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Marlay Park, Rathfarnham, County Dublin – owned by Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council.
Marlay House is owned by Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council. It has been restored for guided tours and the former stables have been converted into a crafts courtyard. The house had been declared unsound in 1977 and the council considered demolition. Insteahd, thank goodness, renovation began in 1992, much of the repairs done by people on an employment training scheme. The Council runs tours of the house during the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown Heritage festival, which partially coincides with Heritage Week. Stephen and I went on the tour in 2025.
Marlay House was built for David La Touche (1729-1817), adding to an earlier 17th century house called the Grange. David La Touche bought the Grange in 1764. This Grange house is not to be confused with a house called Marlay Grange, mentioned by Mark Bence-Jones in his Guide to Irish Country Houses, and on the excellent website of Timothy William Ferres, Lord Belmont in Northern Ireland, which was built around 1850 and belonged to the Rowleys. [1]
The lands of Marlay Park belonged to the Cistercian Abbey of St. Mary, located in the city of Dublin – see my entry: https://irishhistorichouses.com/2022/11/09/the-church-junction-of-marys-street-jervis-street-dublin/ . After the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII, the land was granted to Barnaby Fitzpatrick (c.1478–1575) 1st Baron of Upper Ossory. Barnaby’s fourth wife was Margaret, daughter of Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond. His son Barnaby who became 2nd Baron was raised at the English court with King Henry VIII’s son Edward.
Because the lands lay within the southern boundary of the pale, the holding became known as “Grange of the March”, meaning “Farmhouse of the Border.” The property later passed into the possession of the Harold family who were responsible for the defence of this section of the Pale from the attacks of the Irish clans. [2] They were known as “marcher lords” or “wild” border guardians, descendants of Vikings. The area of Harold’s Cross is named after them, specifically from a cross erected to mark the boundary between the lands of the Archbishop of Dublin and the lands of the Harold family, warning them not to encroach further toward the city. [3] The Harolds were dispossessed in after the 1641 Rebellion.
Grange, which was also known as Harold’s Grange, was owned previously by Thomas Taylor (1707-1763), Mark Bence-Jones tells us. [4] Taylor was Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1750. He inherited Grange from his father, also Thomas, who was an eminent agriculturalist, who died in 1727 and is buried in Kilgobbin graveyard. In the Taylors’ time the house was built, and also ornamental grounds and a deer park. Some of the house may have been demolished later when David La Touche was building the new part of the house.
Thomas Taylor (1707-1763) married, first, in 1733, Sarah, whose father John Falkiner held the office of High Sheriff of County Dublin in 1721 (Burke’s Peerage 2003 volume 1, page 1380). In 1747 Thomas married for a second time, this time to Anne (1725-1820), daughter of Michael Beresford, who in turn was the son of Tristram Beresford, 1st Baronet of Coleraine in County Derry.
After Thomas the son died in 1763, Grange was acquired by David La Touche.
The La Touche family was a Huguenot family. Huguenots were French Protestants, and they fled from France due to the punishment and killing of Protestants after Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes – the Edict of Nantes had promoted religious toleration.
David Digues La Touche (1675-1745), born in the Loire Valley, fled from France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He fled to Holland, where his uncle obtained for him a commission in the army of William of Orange. He fought in the Battle of the Boyne in the regiment under General Caillemotte. [5] He left the army in Galway, where he was billeted on a weaver who sent him to Dublin to buy wool yarn (worsteds). He decided then to stay in Dublin, and with another Huguenot, he set up as a manufacturer of cambric and rich silk poplin. Where I live in Dublin is an area where many Huguenots lived and weaved – we are near “Weaver Square,” and our area is called “The Tenters” because cloth waas hung out to dry and bleach in the sun and looked like tents, hung on “tenterhooks”!
La Touche was an elder of the French Church group in Dublin, many of whom used to meet in what is now the Lady Chapel of St Patrick’s Cathedral. [6]
The La Touches began banking when Huguenots left their money and valuables with David for safekeeping when they would travel out of the capital. He began to advance loans, and so the La Touche bank began. He had two sons, David La Touche (1703-1785) and James Digues (later corrupted to Digges) La Touche.
David La Touche purchased properties which passed to his sons: Marlay House to David (1729-1817), Harristown in County Kildare to John (1732-1805) [see my write-up https://irishhistorichouses.com/2020/09/27/harristown-brannockstown-county-kildare/ ], and Bellevue, County Wicklow, to Peter (1733-1828). Bellevue has since been demolished, in the 1950s [7].
Photograph courtesy of La Touche Legacy website.
At the time of his death in 1785, La Touche’s rental income was £25,000 and the La Touche bank’s profit was £25,000-£30,000. His three sons who survived him, David (also the first Governor of the Bank of Ireland), John and Peter were partners in the Bank. Later, they took in their cousin William Digges La Touche as a Partner, following his distinguished service as Britain’s representative in Basra in the Persian Gulf. David and his brothers had a vast monument erected to their father in Christ Church, Delgany, where their father had died in his favourite country home, Bellevue. [see 6]
David La Touche of Marley, County Dublin (1729-1817), M.P., Banker and Privy Counsellor. Photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Peter La Touche of Bellevue (1733-1828), Date 1775 by Robert Hunter, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Bellevue, County Wicklow, photograph by Robert French, Lawrence Photographic Collection, National Library of Ireland.Photograph courtesy of La Touche Legacy website.
David La Touche (1729-1817) commissioned the building of the extension of Grange, and he named his new house “Marlay” after his wife’s family. He married Elizabeth Marlay in 1762, just before he purchased the property. Her father was Bishop George Marlay of Dromore in County Down.
David La Touche (1729-1817), of Marlay, 1800 by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
I don’t know what architect designed the enlargement of the original Taylor house at Marlay for David La Touche. Turtle Bunbury claims that the enlargement was by Whitmore Davis. Whitmore Davis joined the Dublin Society’s School of Drawing in Architecture in 1770. A date stone in the house tells us that the first stone of the house was laid by William La Touche in 1794.
David and his family would have spent much of their time in their townhouse in Dublin. Marlay House was their weekend retreat and place for entertainment. I’m not sure when the family purchased 85 St. Stephen’s Green, now part of the Museum of Literature of Ireland (MOLI), but by 1820 George La Touche was resident. George was the unmarried son of David La Touche (1729-1817). [see 6] David La Touche (1703-1785) developed much of the area around St. Stephen’s Green, Aungier Street and the Liberties. In 1812, Peter La Touche bought 9 St. Stephen’s Green, now a Private Members Club.
85 St. Stephen’s Green (in middle), Dublin, photograph by Robert French, (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.9 St. Stephen’s Green, view of stairhall from first floor landing, UCD archive, Built c. 1756 for the Rev. Cutts Harman, Dean of Waterford, now Stephen’s Green Club, plasterwork is attributed to Paolo Lafranchini.
The La Touche family purchased Harristown in County Kildare in 1768 and hired Whitmore Davis to design the house.
Whitmore Davis also designed the building for the Bank of Ireland at St. Mary’s Abbey in Dublin around 1786-1791. The La Touches were involved with the establishment of this bank in 1783. David La Touche was a major investor.
Peter La Touche hired Whitmore Davis in 1789 to build a church in Delgany, County Wicklow, and John La Touche hired him to design the Orphan House on North Circular Road in Dublin in 1792.
Elizabeth La Touche née Vicars (1756-1842), wife of Peter La Touche, by John Whitaker National Portrait Gallery of London D18415.
The La Touche crest features a pomegranate symbol, for fertility. We see the crest on the urn which tops Marlay House over the front door. The same crest decorates over the front windows in Harristown. The star shaped symbol might be the shape of the pomegranate flower. This shape features on the front pillar gates of Harristown House also. The same crest was added to the stairwell in 85 St. Stephen’s Green.
Marlay House is two storeys over a basement. It has a seven bay front with a central door framed by what Mark Bence-Jones calls a frontispiece of coupled engaged Doric columns. The frontispiece has an entablature enriched with medallions and swags, and urns on the top at either end. The window above is also framed with an entablature on console brackets.
The large central urn located on the roof parapet is on a plinth carved with swags, and there are smaller urns dotted around the roof.
There is a bow at the side of the house and another at the back. The kitchen and staff areas were in the Grange part of the house. We were lucky to tour the Grange as well, to see the large kitchen, which has a galley level, where the lady of the house would instruct the cook what to prepare, remaining well away from the servants.
Unfortunately one is not allowed photography inside the house, but there are a few photographs on the County Council website. The house includes an elegant entrance hall, ballroom, and unusual oval music room, with decorative plasterwork by Michael Stapleton.
Marlay House front hall, photograph courtesy of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council website.
The Hall has a screen of Corinthian columns and frieze of tripods and winged sphinxes. Our guide pointed out that it is a large front hall for the size of the house. This is because it was built to impress visitors. It is not perfectly symmetrical, but has a dummy door to improve the symmetry.
The smaller Dining Room, off the front hall, also has a dummy door. It has a good frieze and cornice, and is the smaller dining room used for family dining. The house retains nearly all of the original chimneypieces. Our guide pointed out that one can surmise the age of the chimneypiece from the width of the mantlepiece. The Georgian mantlepieces were narrow, made to hold a mirror, which was tilted slightly upward to reflect light, and also to reflect a decorative ceiling. Later mantlepieces were made wider in the Victorian age when people liked to display objects.
There isn’t a feature staircase. There are two staircases, which are more functional than showy. There’s a servant staircase beside the small dining room.
The larger dining room could also act as a ballroom. It has beautiful delicate plasterwork mostly likely to have been made by Michael Stapleton, with a gorgeous ceiling and a decorative niche for a sideboard.
The larger dining room, Marlay House, photograph courtesy of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council website.
The walls have plaster swags and painted medallions.
There is a portrait of David La Touche in military outfit, and of his father in a soft turban-style hat.
A “jib” door leads to a corridor to the oval room. This room has a portrait of George Marlay, Bishop of Dromore. Musical instruments in the plaster ceiling show that this was a music room. The windows are curved as well as the walls.
Marlay House oval room, photograph courtesy of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council website.
There is also a fine plasterwork ceiling in the oval room. Unfortunately the photographs do not show the ceiling.
Marlay House interior, photograph courtesy of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council website.
There is a small vaulted vestibule off the oval room, which has more decorative plasterwork. Othere rooms include a library and another bow room with a decorative ceiling, which has drawings by the La Touche children. One of the library’s walls is dedicated to work by Evie Hone, since she spent time living and working in the courtyard.
In 1781 on a visit, Austin Cooper mentions the house as well as ponds with islands, rustic bridges, waterfalls, gardens with hothouses and greenhouses, an aviary and a menagerie. [8] The grounds were landscaped by Thomas Leggett (fl. 1770s-1810s) and Hely Dutton (fl. 1800s-1820s). [9]
A website about the La Touche family tells us that David (1729-1817) was an investor in the Grand Canal Company, and in 1800 he was its Treasurer. He and his brothers were founding members of the Kildare Street Club in the 1780s. They were also Freemasons. The La Touches were generous and supported most of the large charitable and cultural organisations of the time. [10] David developed an interest in farming and developed a model farm at Marlay.
David La Touche had many children, who married very well. Their daughter Elizabeth (1764-1788) married Robert Henry Butler 3rd Earl of Lanesborough and became the Countess of Lanesborough.
Photograph courtesy of La Touche Legacy website.Elizabeth, Countess of Lanesborough (née La Touche), (1764-1788), wife of 3rd Earl Date 1791 Engraver Francesco Bartolozzi, Italian, 1725-1815 After Horace Hone, English, 1756-1825, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Daughter Emily (1767-1854) married Colonel George Vesey, and they lived in Lucan House (see my entry https://irishhistorichouses.com/2025/12/20/lucan-house-lucan-county-dublin/ ). Her husband’s father Agmondisham Vesey (1708–85) was, interestingly, a member of the house of commons for Harristown, Co. Kildare, 1740–60. He was an amateur architect and designed his residence, Lucan House, built in 1772, with the help of William Chambers, and consulted with James Wyatt (1746-1813) of London and Michael Stapleton for the interiors of the house. There are several similarities between Marlay House and Lucan House, including the bows, and the work by Michael Stapleton. Lucan also has a screen of Corinthian pillars in the front hall, and an oval room.
Daughter Harriet (d. 1841) married Nicholas Colthurst, 3rd Baronet of Ardum, Co. Cork. Another daughter, Anne (d. 1798) married George Jeffereyes (1768-1841) of Blarney Castle (see my entry https://irishhistorichouses.com/2022/09/23/blarney-castle-rock-close-blarney-co-cork/ ). Daughter Maria (d. 1829) married Maurice Fitzgerald, 18th Knight of Kerry, of Glin Castle in County Limerick. David and Elizabeth née Marlay’s sons were David (1769-1816), John David (1772-1838), George (1770-1824), Peter (1777-1830), Robert, who didn’t marry, and William, who is probably the one who lay the foundation stone of the house, who died young.
David La Touche (1769-1816) married Cecilia , daughter of Joseph Leeson, 1st Earl of Milltown, of Russborough House. The Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us that David served as MP for the borough of Newcastle (1790–97, 1798–1800) and MP for Co. Carlow (1802–16) in the UK parliament.
David La Touche of Marlay, Dublin (1734-1806) by Hugh Douglas Hamilton courtesy Christies Old Master & British Drawings and Watercolour.Cecilia La Touche née Leeson (about 1769-1848).
Hugh Douglas Hamilton, (1739-1808) Madame La Touche thought to be Cecilia La Touche who married David La Touche eldest son of R.T Hon David La Touche in 1789, dau of Joseph Leeson, courtesy of Adam’s 28 Sept 2005
John David La Touche of Marlay, Dublin (1772–1830), full-length, in a taupe frock coat and jabot, with Taormina and Mount Etna beyond by Hugh Douglas Hamilton courtesy Old Master & British Drawings and Watercolours, Christies.Gentleman believed to be Robert La Touche by Hugh Douglas Hamilton courtesy Christies Irish Sale 2003. Robert died when a stand collapsed at the Curragh Races.Portrait Of A Young Gentleman, Believed To Be Peter Digges La Touche courtesy of Adam’s 1st April 2009, Irish School, late 18th Century.
Peter (1777-1830) married Charlotte, daughter of Cornwallis Maude 1st Viscount Hawarden. Peter inherited the estate at Bellevue owned by his uncle Peter La Touche.
The family enjoyed theatricals, and the Masque of Comus was performed in 1778 with an epilogue by Henry Grattan, a cousin of Mrs. La Touche. [see 8] The house had its own theatre.
The walled garden in Marlay was built around 1794.
John David La Touche was the next to live in Marlay. He was succeeded by his son David Charles La Touche (1800-1872). He died without marrying, so his brother, Charles John Digges La Touche (1811-1884), succeeded him. The La Touche legacy website tells us that Charles had been at Oxford and knew Newman (later a Cardinal). In 1844, Charles caused consternation among the wider family by becoming a Roman Catholic and moving to Tours in France. Charles had a son, John David (1861-1935), who worked in China in the Imperial Chinese Customs Service, and on his retirement, he returned to Ireland in 1925 and bought a fine residence at Kiltimon, Co. Wicklow. [see 10]
In 1871 the La Touche bank was acquired by Munster Bank.
The La Touches sold the property to Robert Tedcastle around 1850. The Tedcastle family owned a fleet of cargo ships, one of which they named “Marlay”. The “Marlay” was used to carry freight, such as coal, and passengers between Dublin and Liverpool. Tedcastle was a devout Christian and he led a quiet life so the house was no longer a place for parties. His grandchildren came to live with him. One of his grandsons wrote a memoir which discusses growing up in the house. When Robert Tedcastle died, the house went to a distant cousin, but lay empty.
The Tedcastle family lived at Marley until 1925, when Robert Ketton Love bought the house. He lived there until his death in 1939. Robert and his wife Maud bought the property to build a dairy to make icecream, but nearby a rival firm set up so the business didn’t succeed. They then established a market garden at the property. When Robert died in 1939, his son Philip inherited the estate and market garden. He was the largest tomato producer in Ireland, I believe, and also bred racehorses. He died in August 1970 and in 1972 it was bought by Dublin County Council.
