of £10 from the Royal Dublin Society for the 

planting of “foreign trees” and in the following decades trees were planted 

within the demesne in tens of thousands. 

William and Jane Acton had six children and their second son, Thomas Acton 

III (1742-1817) inherited the estate in 1779. He changed the name of the 

estate from Kilmacurra to West Aston in 1750, a situation that lasted for over 

a century. His wife Sidney earned premia from the Dublin Society for growing 

small plantations and with this money she bought rare and exotic trees. 

WILLIAM ACTON 

AND THE GREAT FAMINE 

Her eldest son was Lt. Col. William Acton (1789-1855), and he was Thomas 

Acton IV’s father. William Acton was a benevolent landlord, and he organised 

several famine projects on the estate to stave off starvation, not only of 

local people, but also of labourers from County Mayo. The restoration of the 

ha-ha around the Deer Park and by the front lawns, and the building of two 

projecting and overlapping single-storey wings to the house, were carried 

out in 1848 as part of this relief effort. 


61

Wednesday, 

19. October 


William is credited with building the walled garden during the 1820s, with 

its orangery (the latter still existed till the early twentieth century) and 

glasshouse ranges. 

Many of the exotic trees planted by William Acton were supplied by Edward 

Hodgins, who founded his famous nursery in nearby Dunganstown in 

1780. A number of trees supplied to the estate by this nursery between 1820 

and 1840 still exist including the Madeiran holly, Ilex perado, a weeping 

cedar of Goa, Cupressus lusitanica ‘Glauca Pendula’, the unaccountably rare 

olive relative Picconia excelsa and Fraxinus excelsior ‘Monstrosa’. Nothing 

is known about the origin of Fraxinus excelsior ‘Monstrosa’ though it is 

presumed to have originated at Dunganstown. The cultivar was not named 

until 1872, though the Kilmacurragh tree was 1 foot (30 cm.) tall in 1840, 

and was 10 feet 9 inches (3.28m.) tall in 1877. It is now a substantial tree and 

grows on the Double Border lawn near the walled garden. 

THOMAS AND JANET ACTON: 

THE VICTORIAN YEARS 

When Thomas Acton inherited the Kilmacurragh Estate in 1854, the house 

and gardens were already over 150 years old. 

By 1854 the landscape park at Kilmacurragh, with its quaint Dutch ponds, 

canals, avenue, and vistas must have been very mature. Thomas and his sister 

Janet swept away many eighteenth-century features while incorporating 

others into a new, much enlarged garden. One of Kilmacurragh’s best-loved 

features, the typically Victorian Broad Walk to the rear of the house, was 

laid out at this time. 

62 


Wednesday, 

19. October 


David Moore, Curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin began advising 

the Actons from about 1854, and from that time on a remarkable 

collection of mostly wild origin plants was assembled at Kilmacurragh. 

The late nineteenth century enjoyed a golden era of botanical exploration, 

and through the Moore family the latest discoveries of these famous plant 

hunters reached Kilmacurragh, forming a remarkable collection of mostly 

wild-origin plants. 

Kilmacurragh’s Broad Walk was planted with alternating rows of Irish yew, 

Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’, the crimson flowered Rhododendron ‘Altaclerense’ 

and the lower-growing Rhododendron ‘Cunningham’s White’. The 

rhododendrons were layered by Janet Acton herself and the walk was planted 

in the early 1870s. Today this walk is one of the garden’s most magical 

features, especially in April when the fallen blossoms of towering rhododendrons 

transform the walk below into a scarlet carpet underfoot. 

SIR JOSEPH DALTON HOOKER’S SIKKIM 

COLLECTIONS 

The gardens became an unofficial annexe of Glasnevin, growing plants that 

could not cope with the cold climate and the shallow, heavily alkaline conditions 

of that Dublin garden. Following his father’s death in June 1879, Sir 

Frederick Moore took up the role of garden advisor at Kilmacurragh. Together 

Thomas Acton and Frederick Moore created the finest private plant 

collection on the island of Ireland. 


