Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Military Road, Dublin 8.
Since the 2025 Revenue Section 482 list has not yet been published, today’s entry is about the Royal Hospital Kilmainham: not a Historic House, but of relevance since designed by several important architects: William Robinson, Thomas Burgh and Francis Johnson.
The most decorative rooms have been closed to the public for years for renovation, but I am writing now as I had an opportunity to enter the magnificently baroque chapel in order to see a film. Excuse the poor quality of my photographs in the chapel – I didn’t want to disturb the other film viewers.
“Since 2018, The North Range has been closed due to remedial works and essential upgrades, including fire safety improvements, mechanical and electrical system replacements, and the meticulous restoration of the Baroque Chapel ceiling, historic timber panelling, and stained glass. This extensive project, operated by the Office of Public Works (OPW), was completed in July 2024, and it was announced the reopening after 6.5 years. We are more than proud to share the news that we are preparing to host events in The North Range.“
Aww, events? But what about access to the wonderful dining room with its portraits? We shall have to see if it is open…
“Kilmainham” is named after St. Maighneann who established a church and monastery in the area around AD 606. In 1174 the Knights Hospitaller, a Catholic order that focussed on aiding the sick and the poor, founded a Priory in Kilmainham, with the aid of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, better known as Strongbow. The Priory was destroyed in 1530s with the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII.
With this history, it seemed appropriate to locate the Royal Hospital here when Arthur Forbes, later Earl of Granard, proposed the idea of building an institution to accommodate veteran soldiers, similar to Les Invalides in Paris. The building was founded by King Charles II in 1679 to accommodate 300 soldiers and construction was overseen by the King’s representative in Ireland, known as the viceroy or Lord Lieutenant, James Butler 1st Duke of Ormond. He was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1661-1669 then again 1677-1684.
Over the next 247 years, thousands of army pensioners lived out their final days within its walls.
The information board from the Royal Hospital tells us that it was hoped that care for injured and elderly soldiers would promote recruitment. After the Civil War between Cromwellian Parliamentarians and Royalists, Charles II was naturally concerned to have a strong military force.
The building was designed by the Chief Engineer and Surveyor General for Fortifications, Buildings, Works, Mines and Plantations for Ireland, William Robinson (1645-1712).
The information board tells us: “Born in England, Robinson went on to hold a great number of public positions. When he resigned as Surveyor General in 1700 due to ill health, he was knighted and given the position of Deputy Receiver-General at the Privy Council of Ireland. However, he was implicated in a financial scandal and following a period of imprisonment at Dublin Castle, he fled to England. He died in 1712 and is buried in Westminster Abbey.”
He must have been forgiven if buried in the Abbey! The notice board also tells us that he personally acquired the portion of the original site near Islandbridge, and built himself a house with a view of the Royal Hospital, but it no longer stands.
Royal Hospital Kilmainham, 15th October 2023.Royal Hospital Kilmainham, 15th October 2023.
The next Surveyor General, Thomas Burgh (1670-1730), added more to the building. In 1704 he added the tower and steeple over the north range, and designed the infirmary.
In the fourth wing, not generally open to the public, is the splendid Robinson’s Chapel with a baroque plaster ceiling, carved oak and beautiful stained glass window, and the Geat Hall. You can see an online tour at https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=ce2pG4J1huc&mls=1
The chapel is dedicated to the memory of King Charles I and its ceiling is beautifully Baroque, a profusion of cherubs’ heads, geometrical shapes, borders, garlands and flowers. Amazingly, the ceiling is a papier-maché replica of the original. The original was too heavy, and the replica was installed in 1901. The artist of the original is unknown. The room is panelled in Baltic pine with ornate oak carving and Corinthian pilasters.
The oak carving of the altar is by Huguenot refugee from Paris, James Tabary. The carvings above the south, east and west Hospital entrances, which are made of wood but painted to look like stone, may also be by Tabary.
The stained glass in the Chapel’s large east window mostly dates to the 19th century, although some of it is said to come from the medieval Priory of St. John the Hospitaller.
In 1849 young Queen Victoria visited the hospital and bestowed a gift of stained glass which shows the coats of arms of the various Masters of the Hospital, which was made c. 1852 in London by Irish artist Michael O’Connor.
The Great Hall contains portraits that have hung here since 1713, and splendidly carved trophies over the doors remind me of those at Beaulieu in County Louth. The portaits include Queen Anne, Queen Mary, William III, Narcissus Marsh, Charles II, James 1st Duke of Ormond and the Richard Butler Earl of Arran and Earl of Ossory (sons of the Duke of Ormond), amongst others. A library which belonged to the original hospital is also cared by the OPW. The northern wing also contains the Master’s Lodgings, made for the Master of the Royal Hospital.
Royal Hospital Kilmainham, 15th October 2023.The Great Hall, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, photograph taken 1987, from Dublin City Library and Archives. [see 2]Royal Hospital Kilmainham dining hall by Robert French, Lawrence Photographic Collection NLI, flickr constant commons.Royal Hospital Kilmainham, 15th October 2023.Royal Hospital Kilmainham, 15th October 2023.Richard Butler (1639-1686) 1st Earl of Arran, son of the Duke of Ormonde, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, 15th October 2023.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.
In 1805, Francis Johnston carried out restoration work, and in the 1820s remodelled the Master’s Quarters in the northwest corner. He also designed the Adjutant General’s office and the Richmond Tower which stands at the west entrance to the hospital grounds.
The garden, known as the Master’s Garden, has been restored to its formal glory under the suprvision of architect Elizabeth Morgan. In 1693 Chambré Brabazon 5th Earl of Meath was Master of the Hospital and a Minute of the Royal Hospital Committee notes that he was asked to prepare an account for an estimate of works necessary to put some order on the garden. The work was not carried out at the time.
The Garden house is included in a painting by Joseph Tudor in 1750. It was probably designed as a small dining pavilion or banqueting house, with a high coved ceiling on the first floor, and it is attributed to Edward Lovett Pearce circa 1734.
The house was extended in the late 19th century into ahouse for the head gardener.
Happy New Year! My best wishes for the year ahead. I hope it will bring many exciting house visits.
2026 Diary of Irish Historic Houses (section 482 properties)
To purchase an A5 size 2026 Diary of Historic Houses (opening times and days are not listed so the calendar is for use for recording appointments and not as a reference for opening times) send your postal address to jennifer.baggot@gmail.com along with €20 via this payment button. The calendar of 84 pages includes space for writing your appointments as well as photographs of the historic houses. The price includes postage within Ireland. Postage to U.S. is a further €10 for the A5 size calendar, so I would appreciate a donation toward the postage – you can click on the donation link.
€20.00
donation
Help me to pay the entrance fee to one of the houses on this website. This site is created purely out of love for the subject and I receive no payment so any donation is appreciated!
€15.00
A tour of Lambay Castle is expensive so I don’t think Stephen and I will be going any time soon, so I thought I would publish an entry about it today.
Lambay Island, photograph courtesy ofwww.visitdublin.comPortrane and Lambay Island, County Dublin 1844 after John Edward Jones.
The island is owned and protected today by the Revelstoke Trust and daily management lies in the hands of Alex Baring, 7th Baron Revelstoke, and his family.
The castle on Lambay Island is privately owned but can be rented for accommodation, and there is other accommodation on the island. One can also visit the island on a day trip but the castle is not open to visitors unless booked in advance on the website.