2026 Diary of Irish Historic Houses (section 482 properties)
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[4] Mark Bence-Jones, A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.
p. 202. “(La Touche/IFR) The original early C18 house here, known as the Grange and built by Thomas Taylor, was sold ca 1760 to the banker, David La Touche, MP, afterwards 1st Governor of the Bank of Ireland, who renamed it Marlay, having married a daughter of Rt. Rev George Marlay, bishop of Dromore; and who rebuilt the house later in C18. Of two storeys over a basement. Seven bay front, central window-door framed by frontispiece of coupled engaged Doric columns, entablature enriched with medallions and swags, and urns; window above it with entablature on console brackets; large central urn on plinth carved with swags in centre of roof parapet; smaller urns on either side. Side elevation of 2 bays on either side of a curved bow. Delicate interior plasterwork, said to be by Michael Stapleton. Hall with screen of Corinthian columns and frieze of tripods and winged sphinxes. Fine plasterwork ceilings in dining room and oval room, that in the dining room incorporating a painted medallion; husk ornamentation on dining room walls. Sold ca 1867 to one of the Tedcastle famliy, of the well-known firm of coal merchants. From ca 1925 to 1974 the home of the Love family; for a period, the stained glass artist, Evie Hone, occupied a house in the stable court. Now owned by the local authority and empty, used by Radio-Telefis Eireann as Kilmore House in their recent feature.”
[7] p. 129. Bunbury, Turtle and Art Kavanagh, The Landed Gentry & Aristocracy of County Kildare. Published by Irish Family Names, 11 Emerald Cottages, Grand Canal St., Dublin 4 and Market Square, Bunclody, Co. Wexford, Ireland, 2004.
[8] p. 61-62, Ball, Francis Elrington, A History of the County Dublin: the people, parishes and antiquities from the earliest times to the close of the eighteenth century. Volume III. Alex. Thom, 1902-20.
On Thomas Taylor’s grave in Kilgobbin, it says “Here lieth the body of Thomas Taylor of Harold’s Grange who departed this life the 22nd November 1727. Underneath lie the remains of Samuel Taylor Esq. who departed this life 22nd April 1881 aged 79 years and six months leaving only one daughter who married to the Rev. Dr. Vesey of the City of Dublin. Mrs. Anna Taylor who departed this life Feb 22nd 1821 aged 66 years daughter of John Eastwood Esq. of Castletown, County Louth, wife of Mathew Beresford Taylor Esq who died 8th March 1828 aged 74 years. Mrs. Isabella Taylor who departed this life 1st March 1830, daughter to Sir Barry Collies Meredyth Bart wife of John Keatinge Taylor Esq. aged 36 years Captain 8th Hussars who died 3rd March 1836 aged 52 years. His widow Mary daughter of William Poole of Ballyroan Esq died 28th January 1892. Isabella their eldest child died 1834 aged two years.”
My friend Gary and I went on a tour of Howth Castle in Dublin during Heritage Week in 2025. You can arrange a tour if you contact the castle in advance, see the website https://howthcastle.ie
I envy historian Daniel, our tour guide, as he lives in the castle! Mark Bence-Jones describes the castle as a massive medieval keep, with corner towers crenellated in the Irish crow-step fashion, to which additions have been made through the centuries. [1]
Howth Castle, courtesy of Howth Castle instagram.In the middle of the photograph is the old tower house.Howth Castle, County Dublin, after Francis Wheatley, English, 1747-1801.
Timothy William Ferres tells us that the current building is not the original Howth Castle, which was on the high slopes by the village and the sea. [2]
Until recently, the castle was owned by the Gaisford-St. Lawrence family. Irish investment group Tetrarch who purchased the property in 2019 plan to build a hotel on the grounds. It had been owned by the same family, originally the St. Lawrences, ever since it was built over eight hundred years ago. Over the years, wings, turrets and towers were added, involving architects such as Francis Bindon (the Knight of Glin suggests he may have been responsible for some work around 1738), Richard Morrison (the Gothic gateway, and stables, around 1810), Francis Johnson (proposed works for the 3rd Earl of Howth), and Edward Lutyens (for Julian Gaisford-St. Lawrence).
Timothy William Ferres tells us that the St. Lawrence family was originally the Tristram family. Sir Almeric Tristram took the name St. Lawrence after praying to the saint before a battle which took place on St. Lawrence’s Day near Clontarf in Dublin. Sir Almeric landed in Howth in 1177. After the battle he was rewarded for his valour in the conflict with the lands and barony of Howth. [see 2]
In an article in the Irish Times on Saturday August 14th 2021, Elizabeth Birthistle tells us that a sword that is said to have featured in the St. Lawrence’s Day battle is to be auctioned. A “more sober assessment” of the Great Sword of Howth, she tells us, dates it to the late 15th century. Perhaps, she suggests, Nicholas St. Lawrence 3rd Baron of Howth used it in 1504 at the Battle of Knockdoe. The sword is so heavy that it must be held with two hands. It is first recorded in an inventory of 1748, and is described and illustrated in Joseph C Walker’s An Historical Essay on the Dress of the Ancient and Modern Irish. [3]
Almeric went on to fight in Ulster and then Connaught. In Connaught, he was killed by the O’Conor head of the province, along with his thirty knights and two hundred infantry. He left three sons by his wife, a sister of John de Courcy, Earl of Ulster. The eldest son, Nicholas Fitz Almeric, relinquished his father’s Ulster conquests to religious houses, and settled in Howth. [see 2]
The first construction on the site would have been of wood.
The family coat of arms depicts a mermaid and a sea lion. The mermaid is often pictured holding a mirror. There is a coat of arms on the wall of the front of the castle which was probably moved from an older part of a castle. The Howth Castle website tells us:
“A mermaid is one of the supporters of the St. Lawrence family coat of arms, alongside a sea lion. The mermaid is often portrayed holding a small glass mirror. According to legend, the mermaid was once Dame Geraldine O’Byrne, daughter of The O’Byrne of Wicklow. She fell victim to dark magic at Howth Castle and was transformed into a mermaid. One item she left behind in her bedroom was a small glass mirror. The tower she slept in was from then always known as the ‘Mermaid’s Tower’. “
An article in the Irish Times tells us that there was a tryst between Dame Geraldine O’Byrne and Tristram St. Lawrence which left the Wicklow woman heartbroken and shamed, so she transformed into a mermaid. It is said her wails of melancholy are still carried through the winds at night near the Mermaid’s Tower on the estate. [3]
The Howth Castle website tells us that:
“One Christmas, Thomas St. Lawrence, Bishop of Cork and Ross [(1755–1831), son of the 1st Earl, 15th Baron of Howth] returned to Howth Castle to find that the family had gone to stay with Lord Sligo for the holiday season. Bishop St. Lawrence was left alone in the cold and dark castle with just a housekeeper for company and his ancestors glaring at him from the portraits in the dark hallways. The housekeeper put him to bed in the ‘Mermaid’s Tower’. His room was described as if ‘designed as the locus in quo for a ghost scene. Its moth-eaten finery, antiquated and shabby – -its yellow curtains, fluttering in the air…the appearance of the room was enough to make a nervous spirit shudder.’
“He was suddenly and violently awoken in the night by the feeling of a cold, wet hand clasping his wrist and a cold hand covering his mouth. He made one large leap from his bed, lit his candle and there he found not a sinner in the room with him but one bloody yellow glove lying on his bed. Was he visited in the night by the mermaid?”
I’m confused about Barons of Howth as different sources number the Barons differently. I will follow the numbering used on The Peerage website, which refers to L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 150. According to this, Christopher St. Lawrence (died around 1462) was 1st Baron Howth. He held the office of Constable of Dublin Castle from 1461.
The oldest surviving part of the castle is the gate tower in front of the main house. It dates to around 1450, the time of the 1st Baron Howth.
The Howth Castle website tells us that the Keep, the tower incorporated into the castle, also dates from the mid fifteenth century. Unfortunately I have misplaced the notes I took on my visit to the castle. Daniel pointed out the various parts of the castle as we stood on the balustrade looking out into the courtyard, telling us when each part was built. From the photograph of the painting above, the Keep is the large tower on the left of the front door, and the Gate House is slightly to the front of the building to the right. Traces remain in the gardens of the wall and turrets, which would have enclosed the area. You can’t fully see the keep from the front of the house.
Christopher’s son Robert St. Lawrence (d. 1486) 2nd Baron Howth served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland, after first serving as “Chancellor of the Green Wax,” which was the title of the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland. He married Joan, second daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, so by marriage, Timothy William Ferres tells us, Lord Howth’s descendants derived descent from King Edward III, and became inheritors of the blood royal. [see 2]
Nicholas St. Lawrence (d. 1526) was 3rd Baron Howth according to the Dictionary of Irish Biography. He also served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He married three times. The first bride was Janet, daughter of Christopher Plunkett 2nd Baron Killeen. We came across the Plunketts of Killeen and Dunsany when we visited Dunsany Castle in County Meath.
The Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us that when Lambert Simnel came to Ireland in 1487 and was crowned as King Edward VI in Christchurch catheral in Dublin, Nicholas the 3rd Baron remained loyal to King Henry VII. [4] In 1504, as mentioned earlier, the 3rd Baron Howth played a significant role at the battle of Knockdoe in County Galway, where the lord deputy, 8th Earl of Kildare, defeated the MacWilliam Burkes of Clanricard and the O’Briens of Thomond. [see 4]
The family were well-connected. The third baron’s daughter Elizabeth married widower Richard Nugent, 3rd Baron Delvin, whose first wife had been the daughter of Gerald Fitzgerald 8th Earl of Kildare.
The son and heir of the 3rd Baron, Christopher (d. 1542), served as Sheriff for County Dublin. Christopher the 4th Baron was father to the 5th, Edward (d. 1549), 6th (Richard, d. 1558 and married Catherine, daughter of the 9th Earl of Kildare, but they had no children) and 7th Barons of Howth.
The Hall, which is the middle of the front facade, was added to the side of the Keep in 1558 by Christopher, who is the 20th Lord of Howth according to the Howth Castle website, or the 7th Baron. He was also called “the Blind Lord,” presumably due to weak eyesight. The 1558 hall is now entered by the main door of the Castle.
Christopher St. Lawrence (d. 1589) 7th Baron Howth was educated at Lincoln’s Inn, along with his two elder brothers, the 5th and 6th barons. Christopher entered Lincoln’s Inn in 1544 and was still resident ten years later in 1554. That year he was threatened with expulsion from Lincoln’s Inn for wearing a beard, which indicates, Terry Clavin suggests in the Dictionary of Irish Biography, a rakish side to his personality. He inherited his family estate of Howth and the title on the death of his brother Richard in autumn 1558 and was sworn a member of the Irish privy council soon afterward. [5]
The Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us that between December 1562 and February 1563 the 7th Baron represented Thomas Radcliffe 3rd Earl of Sussex’s views on the government of Ireland to Queen Elizabeth. [5]
The Dictionary tells us that from 1570 onward the 7th Baron Howth ceased to play an active role in the privy council and became increasingly estranged from the government. By 1575, concerned about his loyalty, the government briefly imprisoned him, following the arrest of his close associate Gerald Fitzgerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, upon charges of treason.
Christopher St. Lawrence (d. 1589) 7th Baron Howth compiled a book, The Book of Howth, in which he rebutted Henry Sidney’s views of Ireland.
Sir Henry Sidney (1529-1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, after painter Arnold Van Brounkhorst, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Sidney believed that the medieval conquest of Ireland failed due to the manner in which the descendants of the Norman colonists, the so-called ‘Old English,’ embraced Gaelic customs. He regarded as especially pernicious the system of ‘coign and livery.’ Under ‘coign and livery,’ landowners maintained private armies. Sidney believed this impoverished the country and institutionalised violence. Clavin writes that Lord Howth produced the ‘Book of Howth’ to rebut this interpretation of Irish history and to provide a thinly-veiled critique of Sidney’s reliance on and promotion of English-born officials and military adventurers at the expense of the Old English community. Howth held that the abolition of ‘coign and livery’ would leave the Old English exposed to the depredations of the Gaelic Irish. [5]
Instead of “coign and livery,” the English maintained a royal army, with landowners providing for the soldiers with the “cess.” Christopher St. Lawrence 7th Baron opposed the “cess.” Sidney suggested that a tax be imposed instead of the cess. Lord Howth objected and was imprisoned for six months. He and others similarly imprisoned were released when they acknowledged that the queen was entitled to tax her subjects during times of necessity. [5]
In 1579, Christopher was convicted cruelty towards his wife and children. His wife Elizabeth Plunket was from Beaulieu in County Louth (see my entry https://irishhistorichouses.com/2021/03/17/beaulieu-county-louth/). After he whipped his thirteen year old daughter Jane to punish her, she died. He beat his wife so badly that she had to remain in bed for two weeks, and then fled to her brother. Howth was tried before the court of castle chamber on charges of manslaughter and domestic abuse. Clavin writes that: “In an unprecedented step, given Howth’s social status, the court accepted testimony providing lurid details of his dissolute private life. This may reflect either the crown’s desire to discredit a prominent opposition figure or simply the savagery of his crimes.” [5] He was imprisoned and fined, and made to pay support for his wife and children, from whom he separated, and he fell out of public life.
Amazingly, he later married for a second time, this time to Cecilia Cusack (d. 1638), daughter of an Alderman of Dublin, Henry Cusack. After Christopher died in 1589, she married John Barnewall of Monktown, Co. Meath, and after his death, John Finglas, of Westpalstown, Co. Dublin.
Another legend of the castle stems from around the time of Christopher 7th Baron. When we visited the castle, the dining room was set with a place for a guest. The tradition is to keep a place for any passing guest. This stems from a legend about Grace O’Malley (c.1530-1603), “the pirate queen.”
Grace O’Malley was nicknamed ‘Grainne Mhaol’ (Grace the Bald) because when she was a child she cut her hair when her father Eoghan refused to take her on a voyage to Spain because he believed that a ship was no place for a girl. She cropped her hair to look like a boy. [6]
Grace O’Malley, 18th century Irish school, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction for Howth Castle, 2021.
The story is told that in around 1575, Grace O’Malley landed in Howth on her return from a visit to Queen Elizabeth. However, the Howth website tells us that Grace O’Malley did not visit Queen Elizabeth until 1593. She was in Dublin, however, in 1576, visiting the Lord Deputy. The story tells us that Grace O’Malley proceeded to Howth Castle, expecting to be invited for dinner, and to obtain supplies for her voyage home to Mayo. However, the gates were closed against her. This breached ancient Irish hospitality.
Later, when Lord Howth’s heir was taken to see her ship, she abducted him and brought him back to Mayo. She returned him after extracting a promise from Lord Howth that his gates would never be closed at the dinner hour, and that a place would always be laid for an unexpected guest.
Nicholas the 8th Baron fought with the British against the rebels in the Nine Years War (1594–1603). He fought alongside Henry Bagenal (d. 1598) against Hugh O’Neill (c.1540–1616) 2nd Earl of Tyrone, and accompanied Lord Deputy William Russell, later 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh, on his campaign against the O’Byrnes in County Wicklow. In 1601 he went to London to discuss Irish affairs, and the Queen formed a high opinion of him. She was also impressed by Howth’s eldest son Christopher, later 9th Baron Howth. [7]
William Russell (d. 1613) 1st Baron of Thornhaugh, painting attributed to Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger. Nicholas the 8th Baron accompanied Lord Deputy William Russell 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh on his campaign against the O’Byrnes in County Wicklow.
Nicholas married Margaret, daughter of Christopher Barnewall of Turvey in Dublin. She gave birth to the heir, and her daughter Margaret married Jenico Preston, 5th Viscount Gormanston. When widowed, daughter Margaret married Luke Plunkett, 1st Earl of Fingall.
In 1599, Christopher St. Lawrence 9th Baron was one of six who accompanied Robert Devereux 2nd Earl of Essex on his unauthorised return to England, riding with the earl to the royal palace at Nonesuch, where Essex burst in to Queen Elizabeth’s bedchamber.
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1566-1601) by Marcus Geeraerts the younger (Bruges 1561/2 – London 1635/6) and Studio, dated, top left: 1599. From a full-length portrait at Woburn Abbey (Duke of Bedford), courtesy of National Trust.
Rumour circulated that Christopher St. Lawrence pledged to kill Essex’s arch-rival Sir Robert Cecil. The Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us:
“In late October he was summoned before the English privy council, where he denied having threatened Cecil’s life. One of the counsellors then referred to his Irishness, the clear implication being that as such he could not be trusted, at which he declared: ‘I am sorry that when I am in England, I should be esteemed an Irish Man, and in Ireland, an English Man; I have spent my blood, engaged and endangered my Liffe, often to doe Her Majestie Service, and doe beseech to have yt soe regarded’ (Collins, Letters and memorials of state, i, 138). His dignified and uncharacteristically tactful response eloquently summed up the quandary of the partially gaelicised descendants of the medieval invaders of Ireland (the Old English), who were regarded with suspicion by the Gaelic Irish and English alike. It also mollified his accusers, who, in any case, recognised that his martial prowess was urgently required in Ireland. Prior to his return to Dublin on 19 January, the queen reversed an earlier decision to cut off his salary, and commended him to the authorities in Dublin.” [8]
Christopher married Elizabeth Wentworth, daughter of Sir John Wentworth of Little Horkesley and Gosfield Hall, Essex, but by 1605 they separated, and the Privy Council ruled that he must pay for her maintenance. The St. Lawrence family inherited estates near Colchester from her family.