63

Wednesday, 

19. October 


It was through David Moore that Sir Joseph Hooker’s collections from the 

Sikkim Himalaya (1849) reached here, and formed the basis of what was 

to become Europe’s most complete collection of Rhododendrons from Sikkim, 

Bhutan, and Nepal. Many of these Rhododendrons have survived to 

the present day and have formed giant trees that give a dazzling floral display 

every spring. In March 1867 Moore could write to Hooker that he saw 

eleven kinds of his (Hooker’s) rhododendrons growing happily at Kilmacurragh 

including the blood red R. thomsonii, R. edgeworthii, R. wallichii, 

R. barbatum and the magnificent R. falconeri. 

THE MONKEY-PUZZLES 

ON WESTASTON HILL 

Tom Acton had a rule of thumb, which was to plant three of every important 

tree or shrub. One was planted where visiting plantsmen told him it 

would thrive, another where he thought it would survive, and the last where 

it would unquestionably not survive. 

A TRIAL GROUND FOR NEW TREES 

Tom Acton ran Kilmacurragh like a private botanic garden, and kept detailed 

records of his experiments. He trialled many plants for hardiness, 

and the results of his successes and failures are noted in his trial notes. 

He certainly understood the needs of his plants; on one of his surviving 

64 


Wednesday, 

19. October 


hand-written lists dating from July 1893 he wrote of Protea cynaroides, “I 

think (it) may do well under (a) wall, keep him dry.” Following this tip the 

king protea has recently been planted at Kilmacurragh in a relatively dry 

spot near the walled garden. During his time at Kilmacurragh several trees 

were cultivated in the open air for the first time in the British Isles and 

Ireland, most notably Ceratonia siliqua, the magnificent Laureliopsis philippiana 

from Chile and Nothofagus moorei, one of the most beautiful of 

the southern beeches. Tom Acton got his plant of the latter from Kew from 

where it had been introduced from its native eastern Australia in 1892. Augustine 

Henry noted in The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland, that it was 

18 feet high (5.49m.) in 1906. This rare southern beech was named for David 

Moore’s brother, Charles, who, following an early career at the Trinity 

College Botanic Garden, became Director of Sydney Botanic Gardens. He 

discovered the tree in New South Wales and, no doubt, Sir Frederick Moore 

was pleased to see it established at Kilmacurragh. Alas, it no longer grows 

here, though there are fine trees in nearby Mount Usher. 

Two cultivars were selected at Kilmacurragh while Thomas and Janet gardened 

here. The best-known of these, Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Kilmacurragh 

Variety’, is a slim, fastigiate tree with a habit resembling the Italian 

cypress. An enormous specimen (perhaps the original) grows along the old 

estate entrance avenue in a double-sided avenue of monkey puzzles. The 

second, a cockscomb Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria japonica ‘Kilmacurragh’ 

forms a domed-shaped bush with fasciated juvenile foliage. The original 

tree grows in the Victorian Double Borders and both Kilmacurragh cultivars 

originated before 1900. 

Thomas and Janet Acton were passionate gardeners and saw many exotic 

plants in their natural habitats, particularly those from North America. 


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Wednesday, 

19. October 


CAPTAIN CHARLES ANNESLEY 

BALL-ACTON AND THE GREAT WAR 

When Thomas Acton died on August 25th 1908, his 32 year-old nephew, 

Captain Charles Annesley Acton then succeeded to Kilmacurragh. Born in 

Peshawar, India in 1876, he was educated following family tradition at Rugby 

School, and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. In 1896 he joined 

the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and served with the regiment in Malta, Crete, 

Hong Kong, India and Burma. Following his uncle’s death Charles resigned 

his commission and settled for a gentleman’s life on the family estate. Back 

in Wicklow he became Justice of the Peace and High Sherriff for Wicklow, 

positions held by several of his ancestors. He continued to develop the estate 

and arboretum and his closest friends included Augustine Henry and 

Sir Frederick Moore. Moore continued to advise at Kilmacurragh and supplied 

many newly introduced plants from the nursery at Glasnevin. With 

the outbreak of the Great War in August 1914, Charles and many of the gardeners 

at Kilmacurragh headed for the battlefields on the French Front. On 

September 25th 1915, Charles Acton, while trying to assist a fellow soldier, 

was mortally wounded by an explosion at Loos. He was only 39. 