Open for accommodation: April 1- September 30 2026
The website tells us that it the largest island off the east coast of Ireland and the largest privately owned island in North-West Europe. The island is home to seals and puffins, with deer and wallabies that were originally imported. Nesting birds include Fulmars, Guillemots, Herring Gulls, Kittiwakes, Manx Shearwaters and Puffins, while Greylag Geese are common winter visitors.
The island’s farm produces organic meat from sheep, deer and wallabies. Energy on the island is provided by a wind turbine and solar panels, and water is from a natural spring.
The island has an ancient history. The website tells us:
“Its early history is obscure but, like many other small islands, it attracted saints, hermits and pirates. It is thought to be one of the first few places where Viking raiders landed and proofs of its prehistoric history and early modern settlement were found around the harbour which date from the 1st century AD. Excavations also revealed Iron-Age graves dating back to circa 500 BC.”
St. Columba may have established a monastery on the island as early as the sixth century.
In 1181 the island was granted by Prince John (later king) to the Archbishops of Dublin, who received rents and tithes from the island.
To prevent piracy or invasion of the mainland, a license was granted to build a fort in the early 1500s. The structure built may may have formed the core of the castle still surviving when Cecil Baring later purchased the land. John Challoner (d. 1581), who was the first Secretary of State for Ireland, appointed by Queen Elizabeth I in 1560, agreed to build a village, castle and harbour on the island. The website tells us that he set up mines for copper and silver on the island, though it is not clear how successful this was, and bred falcons.
The island passed by marriage to the Ussher family in 1611. James Ussher (1581-1656) is the cleric famous for calculating that the earth was created around 6 pm on 22 October 4004 BC.
James Ussher (1580-1656) Archbishop of Armagh aged 74 by Peter Lely, courtesy of National Trust Hatchlands.
Sean O’Reilly tells us in his Irish Houses and Gardens. From the Archives of Country Life (published by Aurum Press Ltd, London, 1998) that:
“Weaver’s first article on an Irish house already showed clearly his concern for disposing of unauthenticated traditions. Among those he corrected was the presumption, promulgated in Samuel Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary of 1837, that the island was granted by Queen Elizabeth to Archbishop James Ussher, a figure famous for dating the creation of the world to 4004 BC on the basis of a chronology of the Old Testament. Weaver pointed out that the island was in fact held by Ussher’s cousin, William. Despite many vicissitudes, Lambay Island remained in possession of the Usshers from 1551 to 1804, from which time no significant work was done on the castle until the arrival of Baring.” [1]
The website tells us that the island was used as a Prisoner of War camp for over 1,000 Irish soldiers during the Williamite war after the Battle of Aughrim.
In 1805 the island was inherited by William Wolseley and in 1814 it was acquired by the family of Richard Wogan Talbot, 2nd Baron Talbot of Malahide. They built a school and a Catholic chapel on the island. The chapel was later renovated by Lutyens to resemble a Doric temple and the school no longer exists.
James Considine sold Portrane House and purchased Lambay in 1888. Count Considine set about developing the island as a hunting estate and was the first man to introduce deer onto the island.
In 1904, Cecil Baring, later the 3rd Baron Revelstoke, and his wife Maude Lorillard bought the island. Baring was a classical scholar and naturalist as well as former director of his family’s New York office of Barings Bank. The website tells us:
”In early 1904, with Maude heavily pregnant, Cecil went to investigate Lambay; he found a small line of cottages occupied by coastguards, a chapel, a walled garden, a dilapidated old fort and a magnificent wealth of wildlife. It was an intoxicating mixture.
”The first task facing the Barings was the repair of the castle and they refitted a heavy lugger, the Shamrock, to carry the necessary materials to the island. The Shamrock (version 3.0) is still in use today as Lambay’s main cargo boat and is used to transport the sheep and cattle as well as bulkier materials and equipment for the off-grid energy system.“
Baring hired Edward Lutyens to renovate the property. The website tells us:
”Lutyens was utterly delighted by Lambay and the couple, and the visit sparked a warm friendship between the three of them that would last throughout their lives. Lutyens extended the Castle masterfully and by 1910 it was a beautiful refuge for Cecil and Maude, surrounded by an impressive circular wall, which Lutyens nicknamed “The Ramparts Against Uncharity“.
p. 30. “By the time of Lutyen’s arrival much original fabric had deteriorated, and he was required to rebuild in part, though he retained triumphantly the ancient mood. A new service range was necessary, discreetly located off a corner of the castle and set into the ground so as not to dominate the main castle. Lutyens also ensured the prominence of the medieval fabric by deciding not to repeat the leitmotif of the original – the stepped gables – in the new work. Instead he used steep sweeping tiled roofs broken by dormers, gables and stacks.” [1]
Lambay Castle,photograph courtesy ofwww.lambayisland.ieFrom “In Harmony with Nature, The Irish Country House Garden 1600-1900” in the Irish Georgian Society, July 2022, curated by Robert O’Byrne. Lambay Castle, Lambay Island. Photograph from Country Life published 4th May 1912.
The Historic Houses of Ireland website describes the residence:
“Today the three-bay centre of the north-west front, which faces a bastion gateway in the Rampart Wall, is flanked by two full-height projecting bays, each with crow-stepped gables and tall chimneys. Lutyens attached a wing to provide guest accommodation at the northeastern corner and regarded the “link between the two buildings as one of his most brilliant architectural coups” since the castle, which appears single storied on this front, continues to dominate the two-storey wing. The castle and the farm buildings, and the walls of the much enlarged gardens were built in grey-green Lambay stone, with grey pantile roofs, and form a sequence of courts, walled gardens and enclosed yards that give the impression of a small hamlet nestling for protection beneath the castle walls.” [2]
The castle and west forecourt of Lambay Castle, Lambay Island. Photograph from Country Life published 4th May 1912.Lambay Castle: ground and first floor plans, as altered by Lutyens, 1908-11, courtesy https://landedfamilies.blogspot.com
Sean O’Reilly describes Lutyen’s work in more detail:
“Lutyens did need to provide suitable facilities within the surviving ruins of the castle, the most basic of these being a staircase. Curiously, the original castle fabric did not possess internal access to the upper floor, so Lutyens inserted his in the space between the bastions at the rear of the building. He linked these two with a sequence of three cross windows broken by the arched doorway leading to the staircase. The new arrangement is a typically imaginative piece of intervention by Lutyens, as it performs a number of functions with appropriate efficiency. It gives access not only to the bedrooms on the upper floor, but also to the raised ground at the rear of the castle, and it connects to the underground service passage to the kitchen wing.
“Reception rooms also needed to be provided inside the ruins, and again it was to Lutyens’s credit that he succeeded in creating an imaginative variety of shapes and spaces without intruding on the individuality of the building. Perhaps most surprising is the provision of two entrance halls, one in each of the corner bastions of the entrance front, and each with its own door. The sitting room, reached only after passing through the central dining room and staircase hall behind, is in the corner adjoining the service wing.
“Due to the need for the reconstruction of this corner Lutyens was more free to open out the architecture, without actually intruding on surviving original fabric. Here he introduced a pointed stone arch linking the section of the room in the original bastion with that part set between the bastions. Lutyens topped this range with a hipped roof – an informal nod to the detailing of the service wing – and square battlements – a more formal bow to the stepping in the original gables, seen across the view of the north court.” [1]
The Historic Houses of Ireland website tells us that the castle is “constructed with small doors and small casements so that the inhabitants seem, on rough days, to be sheltering like monks.” [see 2]
The interior has vaulted ceilings, stone fireplaces and a curved stone staircase, while much of the furniture chosen by Lutyens is still arranged just as he intended.