By 1601, while fighting in Ulster alongside the Lord Deputy Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, many of the men Christopher commanded were Gaelic Irish. Increasingly dissatisfied, Christopher St. Lawrence began to alienate leading members of the political establishment.
Charles Blount (1563-1606), 8th Baron Mountjoy, Lord Deputy of Ireland, 1775, engraver Valentine Green after Paulus Van Somer; photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
In 1605 the government began prosecuting prominent Catholics for failing to attend Church of Ireland services. Although Protestant, St. Lawrence’s family connections led him to identify with the Catholic opposition. The Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us that he became involved in the planning of an uprising in late 1605, along with Hugh O’Neill, despite his father having previously battled against O’Neill. [8]
Hugh O’Neill (c. 1540-1616) 2nd Earl of Tyrone, courtesy of National Museums Northern Ireland. In Irish Portraits 1660-1860 by Anne Crookshank and the Knight of Glin, we are told that this was painted during his exile in Rome.
Low on funds, and not having yet inherited Howth, he sought to join the Spanish army in Flanders, where an Irish regiment had been established in 1605. He wanted support for a rebellion against the British crown. However, perhaps realising that an uprising would fail, he turned into an informant for the government. The Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us that he sought to consolidate ties to the establishment by arranging the marriage of his son and heir Nicholas to a daughter of the Church of Ireland bishop of Meath, George Montgomery, in 1615.
George Montgomery, Bishop of Meath (c. 1566-1621), courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction 2021.Inside Howth Castle before the interiors auction, photograph courtesy of Irish Times, Saturday August 14th 2021.Pictured here is George Montgomery, Bishop of Meath (c. 1566-1621). On the left is a painting of George Montgomery’s wife Susan Steyning (1573-1614). In the middle is William St. Lawrence, son of William, 14th Baron Howth c 1740, Attributed to John Lewis (fl 1745-60). The auction catalogue tells us: “Born sometime around 1732, William was given the same name as his father, William St. Lawrence, 14th Baron Howth. Although William’s mother, Lucy Gorges, was twenty years younger than her husband, they were happily married and had three children; a daughter named Mary, and two sons, Thomas (who became 1st Earl of Howth), and William, the sitter in this portrait. The St. Lawrences were friends of Jonathan Swift, who was a frequent visitor to Howth Castle and also to Kilfane, their country house in Co. Kilkenny, where William Snr indulged his passion for horses and hunting…The attribution of this painting to the Dublin artist John Lewis, in Toby Bernard’s “Making the Grand Figure: Lives and Possessions in Ireland 1641-1770”, is convincing. Although not well-known as a portrait painter, Lewis was at the centre of Dublin’s theatre and cultural life in the mid eighteenth century, when he worked as a scene painter at the Smock Alley Theatre. He painted portraits of actor Peg Woffington, and dramatist Henry Brooke. While on a visit to Quilca House in Co. Cavan with Thomas Sheridan, he painted mural decorations, with images of Milton, Shakespeare and Jonathan Swift. He may have painted the portrait of William St. Lawrence after the boy’s untimely death. Although destined for a life as a professional soldier, and appointed an ensign in the army while still just fourteen years old, William’s military career was shortlived. While still a teenager, in April 1749, he died of smallpox. Dr. Peter Murray 2021.”
Christopher acted as a secret agent for the Crown, while pretending to be part of the rebellion against the Crown. He was afraid of being discovered as a traitor. The Dictionary of Biography has a long entry about his and his double dealings. He died in 1619 at Howth and was buried at Howth abbey on 30 January 1620. He and his wife had two sons and a daughter; he was succeeded by his eldest son, Nicholas. [8]
Nicholas St. Lawrence (d. 1643/44) 10th Baron Howth added the top floor above the hall of Howth Castle sometime prior to 1641. He and his wife Jane née Montgomery had two daughters: Alison, who married Thomas Luttrell of Luttrellstown Castle (now a wedding venue), and Elizabeth.
Luttrellstown Castle, courtesy of Luttrellstown Castle Resort for Failte Ireland 2019, Ireland’s Content Pool. [9]
Nicholas’s brother Thomas (d. 1649) succeeded as 11th Baron. Thomas’s son, William St. Lawrence (1628-1671), succeeded as 12th Baron Howth. The 12th Baron was appointed Custos Rotulorum for Dublin in 1661, and sat in the Irish House of Lords.
Nicholas the 10th Baron’s daughter Elizabeth married, as her second husband, her cousin William St. Lawrence 12th Baron Howth. She gave birth to the 13th Baron Howth.
Thomas St. Lawrence (1659-1727) 13th Baron Howth inherited the title when he was only twelve years old. Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory was appointed by his father as his legal guardian.
Thomas Butler (1634-1680) 6th Earl of Ossory, studio of Sir Peter Lely, circa 1678, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery NPG 371. Second son of the Duke and Duchess of Ormond and father of 2nd Duke of Ormonde. He was appointed as Thomas St. Lawrence (1659-1727) 13th Baron Howth’s legal guardian.
Thomas St. Lawrence married Mary, daughter of Henry Barnewall, 2nd Viscount Barnewall of Kingsland, County Dublin. After first backing King James II, in 1697 he signed the declaration in favour of King William III.
His son William (1688-1748) succeeded as 14th Baron, and carried out extensive work on Howth Castle, completing the project in 1738. A painting dating from this period commemorates the work.
Dating from around 1740, this bird’s eye view of Howth Demesne commemorates the extensive rebuilding of Howth Castle, a project completed in 1738 under the direction of William St. Lawrence, 14th Baron of Howth. Attributed to William Van der Hagen (fl. 1720-1745) or Joseph Tudor (d. 1759). Photograph courtesy of Sales Catalogue, Fonsie Mealy auction of Howth Castle contents, 2021.
Mark Bence-Jones writes that the castle is “Basically a massive medieval keep, with corner towers crenellated in the Irish crow-step fashion, to which additions have been made through the centuries. The keep is joined by a hall range to a tower with similar turrets which probably dates from early C16; in front of this tower stands a C15 gatehouse tower, joined to it by a battlemented wall which forms one side of the entrance court.” [see 1]
Mark Bence-Jones describes the central part of the front of the house:
“The hall range, in the centre, now has Georgian sash windows and in front of it runs a handsome balustraded terrace with a broad flight of steps leading up to the entrance door, which has a pedimented and rusticated Doric doorcase. These Classical features date from 1738, when the castle was enlarged and modernized by William St. Lawrence, 14th Lord Howth, who frequently entertained his friend Dean Swift here.” [see 1]
Mark Bence-Jones describes: “The hall has eighteenth century doorcases with shouldered architraves, an early nineteenth century Gothic frieze and a medieval stone fireplace with a surround by Lutyens.” [see 1] The hall was added to the medieval tower in 1558 by Christopher, who is the 20th Lord of Howth according to the Howth Castle website, or the 7th Baron. It was later adapted by Edwin Lutyens in around 1911.
In Irish Houses and Gardens. From the Archives of Country Life, Sean O’Reilly writes about the article written about Howth Castle by Weaver for Country Life:
“It is Lutyens’s selective retention and sensitive recovery of surviving original fabric from a variety of eras that distinguishes his work at Howth. The entrance hall, at the head of a wide flight of stairs, displays best his ability to empathise. While the photographs, by an unknown photographer and by Henson, convey his success, Weaver’s summary clarifies the architect’s methodology: ‘The general work of reparation in the interior revealed in the hall fireplace an old elliptical arch which enabled the original open hearth to be used once more. Above it Mr Macdonald Gill had painted, under Mr Lutyens’ direction, a charming conventional map of Howth and the neighbouring sea and a dial which records the movement of a wind gauge.’ ” [11]
The chimneypiece in the entrance hall was developed from existing Georgian and Victorian features, Seán O’Reilly tells us, with medieval fabric recovered during renovation, providing a mix of styles typical of Lutyens’ restorations. I wish I could find my notes to tell you more about the map painted by MacDonald Gill! I will just have to return so historian Daniel can tell me again.
We were lucky enough to visit the castle when it hosted an exhibition of paintings by Peter Pearson, which feature in a book: Of Sea and Stone: Paintings 1974-2014.
William the 14th Baron (1688-1748) married Lucy, younger daughter of Lieutenant-General Richard Gorges of Kilbrew, County Meath. Her mother was Nicola Sophia Hamilton, who before marrying Richard Gorges, had been married to Tristram Beresford, 3rd Baronet of Coleraine.
The Howth Castle website reminds us of a story that our guide on our visit to Curraghmore in County Waterford told us:
“For many years in the Drawing Room of the castle hung the portrait of a handsome woman. To the back of the portrait was attached an unsigned and undated note stating that the painting once had a black ribbon round the wrist but that this had been removed during cleaning. The woman is Nicola Hamilton born 1667 who married firstly Sir Tristram Beresford and subsequently General Richard Gorges. The younger daughter of this marriage was Lucy Gorges, wife of the 27th Lord Howth, Swift’s ‘blue-eyed nymph’.”
Nicola Hamilton (1666-1713) by 17th century Irish portraitist, Garrett Morphy, courtesy of Howth Castle instagram.
“The legend is that when she was quite young, she made an agreement with John Le Poer, Earl of Tyrone that whoever died first would come back and appear to the other. On dying Lord Tyrone came to her in the night, assured her of the truth of the Christian Revelation and made various predictions, that her first husband would soon die, that her son would marry the Tyrone heiress, and that she herself would die in her forty-seventh year, all of which came true. To convince her of the reality of his presence, he grasped her wrist causing her an injury and permanent scar which she concealed beneath a black ribbon.
“The ease with which the ribbon was removed from the portrait does little to enhance the veracity of the story.“
Nicola’s son was Marcus Beresford (1694-1763) 4th Baronet of Coleraine and as the ghost predicted, he married Catherine Le Poer of Curraghmore, daughter and heiress of James, 3rd Earl of Tyrone.
William St. Lawrence 14th Baron of Howth spent much time at another house he owned in Ireland, Kilfane in County Kilkenny. [12] He sat in the Irish House of Commons as MP for Ratoath between 1716 and 1727, and became a member of the Privy Council of Ireland in 1739.
William 14th Baron came to know Jonathan Swift through his wife. Swift became a regular visitor to Howth Castle and they exchanged numerous letters. At Howth’s request, Swift had his portrait painted by Francis Bindon.
Jonathan Swift by Francis Bindon, courtesy of Howth auction by Fonsie Mealy, 2021.
The painting of Jonathan Swift by Francis Bindon was offered at auction in 2021. A very similar painting by Bindon is owned by the Deanery of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. An obituary notice about Bindon in Faulkner’s Journal from 1765 describes Bindon as “one of the best painters and architects this nation has ever produced” and a copy of the Swift picture, painted by Robert Home, hangs in the Examination Hall at Trinity College, Dublin.
Portrait of Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) by Francis Bindon owned by St. Patrick’s Cathedral Deanery.
In 1736, Lady Lucy Howth’s brother Hamilton Gorges killed Lord Howth’s brother Henry St. Lawrence in a duel. Gorges was tried for murder but acquitted.
William 14th Baron and Lucy’s son Thomas (1730-1801) succeeded as 15th Baron. He was educated in Trinity College Dublin, and succeeded to the title when he was eighteen years old, after his father’s death. He became a barrister, and was elected as a “Bencher,” or Master of the Bench of King’s Inn in Dublin in 1767.
In 1750 he married Isabella, daughter of Henry King, 3rd Baronet of Boyle Abbey in County Roscommon.
Isabella King, daughter of Henry King 3rd Baronet of Boyle Abbey in County Roscommon and wife of Thomas, 1st Earl of Howth courtesy Adam’s 6 Oct 2009 Robert Hunter (c.1715/20-c.1803).
In 1767 Thomas was created Viscount St. Lawrence and then Earl of Howth. He was appointed to Ireland’s Privy Council in 1768. Timothy William Ferres tells us that in consideration of his own and his ancestors’ services, he obtained, in 1776, a pension of £500 a year.
His daughter Elizabeth married Dudley Alexander Sydney Cosby, 1st and last Baron Sydney and Stradbally, whom we came across when we visited Stradbally Hall in County Laois (see my entry https://irishhistorichouses.com/2021/10/14/stradbally-hall-stradbally-co-laois/ ). A younger son, Thomas St. Lawrence (1755-1831), became Lord Bishop of Cork and Ross. He’s the one who supposedly heard the mermaid in the tower!
Thomas’s son William (1752-1822) succeeded as 2nd Earl. William married firstly, in 1777, Mary Bermingham, 2nd daughter and co-heiress of Thomas, 1st Earl of Louth. Mary gave birth to several daughters.
Harriet St. Lawrence (d. 1830), daughter of William 2nd Earl of Howth. She married Arthur French St. George (1780-1844).
A daughter of the 2nd Earl of Howth, Isabella (d. 1837), married William Richard Annesley, 3rd Earl Annesley of Castlewellan, County Down.
Mary née Bermingham died in 1773 and William 2nd Earl of Howth then married Margaret Burke, daughter of William Burke of Glinsk, County Galway.
Howth Harbour was constructed from 1807, and in 1821, King George IV visited Ireland, landing at Howth pier.
Margaret the second wife, Countess of Howth, gave birth to a daughter Catherine, who married Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan, son of the 8th Earl of Cork. She also gave birth to the heir, Thomas (1803-1874), who succeeded as 3rd Earl of Howth in 1822.
Thomas the 3rd Earl served as Vice-Admiral of the Province of Leinster, and Lord-Lieutenant of County Dublin. He married Emily, daughter of John Thomas de Burgh, the 1st Marquess of Clanricarde.
Emily, Countess of Howth, courtesy Fonsie Mealy Howth Castle sale.
Around 1840, Richard Morrison drew up plans for alterations in the castle, which were only partially executed, including Gothicizing the stables. [see 2]
Emily gave birth to several children, including the heir, but died of measles at the age of thirty-five, in 1842.
Emily and Thomas had a daughter, Emily (d. 1868), who married Thomas Gaisford (d. 1898). Another daughter, Margaret Frances, married Charles Compton William Domvile, 2nd Baronet of Templeogue and Santry.
The 3rd Earl married for a second time in 1851, to Henriette Elizabeth Digby Barfoot. She had a daughter, Henrietta Eliza, who married Benjamin Lee Guinness (1842-1900), and two other children.
In 1855 the 3rd Earl had the Kenelm Lee Guinness Tower built at the end of the east range at the front of the castle. Kenelm was the son of Henrietta née St. Lawrence and Benjamin Lee Guinness. The tower must have been named later, as Kenelm was born in 1887.
Thomas and Emily’s son William Ulick Tristram (1827-1909) succeeded as 4th Earl in 1874. He served as Captain in the 7th Hussars 1847-50. He was High Sheriff of County Dublin in 1854 and State Steward to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1855 until 1866. In the English House of Commons he served as Liberal MP for Galway Borough from 1868 until 1874.
He had no children and the titles died with him.
The property passed to his sister Emily’s family, and her son added St. Lawrence to his surname to become Julian Charles Gaisford-St. Lawrence (d. 1932). In 1911 he hired Edwin Lutyens to renovate and enlarge the castle.
The most substantial addition was the three bay two storey Gaisford Tower, with basement and dormer attic, at the end of the west wing, which he built to house his library. This tower picked up many of the motifs distinguishing the earlier fabric, from its irregular massing to the use of stepped battlements with pyramidal pinnacles, all moulding it into the meandering fabric of the earlier buildings. [see 11] Other work included the steps to the east of the new tower, a loggia with bathrooms above between the old hall and the west wing and a sunken garden. He also added square plan corner turrets to the south-west and north-east facades, incorporating fabric of earlier structures, 1738 and ca 1840. [see 2]
New facade on the west wing introduced by Lutyens, with library tower on the left, photograph courtesy of Howth Castle instagram.Plan of Howth Castle, courtesy Archiseek.Drawings by Lutyens for Howth Castle.
Mark Bence-Jones writes:
“On the other side of the hall range, a long two storey wing containing the drawing room extends at right angles to it, ending in another tower similar to the keep, with Irish battlemented corner turrets. This last tower was added 1910 for Cmdr Julian Gaisford-St. Lawrence, who inherited Howth from his maternal uncle, 4th and last Earl of Howth, and assumed the additional surname of St Lawrence; it was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens, who also added a corridor with corbelled oriels at the back of the drawing room wing and a loggia at the junction of the wing with the hall range; as well as carrying out some alterations to the interior.”