Kilmacurragh then passed to his only surviving brother, Major Reginald 

Thomas Ball-Acton. On May 22nd 1916, just eight months after his brother’s 

death at Loos, Reginald was killed in Action in Ypres. Few of the gardeners 

came home from the war. Thus, in eight years Kilmacurragh had 

three consecutive owners inflicting death duties amounting to 120% of the 

value of the estate. This placed enormous financial pressures on the family 

and, after two centuries, the Actons left Kilmacurragh House. Before the 

war eleven men and two boys maintained the grounds. Following the death 

of Charles and Reginald, the gardens were maintained single-handedly by 

the old Head Gardener. 

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There are other reminders of this sad period at Kilmacurragh. In the walled 

garden grow a line of mature maidenhair trees, Ginkgo biloba, planted just 

over a metre apart. Tradition has it that this was a nursery bed, and since 

the garden staff believed that the war would last only a few weeks, the young 

trees were left in-situ, expecting they would be placed in their permanent 

positions when staff returned that autumn. No one came home from those 

bloody battlefields, and the maidenhair trees still grow in their nursery positions. 

Kilmacurragh’s tragic history is well known, and the fallen crimson 

blossoms of the ancient rhododendrons on the Broad Walk have been said 

by one visitor to be as symbolic as the Flanders poppies. 

in 1996, a 52 acre (21ha) portion of the old demesne comprising of the 

house, gardens, entrance drive and woodlands officially became part of the 

National Botanic Gardens of Ireland. By then the house was in ruins, due 

to a series of disastrous fires in 1978 and 1982. The following ten years were 

spent rescuing valuable trees from a crippling tangle of cherry laurel, sycamore 

and Rhododendron ponticum. More recently, further land has come 

back into the estate, bringing it to 104 acres (42.09 hectares) of gardens, 

parkland and demesne woods. 


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THE INTERNATIONAL CONIFER 

CONSERVATION PROGRAMME 

Kilmacurragh is also linked to the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh’s 

conifer conservation programme, and acts as an ex-situ conservation site 

for conifers now threatened with extinction in their native habitats. This 

includes such rarities as the recently discovered Vietnamese yellow cypress, 

Xanthocyparis vietnamensis (the first to be planted in Ireland), Pinus 

armandii var. dabeishanensis from China, and threatened South American 

conifers like the Patagonian cypress Fitzroya cupressoides and Pilgerodendron 

uviferum. 


68 


Wednesday, 

19. October 


Headgardener and author Seamous O’Brien, 

Kilmacurragh, National Botanic Gardens, © Anke Mattern 


69

Thursday, 

20. October 


Birr Castle Demesne © Anke Mattern 

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Thursday, 

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THURSDAY 20. OCTOBER 2022 

BIRR CASTLE DEMESNE 

BIRR, COUNTY OFFALY 

Birr Castle Demesne is one Europe’s great gardens. Many rare species from 

all over the world grow here in Ireland where the Irish climate encourages 

a great geographical range of trees and plants. Three generations of Earls of 

Rosse have been interested in trees, although some of the great oaks in the 

park go back hundreds of years earlier. 

The Parsons family, now Earls of Rosse, have been at Birr since 1620 when 

they took over the fortress and lands of the O’Carrolls. Two rivers flow 

through the demesne, and from the 17 th century onwards the park has been 

landscaped and enhanced. The lake was formed by artificially moving the 

course of one of the rivers. Planting with exotic trees began in the early 20 th 

century with redwoods and pines from America, and has continued to this 

day. 

The 6 th Earl, the present Lord Rosse’s father, was the first great plantsman 

and collector, and many of the rarest trees date back to his plantings in the 

1920s. He married Anne Messel from Nymans Garden in England – a marriage 

of two gardens – together they visited China in the 1930s and some 

trees are still here from the original collection, made with Professor H.H.Hu 

of the Peking Botanical Institute. His wife Anne designed the ‘cloisters’ of 

hornbeam around the Formal Gardens. 