Spiral arches,Lambay Castle,photograph courtesy ofwww.lambayisland.ieAt the head of the stone stair at Lambay Castle. Photograph from Country Life published 4th May 1912. The staircase landing at Lambay Castle.Photograph from Country Life published 4th May 1912. The eastern half of the sitting room at Lambay Castle. Photograph from Country Life published 4th May 1912. The kitchen in the guest accommodation in the castle,Lambay Castle,photograph courtesy ofwww.lambayisland.ieThe guest accommodation in the castle,Lambay Castle,photograph courtesy ofwww.lambayisland.ie
Lutyens also adapted and enlarged a number of other early structures and integrated them into an ingenious coordinated layout for the whole island, combining the farm, gardens and plantations as a single composition, in collaboration with the horticulturalist and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll.
Mark Bence-Jones describes the wall that surrounds the castle and gardens: this wall serves the practical purpose of a wind-break, enabling trees and plants to grow inside it which would not grow outside. [3] He also describes the approach to the castle:
“Lutyens also designed the approach from the harbour, with curved step-like terraces reminiscent of the now-vanished Ripetta in Rome; characteristically, having ascended these Baroque steps, one has to cross an open field to come to the curtain wall, the entrance gaeway not being at first visible; so that there is a wonderful sense of expectancy. Close the the harbour is the White House, a largely single-storey horseshoe-shaped house with high roofs and white harled walls, which Lutyens designed 1930s for Lord Revelstoke’s daughter, Hon Mrs (Arthur) Pollen. On a hill is an old Catholic chapel, with a portico of tapering stone columns and a barrel vaulted ceiling.” [see 3]
The walled kitchen garden pierces the Rampart Wall to the South and there is the mausoleum of the Revelstokes, designed by Lutyens in 1930, on the opposite side of the enclosure. The website tells us:
”Cecil and Maude had 12 blissful years together with their little family on Lambay but alas, in 1922, a still young Maude died of cancer, leaving Cecil with two daughters, Daphne and Calypso, and their little son Rupert. Her body was brought back from London to the island for burial. Lutyens, who was then busy with war memorials and the government buildings of New Delhi, designed a large monument for her grave, set in against the rampart walls and facing towards the Castle. The mausoleum is today one of the most pleasant and peaceful spots on the island. Prefacing Cecil’s epitaph, a beautiful poem about his wife, is the word ‘Quiet’, both an imperative to the reader and a description of the monument’s setting.“
Lutyens also designed the White House overlooking the harbour on the western shores of the island, as a holiday home for the couple’s two daughters and their families. This is now available as visitor accommodation.
The website tells us that Cecil convened a congress to examine the flora and fauna of the island, the findings of which were published in The Irish Naturalist (1907).
“He also tried to introduce new species, including mouflon sheep, chamois goats, kinkajous and rheas. Today, there is a large population of wallabies on Lambay, but these were brought here in the 1980s by Cecil’s son Rupert Revelstoke, who had enjoyed having two pet wallabies in the 1950s.“
[3] 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.
2026 Diary of Irish Historic Houses (section 482 properties)
To purchase an A5 size 2026 Diary of Historic Houses (opening times and days are not listed so the calendar is for use for recording appointments and not as a reference for opening times) send your postal address to jennifer.baggot@gmail.com along with €20 via this payment button. The calendar of 84 pages includes space for writing your appointments as well as photographs of the historic houses. The price includes postage within Ireland. Postage to U.S. is a further €10 for the A5 size calendar, so I would appreciate a donation toward the postage – you can click on the donation link.
€20.00
donation
Help me to pay the entrance fee to one of the houses on this website. This site is created purely out of love for the subject and I receive no payment so any donation is appreciated!
€15.00
A happy new year to all of my readers!
www.killeenmill.ie Tourists Accommodation Facility– not open to the public
Open for accommodation in 2026: April 1- Sept 30, Mon-Sat
The five bay four storey mill was built in around 1800. [1] Built on to the side is a house, which is listed on 2024’s Revenue Section 482 as tourist accommodation, although the website link is not working for me today. If interested, you could try ringing (086) 818 2384. The mill was once part of the Killeen estate of the Plunkett Earls of Fingal. Stephen and I drove by the property to see it in July 2022 after a wonderful visit to Dunsany Castle.
A sign on the mill tells us that it was owned by Christopher Plunkett, Earl of Fingal. The only Christopher who was Earl of Fingall is the 2nd Earl (1612-1649). There has been a mill on the site since the seventeenth century, the first record appears in the Civil Survey of 1654.
The sign tells us that the top floor was used for storing grain, the middle for shelling, grinding and “bolting.” The ground floor was used for “shafting” and there was also an office on this level, as well as a small shop. A kiln was used to dry the grain, added in the nineteenth century.
The mill was powered by a horizontal water wheel. Water was channelled to form a millpond. Water passed down a shute to the wheel which ground the flour.
The core of the miller’s house, the sign tells us, could date back to the sixteenth century!
The current owners, Dermot and Fiona Kealy, installed new flagstones inside the cottage and new windows. [2] The also reroofed the mill and made it a safe structure.
The cottage has a kitchen, family room and living room on the ground floor, while upstairs there’s a bathroom and three bedrooms. Fiona told the Irish Times about how restoration had to be done according to regulation for a historic building: “We even had to have an archaeological dig to make sure we wouldn’t disturb anything of significance. Then everything had to be architecturally correct for the period. When we stripped off the layers of wallpaper, there were holes in the plaster, and our plasterer had to make up plaster with horsehair and lime, the way it would have been done.
“It was handy, because the pony was having his hair cut and we used some of his hair. It’s lovely to think you’ve preserved something, and that Cookie the pony is forever enshrined in the walls.” [see 2] At first the family lived in the house, but then they moved to a larger house when their children grew, and they let the cottage for short stays.
I receive no funding nor aid to create and maintain this website, it is a labour of love. I travel all over Ireland to visit Section 482 properties and sometimes this entails an overnight stay. A donation would help to fund my accommodation.
For the season that’s in it, at this beginning of December 2024, I feel it is appropriate to publish this post about a Banqueting Hall! I also would like to remind my readers that I have a few 2025 calendars left, and I am discounting them as the printing did not turn out so well and the images are unfortunately a bit dark. If you prefer one of better quality, I will have to charge the higher price of €30.
2025 Diary of Irish Historic Houses (section 482 properties)
To purchase an A5 size 2025 Diary of Historic Houses (opening times and days are not listed so the calendar is for use for recording appointments and not as a reference for opening times) send your postal address to jennifer.baggot@gmail.com along with €20 via this payment button. The calendar of 84 pages includes space for writing your appointments as well as photographs of the historic houses. The price includes postage within Ireland. Postage to U.S. is a further €10 for the A5 size calendar, so I would appreciate a donation toward the postage – you can click on the donation link.