This architectural sketch by Lutyens shows in the middle drawing, the balustraded terrace to the front door, the hall, with “smoking room” on the right and dining room on the left.The Gaisford Tower, I think, containing the library, by Lutyens. Photograph courtesy of Archiseek. [13]Drawings by Lutyens for Howth Castle.
From the front hall, to the right, when facing the fireplace, is the dining room. It has surviving eighteeth century panelling.
Bence-Jones writes that Lutyens restored the dining room to its original size after it had been partitioned off into several smaller rooms. It has a modillion cornice and eighteenth century style panelling with fluted Corinthian pilasters.
Mark Bence-Jones writes: “The drawing room has a heavily moulded mid-C18 ceiling, probably copied from William Kent’s Works of Inigo Jones; the walls are divided into panels with arched mouldings, a treatment which is repeated in one of the bedrooms.”
Before entering the library we entered another room, the Boudoir, which contains an old map of the estate. At its height, the Howth Estate covered about 15,000 acres. This estate stretched from Howth to Killester and partially through North County Dublin and Meath.
Mark Bence-Jones tells us: “Lutyens also made a simple and dignified Catholic chapel in early C19 range on one side of the entrance court; it has a barrel-vaulted ceiling and an apse behind the altar.”
The addition to the east wing by Lutyens in around 1911 contains the chapel. Unfortunately we did not get to see inside this wing.
Drawings by Lutyens for Howth Castle, the east wing.The Chapel, Howth Castle, photograph courtesy of Archiseek. [13]
Bence-Jones also tells us that the castle has famous gardens, with a formal garden laid out around 1720, gigantic beech hedges, an early eighteenth century canal, and plantings of rhododendrons. I will have to return to see the gardens!
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[1] p. 155. Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.
Stephen and I visited Lucan House during Open House Dublin in 2025. I am delighted that the house and thirty acres of parkland and woodland on the River Liffey have been purchased by South Dublin City Council in 2024, and they are being prepared for use as a public amenity.
Volunteer guide Colin took us around the outside of the house first, and to the stables, then back to the house where we were allowed to wander around on the ground floor, marvelling at the plasterwork by Michael Stapleton and the joinery detail.
The house we see today replaced an earlier medieval house. A painting by Thomas Roberts produced shortly before its demolition shows what appears to be a late-medieval tower house with a manor house with castellated roofline to one side. [1] It was demolished by Agmondisham Vesey (1708–85) to make way for the current house.
A painting by Thomas Roberts produced shortly before its demolition shows what appears to be a late-medieval tower house with a fortified manor house with castellated roofline to one side.
We passed the ruin of a medieval period church, the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on the way along the driveway to the house – I am not sure if the original house was attached to this ruin.
Robert O’Byrne tells us that Vesey’s wife Elizabeth lamented the destruction of the older building, ‘with its niches and thousand other Gothic beauties,’ but her husband was determined to build the new house.
Our guide told us that William Sarsfield acquired the site in 1566. A later William Sarsfield (d. 1675) who lived at the Lucan House property married a woman said to be an illegitimate daughter of King Charles II, Mary Crofts (c. 1651-1693) (also called Mary Walters). Mary Crofts’ mother Lucy née Walter (d. 1658) was also mother of James Scott (1649-1685) Duke of Monmouth, who was recognised by Charles II as his offspring. Both Mary and James took the name Crofts as she and her brother were placed with with William Crofts, 1st Baron Crofts, a close friend of the King, to be raised. James changed his name to Scott, taking his wife’s name when he married. Lucy Walters was also a lover of Theobald Taaffe, 1st Earl of Carlingford (c. 1603 – 1677), who may have been Mary Crofts’s father.
Portrait by Godfrey Kneller. This could be Mary Crofts, who married William Sarsfield. She was the daughter of Lucy Walter, mistress of Charles II and mother of James, Duke of Monmouth. The Duke was placed at an early age with Lord Crofts, a close friend of the King, and took the name Crofts. It appears that his half sister Mary also took the name Crofts though her father was not Charles II but probably Theobald, Earl of Carlingford. Follwing Sarfield’s death in 1675 she married William Fenshaw, a Master of Requests. [ https://picryl.com/media/portrait-of-a-lady-possibly-mary-crofts-c-1651-1693-by-sir-godfrey-kneller-34c8af ]Lucy Walter (1630-1658), as a Shepherdess by Peter Lely; Abbotsford, The Home of Sir Walter Scott; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/lucy-walter-16301658-as-a-shepherdess-208642
William Sarsfield (d. 1675) and Mary Crofts had a daughter, Charlotte (d. 1699), who married Agmondisham Vesey (d. 1738). It was his son, Agmondisham Vesey (1708–85), who built the current Lucan House, with the help of William Chambers.
William’s brother was Patrick Sarsfield (d. 1693) 1st Earl of Lucan. They grew up at another property, Tully in County Kildare, but they moved to Lucan when their father inherited the property in the early 1650s. Their mother Anne was the daughter of Rory O’More, a leader of the 1641 rebellion.
Patrick Sarsfield Earl of Lucan d.1693 attributed to Hyacinthe Rigaud, French, 1659-1743.Honora Bourke (1675-1698), Countess of Lucan and Duchess of Berwick, French School 17th century. This portrait hangs in Kilkenny Castle. She married, firstly, General Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, son of Patrick Sarsfield, circa 9 January 1689/90 and secondly, James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick-Upon-Tweed, son of James II Stuart, King of Great Britain and Arabella Churchill, on 26 March 1695 at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Île-de-France, France. She was the daughter of William Bourke, 7th Earl of Clanricarde and Lady Helen MacCarty. Honora’s sister was Margaret, Lady Iveagh, wife of Thomas Butler of Kilcash. Honora died aged 22 at Pesenas in France. Both her sons inherited their father’s titles. Oval, 1/2 length portrait. Sitter wears a yellow dress with a blue ermine-trimmed, blue wrap. It was possibly taken from a portrait painted on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of Berwick at St-Germain-en-Laye.
Both Sarsfield estates were confiscated by the Cromwellian regime and the family was transplanted to Connacht in 1657. Their father was restored to the Tully lands in 1661 by order of Charles II. In 1654 Lucan house was given to Cromwellian soldier Theophilus Jones (d. 1685) who later turned against the Cromwellians and helped to restore King Charles II to the throne.
The Sarsfields were Catholic. Patrick Sarsfield joined the military – the Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us that he served in one of the English regiments in the French army. These had been formed as a result of the secret treaty of Dover and allowed Catholics to avoid the test act and serve as officers. However, Sarsfield was implicated in the Popish Plot, and was dismissed from the army.
During a brief visit to Ireland he tried unsuccessfully to regain the family estate at Lucan to which he was then the heir presumptive. [2]
His military reputation soared as a consequence of his significant role in the defeat of Monmouth’s rebellion (1685) – who was his brother-in-law! James II promoted Patrick Sarsfield to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He fought in Ireland with the Jacobites against William III, and James created him earl of Lucan in January 1691. He was involved in negotiations for the Treaty of Limerick. He went on to fight in the French army and died of battle wounds in 1693. The Dictionary of Irish Biography continues:
“He married Lady Honora Burke, the 15-year-old youngest daughter of the 7th earl of Clanricarde, sometime during the winter of 1689–90. Their only child was born (April 1693) at the court in exile of James II in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and was named (in honour of the prince of Wales) James Francis Edward. He served in both the French and Spanish armies and died without issue in St Omer in 1719.“
Patrick Sarsfield is memorialised by a memorial in the garden designed by James Wyatt.
Agmondisham Vesey was the son of John Vesey (1638-1716) Archbishop of Tuam, who also served as Lord Justice of Ireland and Privy Counsellor. He claimed the Lucan estate on behalf of his wife and by 1674 and was able to purchase the estate at a low price. [3] Theophilus Jones was compensated by lands elsewhere.
Charlotte Sarsfield died only three years after her marriage to Agmondisham Vesey. They had two daughters: Henrietta, who married Caesar Colclough (1696-1766) of Tintern Abbey in County Wexford; and Anne Vesey, who married John Bingham (d. 1749), 5th Baronet of Castlebar, County Mayo. Their son Charles Bingham (1735-1799) 7th Baronet was created 1st Earl of Lucan in 1795, but these Earls of Lucan did not inherit Lucan House.
John Bingham, 5th Bt., of Castlebar Attributed to Robert Hunter courtesy Christie’s Irish Sale 2001.Charles Bingham, 1st Baron of Lucan (1735-1799), later 1st Earl of Lucan, Engraver John Jones, After Joshua Reynolds, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Instead, Lucan House passed down to a son of Agmondisham Vesey’s second wife, Jane Pottinger. She was the widow of Thomas Butler (d. 1703) 3rd Baronet of Cloughgrenan, County Carlow, with whom she had no children. She and Agmondisham went on to have several children, the eldest of whom was Agmondisham Vesey (1708–85).
Agmondisham Vesey (1708–85) was a politician: a member of the house of commons for Harristown, Co. Kildare, 1740–60, and Kinsale, 1765–83. He was accountant and controller general from 1734 to his death, and a member of the privy council from 1776 to his death. He was also an amateur architect, and he designed his residence, Lucan House, built in 1772, with the help of William Chambers, who also designed the Casino in Marino in Dublin, built over the years 1758-76 (see my entry https://irishhistorichouses.com/2023/11/09/office-of-public-works-dublin-the-casino-at-marino/ ).
The fine stable block was designed earlier, in 1750s. Chambers may have been involved in the design of the stable block.
Bence-Jones describes the house as two storey over basement with a central feature of a pediment raised on a three bay attic, carried on four engaged Ionic columns. The ground floor is rusticated on the projecting three bays. The outer bays on the ground floor were also rusticated but the rustication was removed.
The house has five bay side elevation and a garden front with central curved bow containing an oval room which may have influenced James Hoban, designer of the White House in Washington DC (also said to be inspired by Leinster House).
Mark Bence-Jones tells us that Agmondisham Vesey consulted with James Wyatt (1746-1813) of London and Michael Stapleton for the interiors of the house. Robert O’Byrne adds he was aided by Wyatt’s Irish representative Thomas Penrose. James Wyatt had a flourishing country house practice in Ireland from the early 1770s until his appointment as Surveyor General of the King’s Works in England in 1796. [4]
The front hall has a screen of columns marbled to resemble yellow Siena, with squared pilasters to match on the back wall of the hall.
All the rooms on the ground floor at Lucan House are as they were when the house was completed in 1780, with the exception of a new floor in the library and bathrooms, which the Italian embassy added in the 1950s. [5] There is a large kitchen in the basement which we did not see.
In the Wedgwood Room, to the left of the hall, has a splendid ceiling. After much research an exact match for the original paint in the Wedgwood Room was found when the house was restored. The powder blue emphasises the marvellous stucco work by Michael Stapleton, and trompe l’oeil rondels said to be by Peter de Gree. However, Robert O’Byrne tells us that these are in fact prints that have been painted over. The ceiling curves downwards at the corners giving the effect of a shallow dome. At the centre of the gently domed ceiling is a medallion depicting a warrior kneeling before Minerva and by her maidens.
The room off the front hall to the back of the house is the Oval Room. The curve of the bow window is reflected in a facing curved wall, creating the oval shape. The bow has three windows placed in arches with decorative semicircles over the windows, which reflect the round decoration in the centre of the ceilng.
Robert O’Byrne points out that the arrangement of the front hall with the screen of columns to the rear with a central door opening into an oval room is also found in Castle Coole, County Fermanagh, which was designed in the early 1790s by James Wyatt – which is probably than the arrangement laid out in Lucan House (see my entry about Castle Coole https://irishhistorichouses.com/2024/03/21/castle-coole-county-fermanagh-a-national-trust-property/ ).
The large arch over the door entering from the front hall is repeated in the walls, which hold mirrors that look like doors. This room, Robert O’Byrne tells us, was designed as the Drawing Room but in later years served as a dining room. On the walls plaster “girandoles”, ornamental candle holders that are normally mounted on walls. O’Byrne tells us that Michael Stapleton created the design of these plaster girandoles. [see 1].
The room held an exhibition by Foley Architects, who prepared plans for South Dublin City Council for their transformation of Lucan House and its demesne for public use, including delicate watercolour paintings by Jérémy Cheval (his name is apt due to the prominent presence of the horse in the front hall!). Foley architects examine the entire site, with its Church Tower House ruin, main residence, boathouse, bathhouse (which we did not see as it is further from the house) and stables, its watercourse and vegetation.
The other room on the ground floor is a library with shelving units. I don’t know whether these units were in the house originally, or whether they are a later addition.
Robert O’Byrne tells us that the ceiling has been covered in plasterwork centred on another medallion, featuring, unusually, he points out, the Christ child and infant John the Baptist together with a lamb.
Vesey married his cousin Elizabeth, daughter of Right Reverend Sir Thomas Vesey, 1st Baronet, Bishop of Killaloe and of Ossory. Elizabeth Vesey was one of the founders of the Blue Stockings Society! This was an informal women’s social and educational movement in England in the mid-18th century that emphasised education and mutual cooperation. They liked to discuss literature, and invited men also to their gatherings. Elizabeth and Agmondesham did not have children, and they lived much of their time in London, where Elizabeth held her intellectual literary salons.
Robert O’Byrne tells us that like his wife Elizabeth, Vesey also took part in a conversational club. In 1773, during the period that work was underway on the new house, he was elected to the ‘Club’, the informal dining and conversational group established ten years earlier by Samuel Johnson and Joshua Reynolds. Johnson and James Boswell granted him the notional title of ‘Professor of Architecture,’ and the latter wrote that Vesey had ‘left a good specimen of his knowledge and taste in that art by an elegant house built on a plan of his own at Lucan.’ [see 1]
Behind the house is a boat house, on the River Liffey.
A sulphur spring was discovered in 1758, and a health spa opened that year in the area.
Watercolour painting by Jérémy Cheval of the spring, which must be located within the grounds of Lucan House.
The house passed to the son of a younger brother of Agmondisham. The younger brother, George, married a second cousin, Letitia Vesey. Their son George (1761-1836) inherited Lucan House. He married Emily La Touche (1767-1854), daughter of David La Touche (1729-1817) of Marley House in Dublin.
George and Emily’s daughter Elizabeth married Nicholas Conway Colthurst (1789-1829) 4th Baronet of Ardrum, County Cork. We came across the Colthurst family when we visited Blarney Castle in Cork. Their second son, Charles Vesey Colthurst, changed his name to Charles Vesey Colthurst-Vesey in 1860. He served as Justice of the Peace for Kildare and for Dublin, and High Sheriff of Dublin, and he lived at Lucan House. The house passed through their family until 1921, when it was sold.
Portrait of Mrs. George Vesey and Her Daughter Elizabeth Vesey, later Lady Colthurst, 1816 by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867). Location: Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University Massachusetts USA.
Capt Richard Colthurst (afterwards 8th Bt) sold it 1932 to Charles Hugh O’Conor, President of Irish Association of the Order of Malta and brother of the O’Conor Don of Clonalis House in County Roscommon. Charles Hugh O’Conor and his wife Ellen Letitia More O’Ferrall were parents of the next O’Conor Don, Father Charles O’Conor (see my entry about Clonalis https://irishhistorichouses.com/2020/10/16/clonalis-castlerea-county-roscommon/ ).
A daughter, Mary Ellen O’Conor, married Luke William Teeling, Conservative MP for Brighton in the UK, who sold Lucan House after WWII to the Italian government, for use as their embassy. First it was leased by the Italian ambassador as a residence in 1942, and then bought by the the Italian government in 1954.
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We visited Leinster House, the seat of Irish Government, during Open House Dublin 2025. We were lucky to get tickets! Open House Dublin events book out almost immediately.
Leinster House was built from 1745-1752 for James Fitzgerald (1722-1773) 20th Earl of Kildare and first Duke of Leinster.
James Fitzgerald (1722-1773) 20th Earl of Kildare later 1st Duke of Leinster, by Robert Hunter c. 1803, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
James’s father, Robert FitzGerald (1675-1744) 19th Earl of Kildare, made Carton in County Kildare his principal seat and employed Richard Castle (1690-1751) from 1739 to enlarge and improve the house (see my entry https://irishhistorichouses.com/2024/06/04/carton-house-county-kildare-a-hotel/ ). Before that, the Earl of Kildare had lived in Kilkea Castle in County Kildare.