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The present Earl of Rosse, Brendan Parsons,himself travelled on plant hunting 

expeditions and collected and raised plants from seed himself for the 

past 30 years. He has experimented with plants from all over the world, 

pushing the boundaries with plants from the southern hemisphere. He and 

his wife Alison have added to the landscaping with the Whirlpool Spiral 

and the Teatro Verde in yew at the end of the vista 

Birr Castlle is also known for its Scientific and Astronomic Heritage. The 

3rd Earl in 1845 built what was then the largest telescope in the world, and 

it remained so until 1917. This wonderful construction can be seen in the 

park. His discovery of the spiral nature of the galaxies is reflected in the 

Whirpool Spiral, a spiral shaped maze of tilia cordata ‘Greenspire’. The galleries 

of the Science Centre show the further inventions and achievements 

of the Parsons family, including the 4th Earls machine for measuring the 

heat of the moon and his younger brother Sir Charles Parsons’ invention of 

the Marine Turbine. 

The latest addition to Birr’s achievements, both botanical and scientific, are 

the radio telescope just across the river, which is along side our great new 

planting of redwoods: the Giant’s Grove see www.giantsgrove.ie, one of Europe’s 

largest plantings of redwoods, sequoia sempirvirens and sequoiadendron 

giganteum. 

Laurence Michael Harvey Parsons, 6th Earl of 

Rosse. The Father of the present Earl of Rosse. 

He was involved in the early beginning of the IDS 

with his friend Baronne de Belder from Belgium. 

© Birr Castle 

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Thursday, 

20. October 


BIRR CASTLE DEMESNE, 

CHAMPION TREES 

Birr, County Offaly 

Probably Ireland’s largest collection of rare trees (many collected in central 

China in the 1930s). This list is taken from Champion Trees of Britain and 

Ireland, 2003. Some may have been lost in the intervening years, or there 

may now be newcomers. 

— Tallest Père David’s Maple, Acer davidii (Bothy). 

— Lobel’s Maple, Acer lobelia, Irish Height & Girth Champion 

— Largest Montpelier Maple, Acer monspessulanum (1990). 

— Italian Maple, Acer opalus, Irish Height Champion & 2nd greatest 

girthed of its kind in Ireland. 

— Largest Acer platanoides Stolli (farm road at Killean, 1990). 

Irish Height & Girth Champion. 

— Largest Wilson’s Maple (bamboos). 

— Largest Aesculus x mutabilis Induta’ (garden). 

— Tallest Alnus incana ‘Aurea’ (River Garden, 1989). 

— Box, Buxus sempervirens, Irish Height Champion. 

— Largest Carrierea calycina (River Garden by bamboos). 


— Largest American Sweet Chestnut (Log Hut walk). 

— Largest Crataegus champlainensis (garden). 

— Largest Crataegus chrysocarpa var. phoenicea (garden). 

— Largest Crataegus macracantha (park, 1988). 

— Tallest Ehret Tree, Ehretia rigida (garden). 

— Largest Fagus lucida (Michael’s Walk, 1990). 

— Tallest Oriental Beech, Fagus orientalis (garden). 

— Largest Fagus sylvatica ‘Aurea Pendula’ 

— Original Fagus sylvatica ‘Birr Zebra’ (garden). 


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Thursday, 

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— Tallest Manna Ash, Fraxinus ornus. 

— Largest Fraxinus pennsylvanica f. aucubifolia (park). 

— Largest Fraxinus sieboldiana (garden). 

— Tallest Arizona Ash, Fraxinus velutina (Fore Park). 

— Largest Himalayan Weeping Juniper, Juniperus recurve (River Garden). 

— Largest Black Juniper, Juniperus indica (tennis court). 

— Largest Dawson’s Magnolia, Magnolia dawsoniana, (River Garden). 

— Largest Magnolia sprengeri var. elongata (garden). 

— Tallest Malus bhutanica (syn. M. toringoides) (Mount Palmer). 

— Largest Meliosma dillenfolia ssp. cuneifolia (River Garden, 3153). 

— Largest Meliosma flexuosa (Bothy). 

— Largest Picea morrisonicola (River Walk). 

— Largest Wilson’s Spruce, Picea wilsonii (High Walk). 