€20.00
2025 Diary of Irish Historic Houses (section 482 properties)
To purchase an A5 size 2025 Diary of Historic Houses (opening times and days are not listed so the calendar is for use for recording appointments and not as a reference for opening times) send your postal address to jennifer.baggot@gmail.com along with €20 via this payment button. The calendar of 84 pages includes space for writing your appointments as well as photographs of the historic houses. The price includes postage within Ireland. Postage to U.S. is a further €10 for the A5 size calendar, so I would appreciate a donation toward the postage – you can click on the donation link.
€20.00
donation
Help me to pay the entrance fee to one of the houses on this website. This site is created purely out of love for the subject and I receive no payment so any donation is appreciated!
€15.00
Donation towards accommodation
I receive no funding nor aid to create and maintain this website, it is a labour of love. I travel all over Ireland to visit Section 482 properties and sometimes this entails an overnight stay. A donation would help to fund my accommodation.
“Many of Ireland’s surviving medieval halls are in west Limerick. The Desmond Banqueting Hall in Newcastle West is one of the most impressive among them.
“It was begun in the thirteenth century by Thomas ‘the Ape’ FitzGerald, so named because of the story that an ape took him from his cradle to the top of Tralee Castle – and delivered him safely back again.
“However, most of the spacious, imposing structure was created in the fifteenth century, at the height of the Desmond earls’ power, and used as a venue for frequent and lavish banquets.
“The oak gallery, from which musicians would provide a raucous soundtrack for the revelry below, has been fully restored.“
The prefix “Fitz” is taken from the Norman-French “fiz” son of. Early members of the family were known by their father’s name, ie. Fitzmaurice or Fitzthomas, but eventually the name settled to be Fitzgerald.
The Fitzgeralds were Anglo-Norman and came to Ireland at the time of King Henry II in 1169. After the initial colonisation of Ireland in the southwest and east, the Fitzgeralds and some others pushed into the southwest, the information boards tell us. It was only after the death of Donal Mór Ó Brien, King of Thomond, in 1194 that the Fitzgeralds and other Normans took over most of Limerick. By 1215 they held the towns of Cork, Limerick and Waterford and had built a castle in Dungarvan.
An inquisition of lands in 1298 describes the manor of Newcastle as containing the “New Castle with buildings inside and outside the walls” and the mill of Newcastle.
An information board at Desmond Hallwith a picture of what the Castle would have looked like in about 1450.
The surviving buildings are Desmond Hall and Halla Mór. This is possibly the site of the earliest castle foundations, and remnants of the early walls are found underground today. The Desmond hall shows more than one phase of development. Embedded in the exterior of the south wall are vestiges of four early thirteenth century sandstone lancet windows. The fifteenth century development of the hall by the 7th Earl of Desmond introduced many changes including the addition of a projecting tower with small chambers and a stairwell to the Northwest corner.
The lower level of the banqueting hall has an excellent display of boards telling us more about the history of the Fitzgerald Earls of Desmond. An old fireplace is set in one wall, it seems to be from 1638.
The visitor centre lies in a building across the courtyard, and another building is being refurbished.
The first claim to the land of Desmond was obtained by the Fitzgeralds when John Fitzthomas married the co-heiress Margery FitzAnthony and was granted in 1251 a share in her father’s lands described as “all the lands of Decies and Desmond and custody of the castle of Dungarvan.” This land was added to the Fitzgerald landholdings in Limerick and North Kerry. In 1292 King Edward I (d. 1307) granted Thomas Fitzmorice (Fitzgerald) and his wife Margaret Berkeley, who was a cousin of the king, “joint custody of Decies and Desmond.” It’s interesting that the wife was given joint custody, and that daughters could be heirs, which as we know was not always the case.
A leaflet from the castle tells us that by 1298, a strong stone castle stood overlooking the Arra River in Newcastle West. Curtain walls with defensive towers surrounding the main buildings, a variety of simple thatched houses and byres for cattle as well as fishponds. The Normans immediately began to consolidate their position by negotiating with the local Gaelic families, while driving the poorer Gaelic peasants into the mountains. By the time of Maurice Fitzthomas Fitzgerald (abt. 1293-1356), the O’Briens to the north had become firm allies of the Fitzgeralds. In 1329, Maurice was created 1st Earl of Desmond, the term “Desmond” being derived from the Irish Deas mnumhain meaning south Munster. By this time the Fitzgeralds were using the Irish language in their daily lives and had taken on many of the values and habits of the Irish culture.
Desmond Hall.Information board about the Desmonds in the fourteenth century.
The 1st Earl plotted against the King of England, and allied himself with the Gaelic lords. They pillaged many settlements in the south of Ireland. He is said to have written to the Pope to say that King Edward III of England had no right to the lordship of Ireland. It is also claimed that he wrote to the kings of France and Scotland to form an alliance. During a campaign against him he lost his castles at Askeaton and Castleisland. However, the King pardoned him and made him Chief Justiciar of Ireland in 1355.
Gearóid Iarla (c. 1338-1398) became the 3rd Earl of Desmond in 1356. He was an expert mathematician and apparently, the leaflet tells us, a magician! He was also a poet and introduced the idea of courtly love into Gaelic poetry. He also served as Justiciar. He married Alianore, or Eleanor, Butler, daughter of James 2nd Earl of Ormond.
Information board and the Desmonds versus the Ormonds.
Despite the marriage alliance between the Desmonds and the Ormonds, they still battled. A fifteen day conference at Clonmel in 1384 led to a treaty between the families.
Thomas the 8th Earl of Desmond (c. 1426-1468) was made Lord Deputy of Ireland 1464-67. During his time the Desmonds fought again with the Ormonds, including during the War of the Roses when they took opposing sides. The Ormonds supported the victorious Lancasters.
The 8th Earl was however thought to side with the Irish still and was executed by the next Lord Deputy.
The information boards give us more history about Desmond family. The Earls of Desmond fell out of favour after the 8th Earl was executed in 1468.
After the execution of the 8th Earl of Desmond in 1468, the later Earls withdrew from contact with England. The leaflet from the site tells us that the arrival of new settlers in Munster as well as Catholic mistrust of the Protestant state set off risings by the Earls in 1567-73 and 1579-83. Earl Gerald (15th Earl) was declared an outlaw and Munster was laid waste by Crown forces. The rebellion was a failure and Gerald was captured and killed during a cattle raid. The Desmond lands were taken and distributed to English settlers.
This takes us up to the fifteenth century and the time when the Hall would have been used, as we see it today. The information board tells us that the Hall was where the Lord held court, and that this has two meanings: it was the court of judgement as well as the court of entertainment and dining.
The Banqueting Hall was restored in the early 19th century, the ruined battlements were taken down and a new pitch pine roof was put on. The original hooded stone fireplace had collapsed and a seventeenth century replacement, the one we now see in the lower vault, was installed, taken from a house in Kilmallock. The Banqueting Hall was used as a Masonic lodge and later as a general purpose hall for the community.
The leaflet tells us that when the 17th century fireplace was taken down for repair and cleaning, enough of the original hooded fireplace remained that it could be reconstructed with reasonable accuracy.
There was evidence for a timber screen at the west end of the hall, and this has been replaced by a musician’s gallery made of oak.
I was surprised to hear that the windows facing the village would have had glass in the fifteenth century. The other side, away from public view, would not have had this expensive luxury.
After the Earls of Desmond has lost their land, it was given to some prominent and wealthy Englishmen who would develop the Munster Plantation. These men, called “Undertakers,” would undertake to establish English families on the land they were given. Sir William Courtenay (or Courtney) (1553-1630), 3rd Earl of Devon, was granted 10,000 acres at Newcastle. He was originally from Devon in England, and he was given land on condition that eighty English colonists would be housed on his property.