After the destruction of Maynooth Castle, occupied by Earls of Kildare, in 1641, George, 14th Earl of Kildare, resided at Kilkea Castle from 1647-1660, and it continued as the family’s principal seat until Robert, the 19th Earl, built Carton House. [1]
Robert, 19th Earl of Kildare (1675-1744) after Frederick Graves, courtesy of Adam’s auction 15th Oct 2019. Robert FitzGerald, (1675 – 1744) was married to Mary O Brien, daughter of William O’Brien 3rd Earl of Inchiquin. They had 12 children but only 2 survived to majority. They had lived quietly at Kilkea Castle, near Athy, but in 1739 Robert bought back the lease of Carton, in Maynooth, for £8,000. He commissioned Richard Castle, the eminent architect, to reconstruct the existing house. In the pediment over the South front, previously the main entrance, is the coat of arms of Robert FitzGerald and his wife Mary O’Brien. Robert also employed the La Franchini brothers to construct the wonderful ceiling in the Gold Salon. The additions to Carton were not finished when Robert died in 1744 but he left instructions in his will to finish the restoration according to his plans. A monument dedicated to Robert FitzGerald is situated in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. (This portrait hung in Carton until 1949 when the Fitzgerald family sold the estate. It hung in Kilkea Castle until 1960. It was in the FitzGerald family collection in Oxfordshire until 2013.)
The 20th Earl, James, employed Richard Castle from 1745 to build him a new house in the city, which is now called Leinster House, and began to be so called around 1766 when James Fitzgerald was created Duke of Leinster. He was told that this was not a fashionable area to build, as at that time most of the upper classes lived on the north side of the Liffey around Mountjoy Square and Henrietta Street. He was confident that where he led, fashion would follow, and indeed he was correct.
The building as it was originally constructed is a double cube of granite on the east and north fronts and Ardbraccan limestone on the west entrance front. It has a forecourt on the Kildare Street side, which Christine Casey tells us in her Dublin volume of the Pevsner series The Buildings of Ireland is in the French seventeenth century manner, which probably derived via Burlington House in London, a house which would have influenced Richard Castle. The form is Palladian, an eleven bay block of three storeys over basement with a “tetrastyle” (i.e. supported by four columns) Corinthian portico over advanced and rusticated central bays. “Rustication” in masonry is a decorative feature achieved by cutting back the edges of stones to a plane surface while leaving the central portion of the face either rough or projecting markedly, emphasising the blocks. [2]
Casey points to the unusual arrangement of pediments on the windows of the first floor, as an alternating pattern would be the norm, rather than the pairs of segmental (i.e. rounded) pediments flanked by single triangular pediments in the bays to either side of the central three windows. [see 2]
The centre block has a balustraded balcony, and the attic and ground floor windows have lugged architraves: the architrave is the classical moulding around the window and “lug” means ear, so the windows have “ears,” otherwise called shoulders. The term “Lugs” was made famous as a nickname for a policeman in the Dublin Liberties, “Lugs” Branigan, a man known for his sticking-out ears. A heavyweight boxing champion, he had a reputation as the country’s toughest and bravest garda. The ground floor windows have are topped with a further cornice – a horizontal decorative moulding.
Originally, Casey writes, the house was linked to the side walls of the forecourt by low five-bay screen walls with Doric colonneads and central doorcases flanked by paired niches. The colonnade was given a pilastered upper storey in the nineteenth century, and was rebuilt in the 1950s when the colonnade was filled in, Casey explains. The lower storey on the left side when facing the building (north side) still has the colonnade: you can compare the stages of building the colonnades in the pictures below. In fact this colonnade was reinstated after being filled in. It was recently (when written before 2005) reinstated, Casey tells us, by Paul Arnold Architects, and topped with the nineteenthy century screen wall above which we see today.
In the Malton drawing of Leinster house we can see that the side walls of the forecourt had pedimented arches. The present piers, wrought iron gates and railings were added in the 1880s, built by T.N. & T.M. Deane.
To the south of the forecourt lay a stable court, with a stable and coach house block and a kitchen block which was linked to the house by a small yard, which must have been very inconvenient when dinner was served!
The garden front is fully rusticated on the ground floor, with advanced two-bay ends.
The central first floor window has a triangular pediment. The door porch was added in the nineteenth century. The lawn lay on property leased from Viscount Fitzwilliam.
Irish Architectural Archive exhibition about Leinster House.It was designed by Richard Castle (1690-1751) with later input from Isaac Ware (1704-1786) and Thomas Owen (d. 1788). Here we see the location of the Main Hall, Supper Room and Parlour and Drawing room on first floor, Picture Gallery and principal bedrooms on second floor and Nursery and children’s and staff rooms on third floor. There is a separate kitchen and stores block and stable block.
James’s father died in 1744 before his house at Carton was complete, so it was finished for James the 20th Earl. James was the second son of his parents the 19th Earl and his wife Mary (d. 1780), eldest daughter of William O’Brien, 3rd Earl of Inchiquin. His elder brother died in 1740.
The Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us that James’s political career began on 17 October 1741, when (then known as Lord Offaly) he entered the Irish house of commons as member for Athy. In 1744 he moved to the House of Lords after he inherited the earldom. [3] It was then that he embarked on his town house in Dublin. Now the houses of parliament are located next to Leinster house, but at the time, they were located in what is now the Bank of Ireland on College Green in Dublin.
Parliament House, Dublin, with the House of Commons dome on fire, 27th February 1792.Parliament Buildings Bank of Ireland, College Green, Dublin, between ca. 1865-1914, photograph by Robert French, Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.House of Lords, Parliament Building, Bank of Ireland, Dublin, between ca. 1865-1914, photograph by Robert French, Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
The Dictionary of Irish Biography continues:
“His seniority in the peerage, popularity, and electoral interests ensured his appointment to the privy council (12 May 1746). He was made an English peer, Viscount Leinster of Taplow, Bucks. (1 February 1747), and appointed lord justice (11 May 1756). Master general of the ordnance (1758–66), he became major-general (11 November 1761) and lieutenant-general (30 March 1770). He was also promoted through the Irish peerage, becoming marquis of Kildare (19 March 1761) and duke of Leinster (26 November 1766).” [see 3]
James married Emilia Mary Lennox (1731-1814) in 1747, two years after Richard Castle began work on James’s townhouse. She was the daughter of General Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond. Her grandfather the 1st Duke of Richmond was an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England. Emilia’s sister Louisa (1743-1821) married Thomas Conolly (d. 1803) and lived next to her sister in Carton, at Castletown in County Kildare (see my entry https://irishhistorichouses.com/2024/03/15/castletown-house-and-parklands-celbridge-county-kildare-an-office-of-public-works-property/
Emily Fitzgerald née Lennox (1731-1814) Duchess of Leinster 1770s by Joshua Reynolds.This terrific portrait of William Conolly (1662-1729) of Castletown, County Kildare is in the dining room.
Richard Castle died in 1751 before the town house was complete. He died at Carton, the Earl of Kildare’s country seat, while writing a letter with instructions to a carpenter at Leinster house. Isaac Ware stepped in to finish the house. An exhibition about Leinster House in the Irish Archictural Archive explains that following the death of Richard Castle in 1751, little further about the building is recorded until 1759. By this time, English architect Isaac Ware, famous for his A Complete Body of Architecture published in 1756, had become involved with the project. The Fitzgeralds began to use the house in 1753 while work on the interior continued.
Inside, the house has a double height entrance hall with an arcaded screen of Doric pillars toward the back which opens onto a transverse corridor that divides the front and rear ranges. I found the hall hard to capture in a photograph, especially as we were part of a tour group. The hall reminded me of the double height entrance hall of Castletown, and indeed Christine Casey notes in her Buildings of Ireland: Dublin that the plan and dimensions of Leinster House relate directly to those of Castletown house in County Kildare, which was built in 1720s for William Conolly, and which was probably, she writes, built under the direction of Edward Lovett Pearce, possibly with the assistance of Richard Castle. [2]
It is the double height that reminds me of the great hall in Castletown, although Castletown has a gallery and Leinster house does not. The niches remind me of the similar front hall in Gloster house in County Offaly, which although a private family home, in 2025 is a Section 482 property which you can visit on particular days.
The black and white flooring is original to the house. [see 2] The red marble doorframe was added later.
The coffered ceiling in the Hall in Leinster house is different from the ceilings in the front hall in Castletown or Gloster. The deep coffered cove rises to a plain framed flat panel with central foliated boss. There is an entablature above the Doric columns around the four sides of the hall. The square ovolo framed niches above have statues and above the main door the niches have windows.
The chimneypiece in the front hall, Casey tells us, was originally faced with a pedimented niche on the north wall opposite, flanked by the doorcases. The chimneypiece is of Portland stone, she describes, with ornamental consoles and above the lintel, enormous scrolls flanking a bust pedestal.
The principal stair hall is a two bay compartment north of the front hall. Casey tells us that Isaac Ware inserted an imperial staircase – one in which a central staircase rises to a landing then splits into two symmetrical flights up to the next floor – into a hall compartment which was meant for a three flight open well staircase. The staircase is further marred, Casey tells us, by a later utilitarian metal balustrade. Casey does not mention the plasterwork here, which is very pretty. The wooden staircase is a later addition.
Beyond the stair hall is the former Supper Room, which is now the Library of the Oireachtais, which fills the entire depth of the house. I found the lights rather offputting and think they ruin the intended effect of the room and the ceiling, which Casey tells us derives from Sebastiano Serlio (1475-1554), an Italian architect who was part of an Italian team who built the Palace of Fontainbleau, and Tutte l’opere d’architettura et prospetiva (All the Works of Architecture and Perspective) is Serlio’s practical treatise on architecture.
The room has three screens of fluted Ionic columns – one at either end and one in front of the bow at one side of the room. Originally, Casey informs us, there were six fluted columns to each screen, paired at the ends of the room and in the centre of the north bow, but in the 19th century one column was removed from each pair. On the walls the corresponding pilasters would have matched the six columns.
The bow is considered to be the first bow in Dublin, and the design of the house is said to have inspired the design of the White House in Washington DC, designed by a man from Kilkenny, James Hoban.
A pedimented doorcase is flanked by ornate chimneypieces based on a design by William Kent. These are surmounted by Corinthian overmantels after a design by Inigo Jones, possibly made to frame portraits, Casey suggests, of the Earl and Countess of Kildare painted by Reynolds in 1753-54. [see 2]
Next to the Supper Room on the garden front is the large dining room, also designed by Isaac Ware. It is of three bays, and has decorative doorcases and a beautiful ceiling attributed to Filippo Lafranchini.
Christine Casey next describes the Garden Hall, with a more modest shell and acanthus ceiling and a chimneypiece with claw feet. Next is the former Private Dining Room, she tells us, a room from 1760, which has a ceiling with acanthus, rocaille shells and floral festoon forming a deep border to a plain chamfered central panel.
Casey tells us that the Earl of Kildare’s Library is at the southeast corner of the house, and that it has pedimented bookcases. It too was designed by Isaac Ware.
Designs for the ceiling of the Earl of Kildare’s dressing room by Richard Castle, 1745, IIA 96/68.1/1/17, 18, 19. Irish Architectural Archive exhibition about Leinster House.As with the several surviving designs for the front elevation of Leinster House, these three beautifully executed drawings for proposed ceilings in the Earl of Kildare’s dressing room are indicative of the attention to design detail which Richard Castle brought to the project in an effort to satisfy his demanding clients. The third variant shows the ceiling almost as executed.
Before we go into the separate building that holds the current Dáil chamber, let us go up to the first floor. The former gallery now holds the Senate Chamber, and it fills the north end of the eighteenth century house. Both Richard Castle and Isaac Ware prepared plans for this room, but the room was unfinished when the Duke of Leinster died in 1773.
James died on 19 November 1773 at Leinster House and was buried in Christ Church cathedral four days later. His eldest son George predeceased him, so the Dukedom passed to his second son, William Robert Fitzgerald (1748/49-1804). The 2nd Duke completed the picture gallery in 1775 to designs by James Wyatt (1746-1813).
The ceiling as designed by James Wyatt is tripartite. I defer to Christine Casey for a description:
“at its centre a chamfered octagon within a square and at each end a diaper within a square, each flanked by broad figurative lunette panels at the base of the coving and bracketed by attenuated tripods, urns and arabesque finials… It remains among the finest examples of Neoclassical stuccowork in Dublin.“
Irish Architectural Archive exhibition about Leinster House: Sketch showing the interior of the Senate Chamber of Leinster House by Con O’Sullivan, 1930s (IAA 96/145.1). Founded in 1747, Henry Sibthorpe & Co were one of the leading painting and decorating firms in Dublin from the first half of the 19th century to the mid 20th, and they closed in 1970s. Some of its records survive in the National Archives and in the IAA. Drawings showed perspective views of proposed decorative schemes to prospective clients. This dawing by Sibthorpe employee Con O’Sullivan shows a proposed repainting of the Senate Chamber.
Wyatt created an elliptical vault over the principal volume of the room and a half-dome above the bow.
On the inner wall of the room Wyatt places three ornate double-leaf doorcases and between them two large white marble chimneypieces. The chimneypieces have high-relief female figures to the uprights and on the lintel, putti sit “between headed spandrels enclosing urns and confronted griffins.”
Unfortunately with the tour group I was unable to get good photographs of the room, the chimneypieces or the carved doorframes.
At the south end of the ground floor corridor is a top-lit stair hall which leads to the Dáil chamber. This separate building originally housed a lecture theatre, built in 1893 by Thomas Newenham and Thomas Manly Deane. Before this was built, let us look at the rest of the history briefly of the Dukes of Leinster who continued to use the house as their Dublin residence.
The first duke’s wife Emilia went on to marry her children’s tutor, William Ogilvie. This would have caused quite a scandal, and she and her husband lived quietly in Blackrock in Dublin at their house called Frascati (or Frescati), which no longer exists. She and the Duke of Leinster had had nineteen children! She had happy times when the children were young and their tutor would take them bathing in the sea near Frescati house. She and her second husband went on to have two daughters.
Frescati House, County Dublin, photograph by Robert French (between ca. 1865-1914), Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
A younger son of Emilia and the Duke of Leinster, Edward (1763-1798) became involved in an uprising in Dublin, inspired by the French Revolution, and he was put in prison as a traitor and where he died of wounds he’d received while resisting arrest.
Edward Fitzgerald (1763-1798)
Another son, Charles James (1756-1810) served in the Royal Navy. He also acted as M.P. for County Kildare between 1776 and 1790, Commissioner of Customs between 1789 and 1792 and M.P. for County Cavan between 1790 and 1797. He held the office of Muster Master-General of Ireland between 1792 and 1806 and Sheriff of County Down in 1798. He was M.P. for Ardfert between 1798 and 1800 and was created 1st Baron Lecale of Ardglass, Co. Down [Ireland] in 1800. He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Arundel in England between January 1807 and April 1807.
A sister of Edward Fitzgerald (1763-1798), Emily Maria Margaret (1751-1818) married Charles Coote 1st Earl of Bellomont, County Cavan.
William Robert Fitzgerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster, K.P. (1749-1804), circle of Joshua Reynolds courtesy of Christie’s Irish Sale 2002.
The Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us about the second duke:
“He was returned as MP for Dublin city in 1767, though he was too young to take his seat, and it was only in October 1769 that he returned to Ireland to sit in parliament. He represented the constituency until 1773, supporting the government for most of this period. On learning that he was a freemason, the grand lodge of Irish freemasons rushed to make him their grand master and he served two terms (1770–72 and 1777–8). On 19 November 1773 he succeeded his father as 2nd duke of Leinster. The family home of Carton in Co. Kildare had been left to his mother but he, somewhat vainly, was determined to own it and purchased her life interest, a transaction that was the major source of his future indebtedness. His aunt, Lady Louisa Conolly, believed that he was ‘mighty queer about money’ and that his ‘distress’ about it was ‘the foundation of all that he does’ (HIP, iv, 160). In November 1775 he married Emilia Olivia Usher, only daughter and heir of St George Usher, Lord St George, a union that helped to ease some of his financial problems.“
HUGH DOUGLAS HAMILTON portrait of Emilia Olivia née St. George, 2nd Duchess of Leinster courtesy of Bonhams Old Master Paintings 2018.
The 2nd Duke was active in politics. He died in 1804 and is buried in Kildare Abbey.
William Robert Fitzgerald (1749-1804) 2nd Duke of Leinster wearing Order of St. Patrick, by Gilbert Stuart, courtesy Christies.
One of William Robert Fitzgerald’s daughters, Emily Elizabeth (1778-1856) married John Joseph Henry of Straffan house in County Kildare, now the K Club. A son, Augustus Frederick (1791-1874) became the 3rd Duke of Leinster. He sold the town house in 1814. Since the Union in 1801 when there was no longer an Irish Parliament, a townhouse in Dublin was no longer essential. It was purchased by the Dublin Society, a group founded for “improving Husbandry, Manufactures and other useful arts and sciences.”