— Tallest Bishop Pine, Pinus muricata (garden). 

— Largest Grey Poplar, Populus × canescens 

(Measured before falling at H. 42m G. 6.28m). 

— Largest Chilean Plum Yew, Prumnopitys andina (Gate/castle). 

— Tallest Fuji Cherry, Prunus incisa (garden). 

— Largest Prunus serrulata ‘Jo-nioii (formal garden). 

— Largest Pyrus glabra (Lower Walk, 1987). 

— Largest Quercus robur ‘Fennessii’(drive; b25*). 

— Coral-bark Willow, Salix alba var. vitellina ‘Britzensis’ (lakeside). Irish 

Height & Girth Champion. 

— Largest Sorbus hybrida (garden). 

— Largest Sorbus subcuneata (High Walk, 1990). 

— Largest Tilia chingiana (Mount Palmer, 3524). 

— Largest Tilia dasystyla ssp. caucasica (Lilac Walk by Upper Walk, 454). 

— Largest Tilia henryana (Mount Palmer). 

— Largest Tilia miqueliana (park). 

— Largest Tilia x europaea, Irish Height & Girth Champion. 

— Largest Ulmus glabra ‘Crispa’ (Mount Palmer). 

74 


Thursday, 

20. October 


Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse, Birr Castle © Anke Mattern 


75

Friday, 

21. October 



76 


Friday, 

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FRIDAY 21.OCTOBER 2022 

JAN RAVENSBERG NURSERY 

CLARA, COUNTY OFFALY 

Dutch-born Jan Ravensberg has been described by Fionnuala Fallon, writing 

in September in The Irish Times, as “the grand old Dutch master of Irish 

horticulture”. His County Offaly-based wholesale nursery, which he runs 

with his son Hans, has long been a mecca for garden designers, landscape 

architects and garden-centre owners. 

He is the sixth in a line of seven generations of nurserymen, and gardening 

is in his blood, a family tradition that he can trace right back to 1777. plane. 

At only 13 years old, he had to leave school when his father died to become 

the family’s main breadwinner, but determined to learn the nursery trade, 

he continued to work part-time with other nearby nurseries while completing 

his secondary school education by night. By the time he was just seventeen, 

the industrious teenaged Ravensberg had already established his own 

successful nursery business. 

It was in 1972, exactly 50 years ago, that he, his young wife Siena and their 

two young children made what would be a life-changing move to Ireland, 

leaving behind their very orderly existence in the Netherlands for the relative 

wild west of rural Ireland in the early 1970s. 


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Friday, 

21. October 


Gardening was also only in its very infant stages in 1970s Ireland. Determined 

to open up the market, Ravensberg found himself in the position of 

introducing what were then uncommon species to garden centre owners, 

and trying to convince them of their garden worthiness. “The plant knowledge 

wasn’t there, so it was a case of introducing new species and varieties 

and persuading them to give them a try.” 

Ravensberg’s great gifts as a propagator and his near-forensic knowledge of 

shrubby plants and trees have stood him in great stead ever since, allowing 

him to propagate a wonderful range of plants with ease, from cuttings as 

well as by grafting, and from seed (a wide selection of wisteria varieties, for 

example, for which the nursery is well known). Very unusually for a modern 

Irish nursery (most buy in stock from abroad as young plug plants to then 

grow on), almost 90 per cent of the nursery’s stock is still propagated this 

way, allowing Ravensberg to cultivate what has become a distinctive palette 

of exceptionally garden-worthy plants. One example is the ornamental tree 

known as Zelkova carpinifolia “Glasnevin”, named by Ravensberg after an 

especially handsome specimen that grows in the National Botanic Gardens 

in Glasnevin. He recently propagated it from cuttings taken from this tree, 

a horticultural feat achieved only once before in the history of the gardens. 

Seamus O’Brien, the brilliant head gardener of OPW-managed National 

Botanic Gardens in Kilmacurragh, Co Wicklow, echoes their words. “It’s 

no exaggeration to say that Jan is one of the great unsung heroes of European 

horticulture. In terms of exceptional nurseries that have provided so 

many outstanding plants to Irish gardens, he’s also part of a distinguished 

lineage that stretches back to Slieve Donard, (former nursery in Northern 

Ireland). One of his other defining qualities is his innate modesty. He’s never 

been someone to seek the limelight but as propagator and a connoisseur 

of plants, he can’t be bettered.” 