Newcastle passed to William Courtenay’s son George Courtenay (d. 1644), who in 1621 became 1st Baronet Courtenay of Newcastle, County Limerick. The sign boards tell us that in 1641 English settlers crowded into the protection of the walled castle, but after a long seige it fell to General Purcell of the Confederate forces. The Confederates where an amalgamation of Gaelic Ulster families and Anglo-Norman families who were dissatisfied with assurances given to them by King Charles I about their freedom to practice their Catholic faith, and they feared the militant intolerance of the English Parliament.
The Courteneys built an mansion to replace the destroyed castle. George’s son Francis inherited, but as he had no offspring, Newcastle passed to his cousin, William Courtenay (1628-1702) 5th Earl of Devon and 1st Baronet Courtenay. The property remained in the family but they did not live there, and finally it was sold in 1910.
In 1777 William 2nd Viscount Courtenay (1742-1788) built a Church of Ireland church between the Banqueting Hall and the main square of the town. It was demolished in 1962 as it had fallen into disrepair. The 2nd Viscount was 8th Earl of Devon and 4th Baronet Courtenay.
In 1922 the main building, then known as Devon Castle, burnt, and was replaced by a house nearby. The Desmond Hall was sold to the Nash family, and finally the Land Commisson took over the land. Desmond Hall was used for town social events and the Halla Mór as a cinema. The Hall became a National Monument in 1981. Restoration began in 1989.
Sorry I published and sent an entry of my notes about Dunroe Lodge, County Carlow. I’m compiling a database on big houses for myself and I published that entry by mistake. I also published an entry last week by mistake. It’s very unprofessional of me – sorry for sending you random unsuitable posts!
However, the building was not open, and I suspect it never is, as it has been converted to apartments. Instead, we sat outside the building despite rain threatening, and listened to a talk organised by Aoife Crotty about the Crotty Schism (1820-1850) which was led by Father Michael Crotty (1795-1862). Disgusted at not having access to the building despite its Section 482 designation, I didn’t ask Aoife whether she is related to Father Michael Crotty! The speaker who gave the rather rambling talk did not introduce himself so I did not identify who he is, and I suspect he is an owner of the building. The Inventory tells us that the building was built in 1839. The Schism itself began in 1826.
The Inventory describes the former church: “Hipped slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles and cast-iron rainwater goods. Ashlar limestone to façade with tooled stone quoins, roughcast render to sides and rear elevations. Pointed-arched window openings to façade with tooled stone surrounds and sills with timber casement windows. Square-headed openings to sides and rear elevations with stone sills and timber casement windows. Tudor arched door opening with chamfered stone reveals, timber battened door, surmounted by fanlight. Side and rear site bounded by random coursed stone wall.“
Although the building was built for a Catholic congregation originally, the followers of Michael Crotty, it is identified in the National Inventory as a Presbyterian former church. [1] The talk’s presenters were unable to tell us much about the history of the building.
There are a few graves outside the church, which seemed oddly random, and the talk’s organisers were unable to tell us about them. It looks like there may be gravestones but perhaps the burials did not actually take place on the grounds of the church.
Crotty began his position as a Catholic priest in Birr in 1821. With an increasing Catholic population, the congregation needed a new church.
He began his training to be a Catholic priest in Maynooth University but left, and finished his training in France. He obtained a position in Birr, but he became increasingly radical and he and his cousin, William Crotty (1808–56), also a Catholic priest, favoured Protestant rather than Catholic beliefs. They sought to set up a new church in a new building, and took many of their congregation with them. Lord Rosse of Birr Castle contributed toward the building fund, which was set up in 1808. Crotty fell out with the Building Committee and the Parish Priest, and in 1825 he was moved to Shinrone. However, in 1826 he was back in Birr causing trouble, arguing with the parish priest and attempting to take over the Catholic church building, staging a “sit in.” The new church still had not been built. It took the 66th Regiment of the army under Lord Rosse to evict Crotty and his followers!
Next Crotty rented a house where he held services. The building we visited was not the only one that the congregation occupied. One of the organisers of the talk pointed out another building across the road, an old warehouse, where Crotty also preached. This too is being converted to apartments.
The same owner owns The Maltings, also a Section 482 property, which is meant to offer tourist accommodation and therefore does not need to open to the public. However, any time I have tried to book this accommodation, several times over the years since 2019, the building is not actually offering tourist accommodation.
The organisers of the talk gave us a booklet about the Crotty Schism, written by Reverend Edward Whyte. Michael Crotty was increasingly erratic and eventually ended up in an asylum for the mentally ill in Belgium. William became a Presbyterian minister in Birr.
You can read more about the Schism in an article on the Offaly History Blog by Ciaran McCabe. [2]
The lease of the church site from the Earl of Rosse signed 20 August 1837; co-signed by Michael and William Crotty (image courtesy of Offaly Archives and Birr Castle Archives)Michael Crotty was one of two cousins — both Catholic priests — who were at the centre of the notorious schism in Birr, that resulted in their departure, as well as the departure of hundreds of local parishioners, from the Roman church. The community aligned itself with the Presbyterian Synod of Ulster, to Michael’s chagrin, resulting in his exile to England, where he converted to the Church of England. It was in England where he penned this account of the missionary efforts in King’s County, asserting his grievances about being wronged and his aspiration to return to Birr to realign his congregation towards Anglicanism. From the library of Offaly History, Tullamore.Thomas Lalor Cooke (1792–1869), who initially supported the Crottys in their dispute with their bishop — including being charged, yet acquitted, of riot — and later provided a narrative of the schism in his Early history of the town of Birr, or Parsonstown (1875), a posthumously-published revision of an earlier work. From the library of Offaly History, Tullamore.
Every once in a while a property is offered for sale which I think could become a Section 482 property. I can’t resist sharing this one, which is a joy. I have still to write of the other mill house, Millbrook, which we visited this year, and I have yet to visit Kilcarbry in Wexford, another corn mill, and Fancroft Mill in Tipperary.
The advertisement reads: “An attractive and exquisite residence sympathetically set within the fabric of an historic corn mill and magically situated within private grounds, which extend to the banks of the river Liffey and include the original cascading mill race canal. In all about 3 acres or 1.2 hectares and some 6,900 square feet or 641 square metres of accommodation.”
The ad tells us: “Historically and architecturally significant Yeomanstown Corn Mill has a rare magical quality and retaining much of the original industrial mill equipment makes a truly unique and enchanting residence. Milling activity on the grounds of Yeomanstown Corn Mill is thought to date back to the 14th-century. The current mill is largely late Georgian, circa 1810, in composition but likely incorporates earlier structures. A mill illustrated on maps back to 1654 in the mid-17th-century.“
The ad continues: “With the resplendent red brick exterior stretching up to four and five floors and abutting the cascading mill wheel canal Yeomanstown Corn Mill is enchanting and extremely picturesque. The restoration and conversion of the building into a home magically marries the rare original industrial charm with contemporary living requirements, to create an utterly enticing and fun home. The unashamedly industrial themed interior incorporates well thought out living spaces punctuated with original millstones, corn elevator shafts, massive ceiling beams, rustic timber staircases and ladders, white washed walls and varying ceiling heights to alluring effect.“
I love all the wood inside and the beautiful stone flooring.