Augustus Frederick Fitzgerald (1791-1874), 3rd Duke of Leinster, engraver George Saunders after Stephen Catterson Smith, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
From 1815-1922 Leinster House was the Headquarters of the Royal Dublin Society – the “Royal” was added to the Society’s name in 1820. Rooms in the house were used to accommodate the Society’s library and museum as well as offices and meeting spaces. The original kitchen wing of the house was converted to laboratories and a lecture theatre. Gradually more buildings were added around the house, including sheds and halls for the Society’s events, namely the Spring Show and the Horse Show.
Note at Irish Architectural Archive exhibition about the RDS at Leinster House.Irish Architectural Archive exhibition about Leinster House.Configuration of Leinster house as RDS and centre of culture, learning and innovation the site of The Dublin Society (1815-1820) and the RDS (1820-1922). The School of Drawing (1845) was to the left, and later became the Metropolitan School of Art and the National College of Art and Design which continued as the National College of Art on this site until 1980, when it moved to Thomas Street and its facilities were incorporated into the adjacent National Library. The former kitchen and stable block were amended and expanded to host sculpture galleries, a stone yard, laboratories and lecture facilities. It had a 700 seat lecture theatre. To the right, Shelbourne Hall and the Agricultural Hall in the mid 19th century had facilities to display agricultural and industrial products, and it was later the site of the Museum of Archaeology. The Museum of Natural History (1857) and the National Gallery of Art (1860) were first developed for RDS collections, an dwere later expanded in conjunction with the Department of Science and Art/South Kensington and the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction.
Leinster Lawn was the site of industrial and agricultural exhibitions. In 1853, the Great Industrial Exhibition ran on the RDS grounds at Leinster House, just two years after Prince Albert’s Exhibition in the Crystal Palace in London. Constructed of iron, wood and glass, the Irish Industrial Exhibition building was paid for by William Dargan and installed by Richard Turner on Leinster Lawn in a matter of months. Its architect was John Benson, who was knighted for his efforts.
Spring Shows and Industries Fairs (1831-1880) and early Horse Shows (1864-1881) were also held on Leinster Lawn.
Irish Architectural Archive exhibition about Leinster House.Opening of the Dublin Great Exhibition, Illustrated London News 4th June 1853, IIA 80/010.20/1. A successor to the Great Exhibition held in the Crystal Palace, London in 1851, the Great Industrial Exhibition ran on the RDS grounds at Leinster House from 12 May to 31st October 1853. As much a marvel as any of the objects on display was the edifice in which the exhibition was housed. Constructed of iron, wood and glass, the Irish Industrial Exhibition building was paid for by William Dargan and installed by Richard Turner on Leinster Lawn in a matter of months. Its architect was John Benson, who was knighted for his efforts.
The National Museum and National Library were built in 1890, and were designed by Thomas Newenham Deane and his son Thomas Manly Deane.
The museum and library were designed as a pair of Early Renaissance rotundas facing each other. The rotundas have a single storey yellow sandstone Roman Doric colonnade surrounding them. Above is a row of circular niches. Above that are columns framing round headed windows and panels of red and white marble. The pavillions next to the rotundas have a rusticated ground floor, with Venetian windows on first floor level and Corinthian pilasters.
The Lecture Theatre was built in 1893, and was also designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The lecture theatre is a horseshoe shaped top-lit galleried auditorium with a flat west end that originally accommodated a stage and lecture preparation rooms.
Irish Architectural Archive exhibition about Leinster House: The RDS lecture theatre.
Single and paired cast iron Corinthian columns support the gallery in the former theatre. The building was appropriated as a temporary Dáil chamber in 1922 on Michael Collins’s recommendation, and in 1924 the government acquired Leinster House to be the seat of the Oireachtais. The theatre was remodelled: a new floor was inserted over the central block of seats to make a platform for the Ceann Comhairle, the clerk of the Dail, and the official reporters. The lower tier of seating was replaced with rows of mahogany and leather covered seats designed either by Hugh O’Flynn of the OPW, as the exhibition in the Irish Architectural Archive tells us, or by James Hicks & Sons according to Christine Casey, and the upper tiers became the press and public galleries. The stage was closed in and replaced by a press gallery and adjoining press rooms. The gallery was remodelled around 1930.
To enter Leinster house, you go through a security hut upon which a controversial sum was spent by the Office of Public Works. I love the way the hut goes around a large tree. I assume a large part of the cost of the hut was the beautiful marble countertops!
[1] MacDonnell, Randal. The Lost Houses of Ireland. A chronicle of great houses and the families who lived in them. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. London, 2002.
[2] Casey, Christine. The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin. The City within the Grand and Royal Canals and the Circular Road with the Phoenix Park. Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2005.
Open dates in 2025: all year, except Christmas Day, Mon-Wed, 9am-12 midnight, Thurs-Sat, 9am-1.30am, Sun, 9am-12 midnight Fee: Free
Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph courtesy of Flickr, “photos by Joe.”
Doheny & Nesbitt, a popular bar on Lower Baggot Street, occupies what was once a residence, built around 1790. Now it holds one of the finest Victorian pubs in Dublin.
Not long before, until 1773, the road had been called Gallows Road, as it led to the Gallow Mount, where criminals were hung. It was not just criminals, however, but also Catholics: Dermot O’Hurley, Archbishop of Cashel, was hung on 20 June 1584, and officially recognised as a Catholic martyr by Pope John Paul II in 1992. I first heard of the painful fate of Dermot O’Hurley when exploring the park of St. Kevins church, where the Archbishop is buried. His feast day, coincidentally, is this week, the 20th June.
Dermot O’Hurley was born in County Tipperary and studied in Louvain in Belgium. Catholics from Ireland had to go abroad to study. He knew that when he was ordained, his life would be that of a fugitive, ministering when possible. When he travelled to Ireland after his appointment, he never reached Cashel . Officials believed that O’Hurley was plotting to overthrow the English in Ireland. He was captured and tortured, including putting his feet into boots filled with boiling pitch and oil.
Richard Verstegen’s depiction of the 1584 torture and execution of Archbishop Dermot O’Hurley. The 1579 hanging of fellow Irish Catholic Martyrs Bishop Patrick O’Hely and Friar Conn Ó Ruairc is shown in the background.Coloured engraving from Richard Verstegan, Theatrum crudelitatum haereticorum nostri temporis, 1587.
Another person executed in the same spot was “Darkey” Dorcas Kelly, a “Madam” who operated the Maiden Tower brothel on Copper Alley, off Fishamble Street in Dublin. She was burnt at the stake in 1761 – not all that long before the Georgian houses were built on Gallows Road.
Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the pub’s facebook page.
The pub occupies both numbers 4 and 5, two Georgian houses of two bays and four storeys, fronted in brown brick, with corner quoins. The windows diminish in size from ground to top storey. The Georgian period spans over a century, referring to the four successive reigns of King Georges of the House of Hanover, from the accession of George I to the throne in 1714 to the death of George IV in 1830.
Dublin Georgian town houses are typically terraced. Dublin Civic Trust’s website tells us that the house facade, including the spacing and shape of windows, is designed in accordance with classical rules of proportion. Servants quarters and kitchens were housed in the basement, while the principal living space was at first floor level, called a ‘piano nobile’ (Italian for main floor). Large windows at this level let in lots of light. Bedrooms, with smaller windows, were on upper storeys.
The National Inventory tells us that the timber pub front is from around 1890. The Inventory describes panelled pilasters over a painted masonry plinth.
Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the National Inventory.
A decorative brass sheet reads ‘Tea & Wine Merchant’.
Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the National Inventory.
Wooden oversize scrolled foliate consoles frame the signage. Inside the pub retains its Victorian decor, with its original joinery in the bar, snugs and carved timberwork ceilings (according to the National Inventory). The website tells us that the ceiling is of papier maché, and that it has been restored. There’s a replica Victorian bar in the rear.
Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the National Inventory.Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the pub’s facebook page.
The main bar retains the original counter, and almost all of the original fittings date from the 19th century. I think it’s unfortunate the bar has big tvs so that customers can follow sports, as they ruin the old world atmosphere.
The National Inventory tells us that the liquor licence has been held by several owners. It was a grocers as well as a pub. Shaw’s Directory of 1850 records William Burke as the occupant of the premises. The website tells us that it became a pub in the 1840s. Burke ran the pub as ‘Delahuntys’ for almost fifty years.
In 1924, Philip Lynch and James O’Connor took it over for around thirty years, before passing it onto a Felix Connolly. A sign over the bar retains the Connolly name. Ned Doheny and Tom Nesbitt, two Co. Tipperary men, then took over and gave it the current name. It now has newer owners, who retained the name.
There are three rooms available to book for functions: Tom’s Bar, Paul’s Bar and the Marble Bar. There is also a cellar bar.
Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the pub’s facebook page.Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the pub’s facebook page.Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the pub’s facebook page.Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the pub’s website.Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the pub’s website.Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the pub’s website.The smoking area, Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the pub’s website.Doheny & Nesbitt, photograph from the pub’s website.
Open: all year except Christmas Day, Mon-Thurs, 9am-11.30pm, Fri-Sat, 9am- 12.30am, Sun, 10am-12 midnight Fee: Free
This is a popular pub, and one of the oldest family owned pubs in Dublin.
“Located on one of Dublin’s most famous streets – Baggot Street, Doheny and Nesbitt public house is surrounded by renowned landmarks – The Dail (House of Parliament), Grafton Street, Trinity College, Stephen’s Green and Lansdowne Road.
Otherwise known in literary and debating circles as the ‘The Doheny & Nesbitt School of Economics’ is situated a few hundred meters from the old Huguenot cemetery on Merion Row (1693). Probably the most photographed pub in Dublin, Doheny & Nesbitt is considered an institution for convivial gatherings a sanctuary in which to escape the ravages of modern life, and a shrine to everything that is admirable in a public house.
As a Protected Structure and unique example of Victorian pub architecture, the Doheny & Nesbitt public house demonstrates that skilful conversation can rest easily alongside modern commercial demands.
Most of the pub’s original features, both inside and outside remain intact. Its distinct Brass sign ‘Tea and Wine Merchant’, as well as the frieze boasting ‘Doheny & Nesbitt’ have spawned countless posters, postcards and guide books paying homage to this asset of Ireland’s capital city
If Ireland invented the pub, then Dublin’s finest showpiece is that of Doheny & Nesbitt. The main bar retains the original counter, and almost all of the original fittings date from the 19th century.
The pub’s carved timber, aged wooden floors and ornate papier-mâché ceiling, recently restored, are universally admired.
Its snugs and mirrored partitions are perfect for scheduled conversation, and one can easily muse on Ireland’s past Writers (Yeats, Behan, and Shaw) and Politicians debating and plotting in these hallowed surroundings.
Writers and Politicians from the nearby Dail or House of Parliament still frequent this pub, as do journalists, lawyers, architects and actors, along with a myriad of visitors from around the globe.
What attractions contribute to this pub’s character are debated by many; its perfect pint of stout, its array of Irish whiskeys, it’s comforting dark mahogany and glass furnishings, its reverence for the barman – customer relationship. What is in no doubt is that it is hot on the hit – list of tourists’ and locals’ itineraries – a ‘must-visit’ whilst in Dublin.
The building itself dates back hundreds of years, but was born as a public house in the 1840’s under the lease of a William Burke, who ran it as ‘Delahuntys’ for almost 50 years. In 1924, Messrs Philip Lynch and James O’Connor took it over for around 30 years, before passing it onto a Mr Felix Connolly. Ned Doheny & Tom Nesbitt, two Co. Tipperary men took over the reins of the public house at a later date up until its present owners, brothers Tom and Paul Mangan.
Interestingly the embossed lettering on the mirror to the rear of the main bar, originally bore the name O’Connor, but was later altered to Connolly and remains so to this day. Although the owners of this public house have come and gone, good sense has always prevailed that the landmark of Doheny & Nesbitt should remain just so.
Doheny & Nesbitts public house may reflect the characteristics of a bygone age, but this is no museum piece. An increased patronage has secured a Victorian replica bar to the rear, which is complemented by modern conveniences such as large plasma screen TV’s to cater for the pub’s many sports enthusiasts, and lunches to refresh tourists, workers and shoppers alike.”
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
D18R8R9
€3,250,000
5 Bed764 m²
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Exceptional period home on just under 2 acres offering the perfect marriage of country and city living. Sensitively and tastefully restored. The entire includes the main house, which is a fine four bedroom house, a two bedroom cottage, a one bedroom apartment, swimming pool, two garages and additional ancillary buildings, carefully curated into the original courtyard.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
A great sense of wonder awaits at the end of the avenue to Chantilly House. That sense of mystery and anticipation through the electric gates, followed by arrival, when you finally see this amazing period home in full, is one of the more special experiences you can have in a landscape – one that shapes Chantilly’s unique character.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Nestling into its gardens of just under 2 acres, Chantilly House is a once in a lifetime hidden gem, with an exceptional level of privacy, belying its proximity to local amenities and transport links. The house is incredibly pretty, with approx 8,500 square feet of properties in total; divided between the main house, cottage, apartment, pool, garages and outbuildings, carefully curated into the original courtyard of Chantilly and surrounded by almost 2 acres of gardens.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Box hedges surround the large lawns and flower beds, epitomizing the country garden with gloriously full borders rich in texture and colour, generously planted with a variety of trees, shrubs, thousands of bulbs and a myriad of acer trees in many different varieties, ensuring colour throughout the year in this magnificent garden – and also providing a different view of every part of the garden from each window. A parterre with a sundial is also cleverly hidden from view behind a yew hedge adding to the charm of this glorious garden. Originally built as a stud farm, Chantilly has been carefully refurbished, enhanced and improved by the current owners, with outstanding attention to detail; with a vision seeming casual yet emphatically chic, that has brought the house wonderfully to life, whilst retaining the original features of the elegantly proportioned Georgian reception rooms, preserving the original window frames, glass, sashes and architraves, reconstructing any damaged details with equivalent care and fidelity.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Working shutters, fireplaces in all the main rooms including the grand reception hallway and bedrooms, while contemporary styling and modern fittings have been added, creating a stylish and spacious space for both living and entertaining. The result was a thrilling and thoroughly enjoyable collaboration ensuring that the house belongs unmistakably to the present, yet retains a connection to its original Georgian era, with a defined connection to the incredible garden.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
The main house is layered with furniture and fabrics, antiques, family photos and books – enabling architecture, furniture and decoration to serendipitously collide – with all of the wonderful elements combining to create an indelible and highly personal sense of place, functional, comfortable and with elegance. Ornate double gates leading from the courtyard to the gardens.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
As previously described, the gardens are magnificent, surrounding the house and have been extensively landscaped by the current owners with a gravel avenue from the electric gates leading to a pond with an ornate statue to the front of the house; box hedging surrounding the lawns, landscaped flowerbeds, yew hedging providing shelter and the surprise of the hidden parterre. There are also mature trees, laurel hedging, extensive planting of acers, camellias, rhododendrons, magnolias, herbaceous borders and beech hedging ensuring colour all year round in almost two acres of beautiful gardens and making the great landscape payoff an integral component of the house; with the arrival a kind of unfolding adventure. There is also a gravel path around the main lawn leading to an unexpected granite walkway between a delightfully full flowerbed to a large gravelled south facing seating area underneath an ancient pink cherry tree. Another walkway behind the children’s playhouse with drystone granite walls and low maintenance shaded planting leads back to the side lawn, completing this children’s’ paradise, with plenty of safe spaces to hide in the garden, to run wild and bounce on the in-ground trampoline – a rarity in today’s more usual compact gardens – whilst allowing parents to relax in the sunshine and enjoy the view down the spectacular gardens that complete Chantilly House. The lawn to the side of the house is currently used in the summertime as a croquet lawn but the current owners have looked into adding a Paddle Tennis court to this area subject to necessary planning permission.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
LOCATION: Located at the Stonebridge Road end of Ballybride Road, Chantilly House enjoys a rural setting with the convenience of being within minutes of the M50, providing ease of access to the north and south of the country. It is no wonder this is a much sought after location. With a number of excellent primary and secondary schools within the area, including Aravon (Ireland’s longest established preparatory school in Ireland), St Gerard’s School, Rathmichael Parish and St Annes National Schools. Shankill is a short drive and provides a number of services and amenities such as shopping, St Columcille’s Hospital, Dublin Bus, the DART station as well as the LUAS at Cherrywood. Easy access to the N11/ M50 means that destinations such as Dundrum and Dublin City Centre are within easy reach. Tennis, horse riding and golf clubs are but a few of the sporting amenities provided locally. For those looking for scenic walking routes the Sugar Loaf, Bray Head and the Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk are ever popular.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Entrance Porch External and internal panelling, brass carriage lantern and door furniture and opening windows with brass hardware. The current owners retained the granite and Georgian flagstone flooring opening to the: Grand Reception Hallway Notable features in this fabulous reception hallway include a top-lit stained-glass staircase with galleried first floor landing and a most unusual projecting French fireplace providing a focal point to the room with original walnut stained floorboards throughout. Wallpaper by Zoffany completes the gracious look, amplifying the architecture’s welcoming open personality. Downstairs Cloakroom With built in storage cupboard and boot room, this whimsical room also has solid walnut flooring, Jim Lawrence lighting, mirrored glass metro tiles and Lefroy Brooks whb with “cadillac” taps and wc. A Victoria Plumb white and chrome traditional heated towel rail completes the overall effect.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Drawing Room Accessed from the wonderful reception hall, the stunning drawing room with floor to ceiling folding French doors to the front of the property and two large sash Georgian windows overlooking the side garden fill the room with light. A fireplace with carved Georgian pine and gesso surrounds with inset stove and slate hearth. Manuel Canovas toile wallpaper throughout interconnects with the recently redecorated Dining Room This is a beautiful panelled room with newly-laid parquet flooring from the Hardwood Flooring Company. Whimsical wall lights from Pooky complete the look. Wooden carved fireplace with inset stove and slate hearth. The dining room opens via French doors to the Parterre, providing the ability for private dining behind the 5ft yew hedge. There is also an unusual window door opening onto a huge sun terrace, ideal for entertaining on a large scale, particularly in the summer for croquet parties on the lawn. Family Room Opposite the drawing room from the reception hallway, is the panelled family room with floor to ceiling folding French doors opening to the front of the property. Fireplace with carved Georgian pine and gesso surround with free standing stove and slate hearth provide an elegant but cosy room emphasizing the importance of the comfort quotient, giving the room a relaxed air. The current owners cleverly knocked an existing cupboard from the family room into an opening from the kitchen, with shelves underneath in the family room, increasing the natural light in both rooms and providing additional views over the lawns at the front of the house from the kitchen. Door to: The Elves Cottage The ‘Elves’ Cottage as this room is called has had many iterations throughout its history, including a flower room. It is currently used as an office/library with original windows overlooking the courtyard and front garden and a small door opening to the courtyard and perhaps most importantly Benjy the dog’s bedroom!