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Friday, 

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This grand old man of Irish horticulture, a long-time member of the International 

Dendrology Society, is now 82, a time of life when many are 

already well into retirement. But not Ravensberg. “I get tired more easily 

these days, I can’t do what I once could. But I can still sit down at a bench 

and prepare hundreds of cuttings.” 

Five great plants Jan Ravensberg has helped to introduce or maintain in 

cultivation 

— Crinodendron hookerianum “Alf Robbins”:A white-flowered, 

slow-growing variety of this normally scarlet-flowered, acid-loving, evergreen 

shrub with distinctively incised leaves that Ravensberg raised 

from seed of Crinodendron “Ada Hoffman”. 

— Cornus capitata “Kilmacurragh Rose”: Named after the gardens of Kilmacurragh 

where it was first raised, this bushy, evergreen, acid-loving 

flowering shrub is prized for its decorative white-to-pink spring flowers 

and decorative summer fruits. 

— Taxus baccata “Summergold”: A compact, mound-forming, resilient 

variety of golden yew that Ravensberg propagated from mother stock 

originally taken from his father’s nursery in the Netherlands 

— Eucryphia x intermedia “Rostrevor” Eucryphias are one of Ravensberg 

Nursery’s specialties, and this variety is considered outstanding. A 

vigorous, acid-loving, evergreen flowering tree, its clusters of white 

flowers appear in late summer-autumn. 

— Berberis valdiviana: Hailing from Chile, this large, handsome, hardy 

evergreen shrub is known for its deep golden, drooping flower racemes 

which appear in spring and its glossy dark green foliage. 


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Friday, 

21. October 


TULLYNALLY CASTLE 

CASTLEPOLLARD, 

COUNTY WESTMEATH 

The Pakenhams came to Ireland in the 17th century and acquired the estate 

at what is now Tullynally in 1655. The first house was re-modelled a number 

of times. The current building is a neo-Gothic castle incorporating the earlier 

buildings. The Irish architects involved were Francis Johnston (1803-6), 

James Sheil (1820-5) and Sir William Morrison(1840-43). 

© Tullynally Castle & Gardens 

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By 1737 the demesne was laid out on formal lines, with a series of rectangular 

basins and a canal nearly a mile long. By the second half of the 18th century 

the formality had been replaced by a fashionable, naturalistic lay-out. 

The trees had been planted in clumps and shelter belts; the formal basins 

had been re-invented as serpentine ponds. 

Some of the parkland trees planted in the late 18th century still survive, 

including some champion beech and silver fir. But most of the trees visible 

today are much younger. The garden and grounds are now arranged in 6 divisions: 

the Lawn, the Pleasure ground, the Flower garden, the Forest Walk, 

the Magnolia Walk and the Arboretum.The majority of the rare trees can be 

found in the Arboretum, divided into 6 compartments. New planting there 

only began in 2003, and I have concentrated on 3 genera: oaks, maples and 

magnolias. (Many of the latter can also be found in the Magnolia Walk.) 

The main problem in the Arboretum is the commonest: lack of space. It’s 

only about 5 acres, and part of that is occupied by large beech and sycamore 

that formed the original shelter belt. I also planted about 50 young oaks, 

collected from acorns from our finest specimens, when I began. The latter 

are being progressively thinned - a painful but necessary task. 


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Saturday, 

22. October 


The River Camcor at Birr Demesne © Anke Mattern 

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Saturday, 

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SATURDAY 22. OCTOBER 2022 

MOUNT PALMER and THE 

GIANTS GROVE at BIRR DEMESNE 

BIRR TOWN, COUNTY OFFALY 

Mount Palmer is a field just across the river Camcor. It was one of the places 

that Lord Rosse’s father chose to experiment with planting special trees. In 

the 1930s on his return from China he planted Malus and Crataegus from 

the Yu/Hu collection made with help from the Chinese Professor Hu from 

Peking Botanical Institute. Some of these can still be seen. The original Tilia 

chinguiana and T.henryana raised from seeds brought back from China, 

still survive in their old age. Other trees such as a fine stand of Juglans and 

a very tall Nothofagus are worth seeing here. 