“A flagged stone reception hall retains the original corn milling wheels behind a glass wall and features the rustic mill staircase to the upper floors and leads to a study, an office, a spacious bathroom with a large bath, a shower and a sauna and two bedrooms, one with a hobbit like door to an enclosed walled garden.“
“The first floor has a large open plan kitchen with a fully fitted kitchen, large breakfast counter worktop, industrial themed lighting and incorporating original mill fittings and equipment to great effect. It leads to a fine living room with a large cast iron stove and used as a dining and television space, off the kitchen there is a large pantry.“
“The second floor has an incredible double height studio space with an evocative mix of tall white washed walls and exposed timber beams and boards and, again, incorporating original mill components. A large cast iron stove ample warms the space and there are two stairs to an upper mezzanine library floor. Itself opening onto the third-floor landing, which leads to the marvellously generous master bedroom suite with a large bedroom and interconnecting shower room and dressing room. There are two further bedrooms (on the second floor) one with a shower room ensuite and the other served by a second shower room on the landing hall. The final fifth or attic floor was previously utilised as an art studio space and is currently used as a gym and store.“
“Bounding the river Liffey and including a fine riverbank stretch, one part opening into a natural river swimming hole or pool, the gardens are well-timbered and private. A striking cut-stone aqueduct bridge, Victoria Bridge, dates to 1837 and forms a great folly backdrop to the gardens. An original wrought iron bridge beside the impressive and large timber mill wheel leads to the gardens, abundant with wildlife and having an island like feel, being bounded by the canal and river. Although usefully also be accessed by vehicular gate. The mill wheel is thought capable of generating 3kw of electricity per hour, or more, in a recent appraisal.“
I always think we should use water power again! I thought years ago I read that a hotel on Charlemount Street was going to tap into the Poddle below to generate electricity, but I never heard more about it – let me know if you know about it!
“Yeomanstown is a highly fashionable area and links easily to Dublin city and airport. The nearby village of Caragh is quaint and includes a school, petrol station, grocery store, take-away restaurants and a hair salon. Naas town is just 7.7miles miles or 12.3km away and has a hospital and array of shopping, pubs, eateries and restaurants. Sallins village, just a 12 minutes drive away, provides train access with extensive commuter services into Dublin city.“
Forgive me for once again not publishing about a Section 482 property – I am on a prolonged hiatus, as we were so busy trying to buy ourselves a small country hideaway for writing and growing fruit and vegetables. We are finally nearly completed the process, I think! Unfortunately we can’t buy something like this, an absolute dream home, but I’m delighted with what we have found.
“Emo Court is a quintessential neo-classical mansion, set in the midst of the ancient Slieve Bloom Mountains. The famous architect James Gandon, fresh from his work on the Custom House and the Four Courts in Dublin, set to work on Emo Court in 1790. However, the building that stands now was not completed until some 70 years later [with work by Lewis Vulliamy, a fashionable London architect, who had worked on the Dorchester Hotel in London and Arthur & John Williamson, from Dublin, and later, William Caldbeck].
“The estate was home to the earls of Portarlington until the War of Independence forced them to abandon Ireland for good. The Jesuits moved in some years later [1920] and, as the Novitiate of the Irish Province, the mansion played host to some 500 of the order’s trainees.
“Major Cholmeley-Harrison took over Emo Court in the 1960s and fully restored it [to designs by Sir Albert Richardson]. He opened the beautiful gardens and parkland to the public before finally presenting the entire estate to the people of Ireland in 1994.
“You can now enjoy a tour of the house before relaxing in its charming tearoom. The gardens are a model of neo-classical landscape design, with formal lawns, a lake and woodland walks just waiting to be explored.” [2]
We visited Emo during Heritage Week 2024 as some rooms were open to the public – finally! Despite the episode on television several years ago of “Great Irish Interiors” where the house was prepared to be open to the public, it is still not open to the public. And it is still not. Just a few rooms were open for Heritage Week. Major Cholmeley-Harrison will be tearing his hair out, if he has any left, in his grave – imagine giving the house to the state, and the state accepts it and then closes it for thirty years!
It was so exciting to go inside. My great uncle Father Tony Baggot was a novitiate there when the Jesuits owned the property.
Unfortunately I was not allowed to take photographs. I was not impressed by the reason given: it’s not finished yet. For goodness sake, who do the OPW think owns the house? We do! Apparently they had left it arranged as when owned Major Cholmeley-Harrison, opened it for a short while, and now they are removing traces of him from several areas. Poor Mr. Cholmeley-Harrison.
Mark Bence-Jones tells us that the 1st Earl of Portarlington was interested in architecture and was instrumental in bringing James Gandon to Ireland, in order to build the new Custom House. The name Emo is an Italianised version of the original Irish name of the estate, Imoe. [3]
The Emo Court website tells us of the history:
“John Dawson, 1st Earl of Portarlington [1744-1798] commissioned the building of Emo Court in 1790 although the house was not finally completed until 1870, eighty years later. Emo Court is one of only a few private country houses designed by the architect James Gandon. Others were Abbeyville, north Co. Dublin for Sir James Beresford [or is it John Beresford (1738-1805)? later famous for being the home of politician Charles Haughey] and Sandymount Park, Dublin for William Ashford. In addition, Gandon built himself a house at Canonbrook, Lucan, Co. Dublin.” [4]
Many of Gandon’s original drawings, plus those of his successors, are in the Irish Architectural Archive, 45 Merrion Square, Dublin. [5] The Emo Court website continues:
“James Gandon was born in London of Huguenot descent. He studied classics, mathematics and drawing, attending evening classes at Shipley’s Academy in London. At the age of fifteen, James was apprenticed to the architect Sir William Chambers and about eight years later, set up in business on his own. His first connection with Ireland was in 1769 when he won the second prize of £60 in a competition to design the Royal Exchange in Dublin, now the City Hall. He was invited to build in St Petersburg, Russia, by Princess Dashkov, and offered an official post with military rank. However, he chose instead to accept an offer from Sir John Beresford and John Dawson, Lord Carlow, later 1st Earl of Portarlington, to come to Dublin to build a new Custom House. This was begun in 1781. The following year, Gandon was commissioned to make extensions to the Parliament House, originally designed by Sir Edward Lovett Pearce. Here he added a Corinthian portico as entrance to the Lords’ Chamber. After the Act of Union in 1801, the building became the Bank of Ireland. In 1785, Gandon was commissioned to design the new Four Courts. The third of his great Dublin buildings was the King’s Inns, begun in 1795. His few private houses were designed for patrons and friends.” [see 4]
The website continues: “In the early 18th century, Ephraim Dawson [1683-1746], a wealthy banker, after whom Dawson Street in Dublin is named, purchased the land of the Emo Estate and other estates in the Queen’s County (Co. Laois). He married Anne Preston, heiress to the Emo Park Estate and fixed his residence in a house known as Dawson Court, which was in close proximity to the present Emo Court. His grandson, John Dawson, was created 1st Earl of Portarlington in 1785. Three years later, he married Lady Caroline Stuart, daughter of the [3rd] Earl of Bute, who was later Prime Minister of England. John Dawson commissioned Gandon to design Emo Court in 1790.“
Stephen’s ancestor Earl George Macartney married another daughter of the 3rd Earl of Bute! Their mother was the wonderful Lady Mary Wortley-Montague whose husband was a diplomat and she wrote memoires of their travels. She even visited a harem.