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Kitchen A stunning open-plan kitchen designed by the current owner and Knaggsie Interiors and built by the Design House Kitchen Company with an extensive range of appliances including an electric 4 oven Aga, large wooden and marble counter incorporating a ceramic double sink complete with an Insinkerator, Quooker dual boiling and cold-water tap and 3 Fisher & Paykel dish drawers. A large Liebherr American fridge with freezer drawers, ultra simple pull-out larder units, corner larder, open shelving and eye level cupboards serve as an essential counterbalance to the elegance of the kitchen. Under counter drawers, marble tops from Miller Brothers, industrial REM refurbished lights over the Aga and a brass chandelier from Wilson’s Yard complete the carefully curated finish to this wonderful room; fully equipped and comfortable to work in, contributing to the welcoming environment, while permitting both casual dining and an easy connection to guests sitting in the adjoining breakfast room. An elliptical arch opens to embrace the Uniquely Beautiful Conservatory-style Breakfast Room With a magnificent antique stained glass decorative skylight in the ceiling and enhanced by the addition of a brass chandelier from Wilson’s Yard. There is also a stove installed by the current owners, with a brass porthole detail from Wedge Joinery overlooking the beautiful courtyard with its planting, gravel driveway and the vista of attractive reclaimed farm buildings. There is also a beautifully carved fascia board designed by the owner, by Dask Timber Products. Opposite the conservatory is the brown-brick refurbished cottage and the exposed barn which further excite the senses enhancing the beauty of this wonderful room. Double doors open onto the courtyard.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Back Hall Continuing from the reception hall through a glazed door is the long panelled back hall serving as a transitional zone leading to the recreational part of the house with doorways opening both to the parterre and the courtyard on either side. There are double doors installed for privacy leading to the: Cinema Room Fully panelled, set up by Cloney Audio as a surround sound cinema room with a 62” LG TV, sub woofers and speakers in the next door pool area, 5 amp lighting. In addition there is an insulated double-locked door leading up stairs to:
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Swimming Pool (15.77 x 4.32) Originally designed as a swim spa with speed-controlled swim current generators. There is also a steam shower with separate wc and storage room. The current owners updated the pool area, removing a stained glass arched window and instead installing an opening sash window which is more in keeping with the traditional design of the original outbuildings.
First Floor Main Bedroom Suite Main Bedroom Suite: This extensive master bedroom suite is a beautifully bright room with dual aspect and three windows overlooking two sides of the garden. There is a wooden fireplace with carved wood surround with a brass and tiled inset, slate hearth. Opens to: Walk-In Wardrobe/Ensuie Shower Room This is a fantastic principle suite, enjoying a cast iron fireplace with tiled inset and very cleverly designed brass and lacquered wardrobes in the carpeted area accentuating the space’s height; heated tiled floor with two early Roman- style mosaics inserted into the tiled floor to add to the surprise of this extraordinary room and separate brass handled and lined shower and wc cubicles. A traditional white and brass heated towel rail situated outside the shower cubicle completes the look. In addition, in the centre of the room, is a marble topped mahogany double basin unit with two ‘floating’ brass mirrors extending from a cleverly designed marble-topped wall behind the unit to the ceiling help to maximize the natural light without impacting the view out the window to the side lawn over the dressing area. All the wardrobes and brass fittings in this room were designed by Knaggsie Interiors and installed by Wedge Joinery. Bedroom 2 This is an exceptionally pretty light-filled room again with dual aspect, built-in wardrobes, a wooden fireplace with tiled inset and slate hearth, sharing a glorious Jack & Jill bathroom suite with the spare bedroom. This well-appointed bathroom enjoys an Imperial bath, wc, whb and shower unit with Victoria Plumb white and chrome heated towel rail, Fired Earth tiling and half panelled walls. This room also contains the hot water tank neatly hidden behind louvred doors installed by the Shutter Co. Bedroom 3 Double bedroom flooded with evening light through both windows, with dual aspect overlooking the courtyard. Built in wardrobes. Attractive en-suite shower room with fully panelled walls, Grohe shower, Burlington whb and wc and Victoria Plumb chrome heated towel rail. Bedroom 4 Double bedroom with built-in shelving and cupboard storage unit suitable as a home office or study area. Built in wooden fireplace with tiled surround and slate hearth. Shares the Jack & Jill bathroom with Bedroom 2. Laundry Room Cleverly included on the upper floor is the laundry room. This room is fully fitted out with two washing machines and two tumble dryers. There is a single drainer stainless steel sink unit, a double fitted hanging rack system and there is also a sheila-maid hanging rack suspended from the ceiling. In addition, there is a tall cupboard housing the ironing board and the upstairs vacuum cleaner.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Courtyard Accommodation The courtyard is laid out in gravel with strategically placed flower beds with camellias, acers, pittosporum balls, herbs and shrubs surrounding a dog washing basin and a cleverly concealed granite paved car washing bay. Ample space has been left to allow the essential parking in the two garages without affecting the intrinsic beauty of the space. Flower beds filled with bulbs and acer trees also front the cottage and the conservatory-style breakfast room. An attractive step down from the main area of the courtyard has been laid out with seating and a table with a barbequeue area which is used extensively by the family for outdoor entertaining. Self Contained Apartment Above the triple garage, approached by side steps is a 1 bedroom staff or guest apartment. There is an entrance hallway leading to an open plan sitting room with a panelled kitchen area with electric oven and hob, dishwasher, washing machine and fridge. A doorway leads to the bedroom with an en-suite shower room with whb and wc. Oil Fired Central Heating. Cottage Formally a milking parlor the original brick-fronted cottage is now used as guest or staff accommodation with the fascia board carved by Dask Timber Products to a design by the current owner mirroring the conservatory-style breakfast room opposite. An entrance hallway with cloaks cupboard opens to an inner doorway with a separate utility room containing under counter units, a stainless-steel sink unit, washing machine and dryer. A second door leads to a large welcoming open plan living/dining room with a fully integrated kitchen including a dishwasher, ceramic double sink unit, electric hob, fridge freezer and an eye level microwave with a separate oven. A corridor leads to two double en-suite bedrooms with mirrored units, wc, whb and shower cubicles. The entire building is flooded with south facing light from three new opening Wyatt windows and provides a most attractive vista from the main house across the courtyard. The Cottage is fully insulated with a hot water tank with a heat exchange system and is heated by electric heating.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Triple Garage: Fully restored floored garage with extensive storage. Wine Cellar: Lined along one side with cubicles for wine bottles and shelving for additional cases of wine. Random Stone and Granite Barn: Currently used as a double car, boat shed and storage, the barn has its original floor and also has storage for garden equipment such as the ride-on lawn mower, a car service bay and a mezzanine floor for storage which is accessed by a stairs and also a hatch for easy access. Outside Toilet: Tiled with whb and wc. Storage Sheds: Log and bin shed with an adjacent separate storage shed for wintering garden furniture. Under-Pool Plant Room: Containing hot water tank servicing the apartment and shower in the pool area; pool servicing equipment; cold water tank servicing the main house. Main House Plant Room: With oil fired boiler servicing the main house. Apartment and Pool Plant Room: With Oil fired boiler servicing the apartment and pool area.
Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.Chantilly House, Ballybride Road, Rathmichael, Dublin 18 for sale Sept 2025 photograph courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald.
Detached three-bay two-storey house, built 1828, on a square plan centred on single-bay single-storey lean-to projecting glazed porch to ground floor; three-bay two-storey side elevations with three-bay two-storey rear (west) elevation. Vacated, 1864. Occupied, 1911. For sale, 2011. For sale, 2013. Hipped slate roof on an E-shaped plan centred on hipped slate roof (west) with clay ridge tiles, paired rendered central chimney stacks having stringcourses below red brick corbelled stepped capping supporting terracotta pots, and cast-iron rainwater goods on overhanging eaves having timber consoles retaining cast-iron octagonal or ogee hoppers and downpipes. Part creeper- or ivy-covered roughcast walls. Square-headed central door opening into house with timber mullions supporting timber transom, and concealed dressings framing glazed timber panelled door having sidelights on panelled risers below overlight. Square-headed flanking window openings in tripartite arrangement with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing timber casement windows having overlights. Square-headed window openings (first floor) with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing three-over-three timber sash windows. Square-headed window openings (remainder) with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing six-over-six (ground floor) or three-over-three (first floor) timber sash windows. Interior including (ground floor): central hall retaining carved timber surrounds to door openings framing timber panelled doors, cantilevered staircase on a dog leg plan with turned timber balusters supporting carved timber banister terminating in turned timber newels, and carved timber surrounds to door openings to landing framing timber panelled doors; drawing room (south) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters, timber Classical-style chimneypiece, and moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling centred on plasterwork ceiling rose; dining room (north) retaining carved timber surround to door opening framing timber panelled door with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters, timber Classical-style chimneypiece, and moulded plasterwork cornice to ceiling centred on “Acanthus”-detailed ceiling rose; and carved timber surrounds to door openings to remainder framing timber panelled doors with carved timber surrounds to window openings framing timber panelled shutters. Set in landscaped grounds with cut-granite chamfered piers to perimeter having “Cyma Recta”- or “Cyma Reversa”-detailed stringcourses below chamfered capping supporting wrought iron double gates.
Appraisal
A house erected by Robert Tilly (d. 1851) on a site leased (1828) from Sir Compton Pocklington Domvile (d. 1857) of Santry (Goodbody 2004, 38) representing an important component of the early nineteenth-century domestic built heritage of south County Dublin with the architectural value of the composition, one of the ‘handsome villas in various styles of architecture rapidly rising on either side of the road [in the townland of Shankill]’ (Fraser 1844, 58), confirmed by such attributes as the compact near-square plan form centred on a restrained doorcase, albeit one partly concealed behind a Classically-detailed porch; the dramatic diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated tiered visual effect with the principal “apartments” or reception rooms defined by tripartite glazing patterns; and the timber work embellishing an oversailing roofline. Having been well maintained, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior where contemporary joinery; chimneypieces; and plasterwork enrichments, all highlight the artistic potential of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (extant 1837) continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of a self-contained ensemble having historic connections with the Tilly family including Benjamin Tilly (d. 1863), ‘late of Chantilly in the County of Dublin’ (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1863, 320); and Commander Arthur George Roberts Riall RN (1842-1915), ‘late of Shankill County Dublin’ (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1915, 617).