Just opposite Mount Palmer, on the same driveway, beside our new radio 

telescope, is our most important new planting: nearly 1,000 specimens of 

Sequoiadendron giganteum and Sequoia sempervirens. It is our great ecological 

effort to provide a home to these redwoods that are fast deteriorating 

in California. 


83

Saturday, 

22. October 


BELVEDERE HOUSE 

MULLINGAR, COUNTY WESTMEATH 

Belvedere is a beautiful villa, built to the designs of Richard Castle circa 

1740, on the shores of Lough Ennell. It was built for Robert Rochfort, Lord 

Bellfield, later 1st Earl of Belvedere. His seat was at Gaulston, about 8km 

away, where he had settled following his marriage in 1736. The history of 

this unhappy marriage is told elsewhere, but following accusations of unfaithfulness 

with his brother Arthur, Lord Belvedere incarcerated his wife at 

Gaulston, where she remained until his death 30 years later. He also quarrelled 

with another brother, who had built the larger Tudenham Park nearby, 

whereupon he built the largest sham Gothic ruin in Ireland to blot out 

the view, popularly known as the “Jealous Wall”. 

The largest sham Gothic ruin in Ireland at Belvedere House 


84 


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22. October 


The estate passed by inheritance to the Marlay family, and then to Lt-Col. 

Charles K. Hutton-Bury, who was an Anglo-Irish soldier, explorer and botanist. 

He was leader of the 1921 Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition, 

which made him a public figure, and in 1922 he was elected to the Westminster 

parliament as a Conservative. Charles Hutton-Bury died in 1963, 

aged 82. He never married and left the house to his friend Rex Beaumont, 

who was the last private owner of Belvedere. Westmeath County Council 

purchased the estate from him in 1982. Finally, in 2000, following a multi-million 

pound restoration project, involving the Irish Tourist Board and 

Westmeath County Council, the House, Walled Gardens, parkland and other 

amenities were opened to the public. 

When the property passed to Charles Marlay, he commenced the development 

of the Walled Garden and also added the terraces facing the lake. 

The garden was further developed by Lt-Col. Howard-Bury who was an 

amateur plant collector, his additions to the garden were many. Outside the 

Walled Garden there are about 12 acres of pleasure grounds. The presence 

of the Dawn redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, denotes that planting 

continued up to the late 1940’s, the date of introduction of these trees. A 

fine Western Red Cedar, Thuja plicata introduced in the mid 19th Century 

remains one of the most distinguished trees with its coppery red bark. The 

Morinda Spruce, or West Himalayan Spruce, Picea smithiana, and an Oriental 

Spruce, Picea orientalis, also add distinction to this collection. 


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Saturday, 

22. October 


King Oak Charleville © Charleville Castle 

There are some other notable trees in the collection. 

— Populus maximpwiczii, Japanese Poplar, is the Irish Height Champion. 

— Nothofagus menziesii, Silver Beech is Irish Height and 

Girth Champion. 

— Picea polita, Tiger Tail Spruce, is 2nd tallest of its kind in Ireland. 

— Quercus cerris var. laciniata, Turkey Oak, is Irish Height Champion, 

and 2nd greatest girthed of its kind in Ireland. 

— Cephalotaxus fortune, Chinese Cowtail Pine, is Irish Height 

Champion. 

86 


Saturday, 

22. October 


CHARLEVILLE CASTLE 

TULLAMORE, COUNTY OFFALY 

The King Oak is a tree in the grounds of Charleville Castle, Tullamore in 

Ireland. Descended from the ancient oak forests that were once commonplace 

in Ireland, the tree is estimated to be around 400 to 800 years old. 