74 Monkstown Road, Monkstown, Co. Dublin for sale Sept 2025 courtesy Lisney Sotheby’s
A94YF40
€2,695,000
4 Bed4 Bath315 m²
Commanding a privileged position in the heart of Monkstown, this magnificent residence offers a rare opportunity for the discerning buyer to acquire a home of striking presence and timeless grandeur in an unrivalled location. Rising behind its granite steps and gated entrance, this splendid period house stands as both a landmark and a sanctuary. From its lofty reception rooms to its contemporary garden-level living space, it is a home that celebrates scale, light, and design framed by spellbinding views of the chess-piece spire of Monkstown Parish Church, the graceful sweep of Monkstown Crescent, and the village rooftops beyond. To the front, the panorama is captivating, while to the rear rooftops and treetops tumble gently towards the sea. These are views to be savoured with the morning sun and lingered over at dusk, when the church’s silhouette sharpens against the evening sky. The house is designed to embrace these vistas, to hold them close as though they were part of its very architecture. With superbly versatile accommodation extending to approximately 315 sq. m. (3,391 sq. ft.), the residence offers beautifully balanced interiors across three levels. A gracious entrance hallway sets the tone with soaring ceilings, intricate plasterwork, and heritage-style diagonal black-and-white tiled floors – features that bring warmth, character and an immediate sense of history. The interconnecting reception rooms, with original timber floors, exude elegance and versatility, equally suited to formal entertaining or relaxed family living, with tall sash windows drawing natural light throughout the day. At garden level, modern life takes centre stage. A spectacular open-plan living, dining, and kitchen space crowned by a vaulted ceiling and a striking exposed granite wall forms the true heart of the home. Expansive glazing dissolves the boundary between indoors and out, opening directly onto the landscaped garden. A bespoke kitchen island anchors the room, combining style with practicality. Also at this level are a spa-inspired bathroom, a generous double bedroom, and a fully fitted utility room. Upstairs, the sense of space and light continues. Originally arranged as four bedrooms, this floor has been reconfigured for grandeur and comfort. The principal suite (once two bedrooms) is a luxurious retreat, complete with a large walk-in wardrobe and beautifully appointed ensuite. A further double bedroom and a triple-aspect study/bedroom, flooded with natural light and commanding sweeping village views, offer both flexibility and inspiration. A generous family bathroom with free-standing bath, oversized shower, and delightful views completes the accommodation. To the front, secure off-street parking for multiple cars is enhanced by an E.V. charger and framed by mature planting, creating a welcoming first impression. To the rear, the private garden -approximately 15.5 metres (50 feet) long – has been thoughtfully and beautifully landscaped. A rich tapestry of specimen trees, shrubs, and seasonal planting creates a lush and tranquil haven, perfect for outdoor dining, entertaining, or simply unwinding in complete seclusion. A sheltered granite patio offers the ideal space for al fresco meals, with steps rising to a lawned area. A granite pathway leads to a second seating terrace at the garden’s end, encouraging moments of quiet retreat. The garden is enclosed on all sides by a handsome feature granite wall, enhancing both character and privacy. At the far end, a stone-built shed with Velux roof light and water tanks adds practical storage while harmonising with the setting. By night, subtle garden lighting transforms the space into a magical retreat – a place to dine, entertain, or admire from the kitchen and dining room. Side access connects the garden seamlessly to the front of the property. What truly elevates 74 Monkstown Road is its location. Life here is defined as much by its surroundings as by the house itself. Step beyond the gate and you are in the heart of Monkstown Village, alive with atmosphere and character. Morning coffee at Sprout or Avoca becomes part of the daily rhythm, while evenings unfold at celebrated restaurants such as Bresson or Brasserie 8A all within a short stroll. Independent boutiques offer artisan produce, design-led fashion and interiors, adding further vibrancy to village life. The sea is ever-present. A brief walk brings you to the shoreline, whether for a bracing swim at Seapoint or a leisurely coastal stroll towards Sandycove or Blackrock. Sailing enthusiasts will find the yacht clubs of Dún Laoghaire close by, their masts dotting the horizon. Connectivity is exceptional. The DART at Salthill and Monkstown places Dublin city centre within easy reach, while nearby Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire provide further shopping, dining, and cultural opportunities. Some of the country’s most highly regarded primary and secondary schools are also within close proximity, ensuring practicality as well as pleasure. To live at 74 Monkstown Road is to embrace a lifestyle that is both cosmopolitan and coastal – an elegant village setting with the sea at its doorstep, the city within easy reach, and the finest of Dublin’s amenities all around Entrance Hall 2.12m x 9.5m. Fan light over front door, intricate ceiling moulding and centre rose, ceiling coving, tiled floor. Drawing Room 6.6m x 5m. This magnificent triple aspect room has three sliding sash windows overlooking Monkstown Road and Monkstown Parish church with working shutters, pitch pine wide plank original timber floor boards, terrific original marble fireplace with raised granite, intricate ceiling coving, magnificent centre rose and picture rail antique style radiators and sliding pocket doors leading through to a sitting room. Sitting Room 6.6m x 4.8m. With two sliding sash windows overlooking rear garden with working shutters, pitched pine original wide plank floorboards, antique style radiators, picture rail, ceiling coving, magnificent marble fireplace with wood burning stove inset and raised granite hearth. Large built-in bookcase. Surround system for TV with built in speakers in ceiling. Guest WC With tiled floor, corner wash hand basin, heated towel rail, antique style wc, sliding sash window to the side, fully tiled floor, hearth tiled walls, recessed down lighting. Study/Bedroom 4 2.8m x 3m. Triple aspect room with sliding sash windows and antique style radiator, ceiling coving, recessed down lighting and laminate flooring. Flight of stairs leading to First Floor Landing a beautiful space with a dual aspect overlooking both the Knox hall on Monkstown Road and with tremendous views over Monkstown Village and churches, there’s antique style radiator, ceiling coving, pull down ladder to an attic, magnificent arched window overlooking rear garden. Principal Bedroom Suite 4.8m x 6.6m (to include Ensuite & Walk In Closet). With ceiling coving, recessed down lighting, sliding sash window overlooking the rooftops of Monkstown and with views over the Dublin chimneys and Howth lighthouse in the wintertime, with working shutters, cast iron fireplace, television point and door to large built in closet with excellent hanging, shelving and drawer space with recessed down lighting and door to large ensuite. Ensuite Bathroom Luxuriously appointed tiled floor, tiled walls, large step in shower unit with monsoon style head and additional telephone shower attachment, feature vanity wash hand basin and storage underneath, mirrored backlit medicine cabinet, large wall mounted mirrored cosmetic cabinet, Roca wc, heated towel rail, recessed down lighting, ceiling coving, sliding sash window with working shutters, overlooking the rooftops of Monkstown. Bedroom 2 4.9m x 3.8m. Sliding sash window overlooking garden to the front, ceiling coving, recessed down lighting and feature chimney. Family Bathroom Beautiful bathroom with dual aspect overlooking Monkstown Road and with tremendous views over Monkstown Village to include both churches. Tiled floor, part tiled walls, fully tiled step in large shower unit with monsoon style head and additional telephone shower attachment, antique style wc, antique style feature wash hand basin (Burlington), wall mounted mirror with lighting on either side, feature free standing antique style bath with claw style feet, heated towel rail, ceiling coving, recessed down lighting and cast iron fireplace. Garden Level Garden Level Hallway 2m x 8.3m. Features floating oak staircase with glass balustrade and oak handrail, door to side passage, phone watch alarm panel, recessed down lighting, door to store room. Kitchen/Dining Room 6.2m x 9.7m. Terrific open plan space with marble tiled floor, kitchen area very well fitted with a range of floor level units to include drawers and cupboards, stone work surfaces, integrated Miele dishwasher, undermounted one and a half bowl stainless steel sink unit with InSinkErator and stone splashback, Lacanche gas stove and oven with large Neff stainless steel extractor hood over, Liebherr fridge freezer and freezer, wine fridge. Large feature island with stone work surfaces, undermounted stainless steel sink unit and built in storage and Neff integrated microwave, recessed downlighting and large larder press with shelving unit to the side, television point, antique style radiator, dining area with wood burning stove and stone inbuilt seating, features stain glass window through to utility room, recessed down lighting, large atrium with 6 Velux roof lights flooding the space with natural light, feature exposed granite wall, antique style radiator. Four speakers at ceiling level Utility Room 2.5m x 2.4m. With marble tiled floor, extensive floor to ceiling built in storage, with both boilers located here, recessed down lighting, plumbing for a washing machine and dryer, one and a half bowl stainless sink unit with storage underneath and feature stain glass window to the side, heated towel rail, door to rear garden, eircom phone watch. Inner Hallway Leads to a large bathroom. Bathroom Large bathroom with contemporary finish, fully tiled floors and walls, very large walk in shower with monsoon style head and additional telephone shower attachment, heated towel rail, Roca WC and oversized Roca vanity wash hand basin with towel rack underneath, wall mounted, medicine cabinet, wall mounted mirrors with lighting over, opaque sliding sash window to the front, recessed down lighting. Bedroom 3 4m x 4.7m. Sliding sash window to the front, ceiling coving, recessed down lighting, feature chimney. Store Room 2m x 3.6m. With tiled floor, electronics, cabinet, recessed down lighting, fuse board, alarm system, small window to the side.
Clonmell House, 17 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2, for sale courtesy Knight Frank
John Scott (1739-1798) 1st Earl of Clonmel, engraver Pierre Conde French after Richard Cosway, courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
818 m²
Clonmell House, No.17 Harcourt Street comprises a four storey over basement, mid terrace, Georgian building with extensive car parking and 2 storey mews building to the rear. This landmark building stands out from its neighbouring buildings, peering over the Georgian streetscape. The building, accessed via impressive granite steps, is predominantly in office use extending to 818.6 Sq.m. (8,811 Sq.ft.) The basement of the main building and first floor of the mews is let to Vaugirard Designated Activity Company under 2 separate leases with the basement in use as a Bar/Night Club. The car park to the rear accommodates 10 car parking spaces and is accessed via Montague Lane. Clonmell House is of traditional brick and masonry wall construction, with suspended timber stairs and floors. The building retains extensive ornate ceiling plasterwork, including period cornice and centre rose plasterwork. The ornate ceilings on the first floor are particularly notable, along with the magnificent floor to ceiling heights and well-proportioned rooms. Impressive period mantelpieces can be found throughout. The property is in walk-in condition and benefits from a passenger lift. The property is highly accessible. St Stephens Green and Harcourt Street Luas stops are both approx. 350m from the property. DART and mainline rail can be accessed at Pearse Street – approx. 23-minute walk. Both the QBC (Quality Bus Corridor) and Aircoach stops are located within a 9-minute walk of the property on St Stephen’s Green. A Dublin Bike station is located on Clonmell Street.
Lease Summary Demise: Basement Clonmell House Tenant: Vaugirard Designated Activity Company Term: 25 years from 11th January 2016 Passing rent: €55,700 exclusive Demise: Mews, Part Ground & 1st Floor Tenant: Vaugirard Designated Activity Company Term: 25 years from 11th January 2016 Passing rent: €8,000 exclusive Tenant not affected.
Crannmor, Knapton Road, Monkstown, Co Dublin for sale August 2025 courtesy Sherry Fitzgerald
A96YD37
€4,250,000
6 Bed 3 Bath 341 m²
Crannmor, Knapton Road is a particularly handsome bay-fronted red brick residence, characteristic of the Victorian era, circa 1870. Set amidst magnificent gardens of approximately 0.53 acres with the backdrop of the cut stone Dun Laoghaire Presbyterian Church off York Road. Rich in character and charm, the property has been lovingly cared for by the current owners since 1996, when it underwent an extensive renovation programme preserving its period detail whilst offering a warm and inviting atmosphere throughout. Beyond its immediate appeal as a gracious family home, Crannmor also presents exciting possibilities with tremendous scope to extend the existing accommodation or as outlined in a feasibility study commissioned by renowned architects O’Mahony Pike for a scheme of five new homes (subject to planning permission), adding an exciting dimension for future development. Electric gates open into the large front garden providing off street parking for several cars. An entrance porch with granite steps brings us to the front door which opens into a magnificent reception entrance hallway where you are immediately struck by the stunning period detail to include original quarry tiled floor, ceiling cornicing and a majestic oak staircase ensconced with a wall of archways allowing you to peer into the entrance hall as you ascend to the first floor. To left of the hallway is the charming drawing room with attractive three-sided deep bay window enjoying views over the front lawn and an attractive white marble feature fireplace. At the end of the entrance hall is the dining room with feature marble fireplace and also enjoying a vista over the front lawn. A few steps descend to the shower room and guest wc and beyond we arrive into the stunning open plan kitchen / breakfast and family rooms. This contemporary ‘country style’ space is designed to meet the needs of the modern family. The kitchen designed by Seabury Kitchens and painted in Littlegreene Bone China Blue features Neff & Liebherr electrical appliances with an ever popular large Aga recessed in the exposed brick chimney breast, underfloor heating adds to the overall cosiness of the kitchen. Off the kitchen area is the family room with tongue & grooved timber vaulted ceiling with Velux windows and stained-glass portholes allowing natural light to permeate through. French doors open into the Orangery designed by Norman Pratt currently in use as the breakfast room – the perfect spot to enjoy the magnificent views over the gardens. From the family room there is a conservatory again designed by Norman Pratt linking to the utility room. Upstairs, on the half landing is the family bathroom. On the first floor are three generous sized double bedrooms with original fireplaces and a dressing room complete with extensive fitted wardrobes. On the second floor are two additional bedrooms – a double and a large single. The gardens are undoubtedly an incredible feature of this most special home. Extending to 0.53 acres and have been carefully tended and nurtured by the current owners. The results are an oasis in which to enjoy endless hours of outdoor entertainment, at one point even a grass tennis court was marked out to have family tournaments. Very few homes can boast of having their own orchard which Crannmor has – discreetly tucked away at the end of the garden and stocked with fruit bearing trees such as apple, pear, plum and mulberry. There is an expansive area to the side and rear of the property incorporating two detached garages. This provides fantastic potential to substantially extend the existing accommodation. This superb location needs little introduction. Knapton Road is a leafy road and is one of Monkstown’s premier locations within a short stroll of the picturesque village of Monkstown steeped in Victorian heritage where residents are spoilt for choice with a selection of renowned local eateries such as That’s Amore, Bresson, Avoca and Lobstar to mention but a few and a choice of chic boutiques. There is ease of access to the beach at Seapoint, for all year swims and coastal walks along the East and West piers. De Vesci & Monkstown Lawn Tennis clubs are also closeby. For more extensive shopping facilities nearby Dun Laoghaire, has supermarkets, banks, a theatre and a multi-screen cinema. The maritime enthusiasts are well catered for in the four yacht clubs in Dun Laoghaire and De Vesci & Monkstown Lawn Tennis clubs are also just a few minutes’ walk away. There is an excellent choice of schools in the vicinity including Holy Child Killiney, Loreto Dalkey, CBC Monkstown, Blackrock College, St Andrews and St Michaels. The DART at Salthill Station is a short walk away allowing for a swift and scenic commute to the city centre. Several bus routes passing through Monkstown village also provide access to the city centre and of course, the Aircoach connects directly to Dublin Airport.
Entrance Porch: 1.63m x 3.05m. granite steps approach the front door. Entrance hallway: 5.02m x 4.64m. original quarry tiled floor, oak staircase ensconced by wall with feature period archways, ceiling cornicing, centre rose. Drawing room: 5.02m x 5.33m. Deep three-sided curved bay overlooking the front garden, ceiling cornicing, picture rail, magnificent white marble fireplace with slate inset, brass trim, slate hearth and gas effect fire. Dining room: 4.56m x 5.07m. large picture window overlooking the front garden, ceiling cornicing, centre rose, picture rail, marble fireplace with slate inset & hearth, gas coal effect fire. Shower room: 3.67m x 1.72m. WC, pedestal wash hand basin with recessed mirrored vanity cabinet, partly tiled walls and tiled floor, heated towel rail/radiator, wet area with glass panel. Guest WC: Vernon Tutberg hand painted wc & wash hand basin, recessed mirrored vanity cabinet, heated towel rail/radiator, part panelled timber walls, tiled floor. Kitchen: 9.68m x 4.23m. range of wall and floor units designed by Seabury Kitchen and painted in little green Bone China blue, Neff four ring gas hob and integrated deep fat fryer, electric oven, extractor hood, centre Island with one and a half bowl stainless sink unit, granite worktop, Bosch integrated dishwasher, Neff integrated American style fridge freezer, large four oven Aga inset exposed brick feature wall, Terracotta tiled floor with underfloor heating. Family room: Amtico flooring, exposed granite wall with fitted dresser units, door to: Orangery/breakfast room: 4.36m x 4.52m. designed by Norman Pratt, overlooking the rear garden, Amtico flooring, two sets of French doors opening out to the rear gardens. Conservatory: 4.83m x 4.37m. designed by Norman Pratt, Crème Marfil tiled floor, French doors opening out to the garden, doors leading to the front gardens and to the: Utility room: 5.57m x 2.38m. range of fitted wall and floor cabinets, Belfast sink unit with brass mixer tap, plumbed for washing machine and dryer. Half Landing: 5.02m x 4.64m Shower room: 2.73m x 1.72m. Fully tiled walls and floor, WC, pedestal wash and basin, mirrored vanity cabinet with light over, Large corner shower cubicle with Sliding glass doors. Bedroom three: 5.02m x 5.40m. Overlooking the side of the property, feature cast iron fireplace with tiled inset and slate hearth, ceiling cornicing. First floor landing: Bedroom two: 4.56m x 5.45m. overlooking the front gardens, ceiling cornicing & coving, picture rail, Marble fireplace with cast iron inset and tiled hearth. Bedroom one (Main): 4.56m x 4.56m. deep three-sided curved bay window overlooking the front gardens, ceiling cornicing, picture rail, marble fireplace with cast iron inset and slate hearth. Dressing Room: 2.00m x 4.42m. overlooking the side gardens: extensive range of fitted slide robes, pedestal wash hand basin with mirrored vanity cabinet over, cast iron fireplace. Second floor: Bedroom four: 4.56m x 4.56m. overlooking the rear gardens, built in wardrobes, fitted bookshelf unit. Bedroom five: 2.43m x 4.56m. overlooking the side of the property, cast iron fireplace.
‘Irish ADS’ journal we look at ‘Number 12 Merrion Square: Townhouse of the Right Honourable William Brownlow’ by Loreto Calderon and Christine Casey, featured in Vol V (2002). Built between 1764 and 1766, No. 12 Merrion Square stands as an exceptional example of Dublin’s Georgian architectural heritage. Commissioned by William Brownlow, an influential MP for Lurgan, it embodies both his political ambitions and refined artistic taste.
The article explores the architectural and artistic significance of No. 12, detailing its grand interiors, elaborate stuccowork, and the remarkable plasterwork by James Byrne. The house was designed with opulence in mind, featuring a strikingly broad and tall entrance hall – the only one in a Dublin terraced house to include an Ionic pilaster order. The stairhall, illuminated by a magnificent round-headed window, boasts intricate floral and bird motifs, Corinthian and Doric orders, and sculptural plasterwork that rivals the best of the Dublin school of stuccowork. The first-floor rooms echo the grandeur of contemporary Dublin interiors, with ornate ceilings that bear striking similarities to those found in No. 86 St Stephen’s Green and Charlemont House.
The article delves into the meticulous building accounts of No. 12, offering invaluable insights into 18th-century Dublin’s domestic construction practices, material costs, and the artisans responsible for shaping the city’s architectural identity. Brownlow’s personal records provide a rare glimpse into the lavish furnishings that once adorned the townhouse; Wilton carpets, damask curtains, elaborate chandeliers, and finely carved furniture by Dublin’s leading craftsmen.
This article can be accessed for free via our journal website www.igsjournal.ie
Stairhall of 12 Merrion Square, Dublin, photograph courtesy of Irish Georgian Society.Stairhall of 12 Merrion Square, Dublin, photograph courtesy of Irish Georgian Society.Stairhall of 12 Merrion Square, Dublin, photograph courtesy of Irish Georgian Society.William Brownlow (1726–94) c.1790 by Gilbert Stuart, photograph courtesy Irish Georgian Society.Exterior of 12 Merrion Square, Dublin,photograph courtesy Irish Georgian Society.
Irish Historic Houses 