The King Oak has been heavily pollarded and is a large tree, with a trunk 

of 8.29 metres (9.07 yd) girth and some of the lower branches extending as 

far as 27 metres (30 yd). A superstition associated with the tree says that if 

one of its branches should fall a member of Bury family, long-time owners 

of the Charleville Estate, will die. The 1963 death of Charles Howard-Bury 

has been held as confirmation of this belief, following shortly after the tree 

was struck by lightning which split its main trunk. The tree was nominated 

as the Irish entry for the 2013 European Tree of the Year contest, in which 

it finished third. 

Charleville Castle, the Masterpiece of Francis Johnston, once derelict, vacant, 

closed-off and decaying, has been rescued from near ruin by volunteers 

of the Charleville Castle Community. Built originally as a dramatic 

Power Center in the Midlands - a most important Irish symbol of the Union 

with Great Britain 1801 - it is a project of the Peace Process - authenticate, 

intact and “of the people”. The long avenue to the forecourt is now 

fully open - some areas require supervised access or guides [set donation] 

- Volunteers rotate on duty 24/7 – 365 days a year - sharing actively with 

the public. It is famous for its ghosts stories and unique architecture - it is 

not a state-funded project and depends entirely on volunteers and supporters 

- the local community and many thousands more openly express love 

and support for the Castle. Come visit - we hope you will get a real feeling 

of what it is to keep a big Castle like this alive - hopefully your visit can be 

enhanced by a guided tour. 


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Saturday, 

22. October 


IDS Celebrations: 

The 70 th Anniversary of the IDS 

GALA DINNER 

at 

BIRR CASTLE 

— Saturday, 22. October 2022 — 

Paeonia ‘Anne Rosse’, a cultivar being introduced from Birr Castle in honour 

of Anne Rosse, wife of the 6th Earl of Rosse and Mother of the present 

Earl of Rosse. Anne Parsons, Countess of Rosse, was very involved in the 

Garden. She came from the wonderful Garden Nymans in Sussex. The 

initials A&R can be seen in the elegantly designed seat, which stands next 

to the magnificent plant at Birr. © Anke Mattern 


89

Sunday, 

23. October 


Schefflera delavay © Anke Mattern 

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SUNDAY 23.OCTOBER 2022 

HUNTING BROOK GARDENS 

BLESSINGTON, COUNTY WICKLOW 

Hunting Brook Gardens and their creator, the colourful Jimi Blake, are 

synonymous. Nestled in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains, Hunting 

Brook Gardens is made up of five acres, (2 ha.) of contemporary exotic gardens 

and fifteen acres (6 ha.) of woodland gardens and valley, on the Blake 

family estate; his sister June Blake’s outstanding garden is nearby. Jimi Blake 

is a renowned teacher, blogger and TV presenter. He is also an avid collector 

of interesting trees and shrubs, in addition to his passion for the special, 

unusual and colourful perennials that are key to his gardening style. 

Jimi’s passion for gardening and nature came together when he set out to 

create Hunting Brook in 2001, opening to the public a year later. Hunting 

Brook has become a perennially popular educational space for students, 

volunteers, allotment holders and visitors and is now known as Ireland’s 

most exciting and fascinating garden. 

“My planting style is creative and unconventional. I don’t play by the rule 

book. I grow exotic plants here in Hunting Brook that no one would have 

imagined possible. I’m always trialling new plants and surprising plant 

combinations from very different habitats. 


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Sunday, 

23. October 


I’m not one for standing still. Nothing is ever ‘finished’ in Hunting Brook. 

It’s a constantly evolving canvas. I like to play with colour, shapes, forms and 

textures. I love repetition – particularly of strong colours and forms. And, 

I think about year ‘round interest as every season brings something to the 

party! 

While some areas of Hunting Brook are planned and considered, others 

are left to Mother Nature to do her thing. Above all else, it’s my connection 

to the land and deep respect for the spirit of this special place that’s most 

important.” 

To get a flavour of what this garden and its owner are all about, visit: 

https://www.huntingbrookgardens.com 

• 

A special Thank You here to be adressed to IDS member Robert Myerscough 

from Ireland, who contributed extensively to the content of this booklet. 

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Sunday, 

23. October 


Hydrangea aspera ‘Kokii’ © Anke Mattern 


93

94

95

96

— END OF THE TOUR — 

97

IDS Central Ireland Tour 2022 - Itinerary

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