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1718-1794), Wife of John Patrick Crichton Stuart 3rd Earl of Bute, print after Christian Friedrich Zincke, 1830s, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery of London, NPG D34619.George, 1st Earl Macartney wearing the Order of the Bath by Thomas Hickey courtesy Christie’s China Trade Paintings selections from the Kelton Collection.
“After Gandon died in 1823, to be buried in Drumcondra churchyard, the 2nd Earl of Portarlington, also John Dawson, engaged Lewis Vulliamy, a fashionable London architect, who had worked on the Dorchester Hotel in London and A. & J. Williamson, Dublin architects, to finish the house. In the period, 1824-36, the dining room and garden front portico with giant Ionic columns were built, but on the death of the 2nd Earl in 1845, the house still remained unfinished. It was not until 1860 that the 3rd Earl, Henry Ruben John Dawson [or Dawson-Damer, the son of the 2nd Earl’s brother Henry Dawson-Damer, who had the name Damer added to his name after the family of his grandmother, Mary Damer, who married William Henry Dawson, 1st Viscount Carlow] commissioned William Caldbeck, a Dublin architect, and Thomas Connolly, his contractor, to finish the double height rotunda, drawing room and library.” [see 4] Caldbeck also added a detached bachelor wing, joined to the main block by a curving corridor.
Emo Court, Photograph by Liam Murphy 2016 for Fáilte Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool [6]. The windows in the single bay pavilions are pedimented and set in relieving arches.Mary Seymour, who according to Mealy’s sales catalogue married John Dawson 1st Earl of Portarlington of Emo Court, by Thomas Heaphey, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction; I think she married George Lionel Dawson-Damer, son of 1st Earl.
Although it was not built during Gandon’s time, most of the house is as it was designed by Gandon, with some additions or changes. Mark Bence-Jones describes the house:
“Of two storeys over a basement, the sides of the house being surmounted by attics so as to form end towers or pavilions on each of the two principal fronts. The entrance front has seven bay centre with a giant pedimented Ionic portico; the end pavilions being of a single storey, with a pedimented window in an arched recess, behind a blind attic with a panel containing a Coade stone relief of putti; on one side representing the Arts, on the other, a pastoral scene. The roof parapet in the centre, on either side of the portico, is balustraded. The side elevation, which is of three storeys including the attic, is of one bay on either side of a curved central bow.” [see 3]
Bence-Jones continues: “The house was not completed when the 1st Earl died on campaign during 1798 rebellion; 2nd Earl, who was very short of money, did not do any more to it until 1834-36, when he employed the fashionable English architect, Lewis Vulliamy; who completed the garden front, giving it its portico of four giant Ionic columns with a straight balustraded entablature, and also worked on the interior, being assisted by Dublin architects named Williamson. It was not until ca 1860, in the time of 3rd Earl – after the house had come near to being sold up by the Encumbered Estates Court – that the great rotunda, its copper dome rising from behind the garden front portico and also prominent on the entrance front, was completed; the architect this time being William Caldbeck, of Dublin, who completed the other unfinished parts of the house and added a detached bachelor wing, joined to the main block by a curving corridor.” [see 3]
The website continues: “Emo court remained the seat of the Earls of Portarlington until 1920, when the house and its vast demesne of over 4500 ha, (11,150 acres), was sold to the Irish Land Commission. After the Phoenix Park in Dublin, Emo Court was the largest enclosed estate in Ireland. The house remained empty until 1930 when 150 ha., including the garden, pleasure grounds, woodland and lake were sold to the Society of Jesus for a novitiate. The Jesuits made several structural changes to the building to suit their purposes, including the conversion of the rotunda and library as a chapel. The distinguished Jesuit photographer, Fr Frank Browne lived at Emo Court from 1930-57. [7] A notable novitiate was the Irish author, Benedict Kiely.
“The Jesuits remained at Emo until 1969 and the property was eventually sold to Major Cholmeley Dering Cholmeley-Harrison. He embarked upon a long and enlightened restoration, commissioning the London architectural firm of Sir Albert Richardson & Partners to effect the restoration.
“In 1994, President Mary Robinson officially received Emo Court & Parklands from Major Cholmeley-Harrison on behalf of the Nation.” [see 4]
Unfortunately Emo Park house has been closed to the public for renovation for several years, and was closed on the day we visited in July 2021. I am looking forward to seeing the interior, which from photographs and descriptions I have seen, look spectacular. From the outside we gain little appreciation of the splendid copper dome.
In the meantime, you can read more about Emo and see photographs of its interiors on the wonderful blog of the Irish Aesthete Robert O’Byrne. [8]
There are beautiful grounds to explore, however, on a day out at Emo, including picturesquely placed sculptures, an arboretum, lake, and walled garden. Here is a link to a beautiful short film by poet Pat Boran, about the statues at Emo Park, County Laois. https://bit.ly/35uXPO1
[3] p. 119. 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.
Canonbrook, Lucan: “Detached multiple-bay two-storey over basement house, c.1800, on an L-plan. A handsome, substantial rural Georgian house which, though altered, retains its imposing form and feel, and is situated in mature grounds. Historically important as the former home of James Gandon.”Gandon is also said to have designed Primrose Hill House in Lucan, which is a section 482 property.
General information: 0505 21850, roscreaheritage@opw.ie
Damer House Roscrea County Tipperary, photographer creator Kerry Kissane All around Ireland 2021 courtesy Tipperary tourism, Ireland’s Content Pool [1]
Finding ourselves with some spare time this Heritage Week (2024) after visiting Emo in County Laois, we drove over to Roscrea, to visit Damer House and Roscrea Castle.
“In the heart of Roscrea in County Tipperary, one of the oldest towns in Ireland, you will find a magnificent stone motte castle dating from the 1280s. It was used as a barracks from 1798, housing 350 soldiers, and later served as a school, a library and even a sanatorium.
“Sharing the castle grounds is Damer House, named for local merchant John Damer [d. 1768], who came into possession of the castle in the eighteenth century. The house is a handsome example of pre-Palladian architecture. It has nine beautiful bay windows. One of the rooms has been furnished in period style.
“The grounds also include an impressive garden with a fountain, which makes Roscrea Castle a very pleasant destination for a day out. There is also a restored mill displaying St Crónán’s high cross and pillar stone.“
This was originally the site of a motte and bailey fortification known as King John’s Castle. The original wooden castle was destroyed in the late 13th century and was replaced with a stone structure built in 1274-1295 by John de Lydyard. The castle was originally surrounded by a river to the east and a moat on the other sides. [2] It was granted to the Butlers of Ormond in 1315 who held it until the early 18th Century. The castle as we see it today was built from 1332.
Roscrea Castle was sold to the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, by James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormond in 1703. It was bought by the Damers, who built an elegant three-storey nine bay pre-Palladian house in the courtyard in c. 1730.
The Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us:
“The Damer of folklore tradition is a conflation of the first Joseph [c.1630–1720] with his nephew John [1674-1768]. Thus, while Damer built himself a house in County Tipperary in the seventeenth century, the traditional stories about Damer’s Court (or Damerville) relate to a house built by John after his uncle’s death. John’s brother Joseph [1676–1737] built the Damer House in Roscrea, which was saved from demolition in the 1970s and subsequently restored. The Guildhall Library, London, has Damer correspondence among its Erasmus Smith papers.” [3]
In their book The Tipperary Gentry, Hayes and Kavanagh tell us that Joseph Damer (c.1630–1720) was born in Dorset in England in 1630. [4] He came to Ireland after the restoration of Charles II when land was being sold cheaply by Cromwellian soldiers who were given land instead of pay but did not want to remain in Ireland. Joseph Damer bought land in Tipperary, settling at Shronell, and established himself as a moneylender, lending to other landowners on mortgages. He also became involved in banking in Dublin. His nephew John (1674-1768) acted as his agent in Tipperary.
Joseph had no children and left his vast fortune when he died in 1720 to his nephews John (1674-1768) and Joseph (1676–1737), sons of his brother George Damer. He was so wealthy that he entered folklore with tales of how he gained his wealth, and he was compared to King Midas, as if everything he touched turned to gold.
Jonathan Swift wrote a ditty mocking Joseph Damer’s parsimony:
“He walked the streets and wore a threadbare cloak
He dined and supped at charge of other folk
And – by his look – had he held out his palms
He might be thought an object fit for alms.“
The Dictionary of Irish Biography tells us:
“Despite his reputation for miserliness, Damer was a benefactor of presbyterianism and, by some accounts, unitarianism. He and his nephew John (1673?–1768) were among the trustees and managers of the General Fund established in 1710 to support the protestant dissenting interest; another fund was established in 1718 to support the congregation in New Row in Dublin.” [see 3]
The nephew John had no children and his brother Joseph (1676–1737) inherited. Joseph sat in the British parliament for Dorchester (1722–27) and became MP for Tipperary in 1735. He died two years later. He married Mary Churchill, daughter of John Churchill of Henbury, Dorset.
Robert O’Byrne tells us that his son Joseph (1717-1798) inherited the house and castle was later created the Earl of Dorchester. [5] He was an absentee landlord and his brother managed his Irish properties. He built a mansion named Damerville which was very grand, but was demolished in 1775. Their sister Mary married William Henry Dawson, 1st Viscount Carlow, who lived at Emo in Laois. It was her offspring who later inherited the Damer properties.
Joseph’s son John (1744-1776) married Ann Seymour, a sculptress. He spent all of his inheritance and killed himself. Subsequently it was his younger brother George who inherited the title to become 2nd Earl of Dorchester. None of Joseph’s offspring had children, however, so the properties passed to the 2nd Earl of Portarlington, a second cousin, who assumed the name Dawson-Damer.
Mary Seymour, who according to Mealy’s sales catalogue married John Dawson 1st Earl of Portarlington of Emo Court, by Thomas Heaphey, courtesy of Fonsie Mealy auction; I think she married George Lionel Dawson-Damer, son of 1st Earl.
Mary who had married the 1st Viscount Carlow had a son John Dawson (1744-1798) who became 1st Earl of Portarlington, Queen’s County. He married Caroline Stuart, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Bute and his writer wife, Mary Wortley Montagu. He commissioned James Gandon to built Emo Court in Queen’s County (Laois). It was his son John Dawson (1781-1845), 2nd Earl of Portarlington, who inherited the Damer fortune and lands, and added Damer to his surname.
John Dawson 2nd Earl of Portarlington by Count D’Orsay courtesy of National Portrait Gallery in London NPG D5547Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1718-1794), Wife of John Patrick Crichton Stuart 3rd Earl of Bute, print after Christian Friedrich Zincke, 1830s, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery of London, NPG D34619.
Damer House has a scroll pediment doorway and inside, a magnificent carved staircase. The Irish Georgian Society was involved in saving it from demolition in the 1960s. [for more photographs, see https://theirishaesthete.com/tag/damer-house/ ] The stairs and floor in the front hall are original to the house. The stairs are similar to ones in Cashel Palace, which was the Archbishop’s Palace, and is now an upmarket hotel. See the website of the Irish Aesthete for photographs of this staircase: https://theirishaesthete.com/tag/cashel-palace/
The Damers didn’t live in the house and it was rented out to various tenants.
Robert O’Byrne tells us about the history of the house:
“In 1798 the house was leased as a barracks and then the whole site sold to the British military in 1858. At the start of the last century the Damer House became ‘Mr. French’s Academy’, a school for boys, reverting to a barracks for the National Army during the Civil War, then being used as a sanatorium, before once again in 1932 serving as a school until 1956, then a library. By 1970 it was empty and unused, and the local authority, Tipperary County Council, announced plans to demolish the house and replace it with an amenity centre comprising a swimming pool, car park, playground and civic centre (it had been nurturing this scheme since as far back as 1957). The council’s chairman wanted the demolition to go ahead, declaring that ‘as long as it stands it reminds the Irish people of their enslavement to British rule,’ and dismissing objectors to the scheme as ‘a crowd of local cranks.’ In fact, most of the so-called ‘crowd’ were members of the Old Roscrea Society and in December 1970 this organisation was offered help by the Irish Georgian Society in the campaign to save the Damer House.“
After our tour of Damer House we crossed the yard for a tour of the castle.
Roscrea Castle fell into disrepair in the 19th century, and when the roof collapsed extensive repairs were needed in the 1850s. It was named a national monument in 1892, and is now under the care of the OPW.
The Castle was located on one of the five main roads in ancient Ireland, and it was essential for the Normans to control this route. In 1315 King Edward II handed the castle over to James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormond.
The castle had many defensive features. The curtain wall is approximately three metres thick, which allowed for a wall-walk from which soldiers had a view of the surrounding area. The River Barrow formed a moat around the east face of the castle, and the Normans constructed a dry moat on the west side. The river was diverted in the 19th century.
Inside the castle reception area there’s a grille on the floor, which is the “oubliette” (from the French, meaning “to forget.”). However, in this case, people were imprisoned here between court dates, the guide told us.
Above the drawbridge is a machicolation from which boiling substances could be dropped, and there are also arrow loop windows for defence. The stairs, called “trip steps” were deliberately built of different heights and widths to impede the intruder. The spiral clockwise to make it more difficult for the enemy to fight his way up the steps.
Silver from nearby silvermines would have been stored in the castle.
Eoin Roe O’Neill (d. 1649), at the head of 1,200 men, stormed Roscrea in 1646 and reportedly killed every man, woman and child. The only survivor was the governor’s wife, Lady Mary Hamilton (1605-1680), who was a sister to the Earl of Ormond [married to George Hamilton, 1st Baronet of Donalong County Tyrone and of Nenagh, County Tipperary]. She was again forced to play host in the castle to O’Neill three years later which again ended by the guests looting everything in sight. [7]
Larger windows were a later addition. Originally there would be only small loopholes. Before glass, the larger windows would be covered with skins to keep out the draught. The inside would have been limewashed, the white walls would then brighten the interior. The fireplace would also provide light.
[4] Hayes, William and Art Kavanagh, The Tipperary Gentry volume 1 published by Irish Family Names, c/o Eneclann, Unit 1, The Trinity Enterprise Centre, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, 2003.
The website tells us: “Galgorm Castle is an historic estate dating back to Jacobean times but has evolved into one of Northern Ireland’s most vibrant destinations with diverse business, golf and recreational activities housed there. The focal point is the 17th century Jacobean castle dating back to 1607, which has been restored and along with the immaculate walled gardens is part of the Ivory Pavilion wedding and events company. The castle is also a historical reminder of the important role the Galgorm Estate played as part of Northern Ireland’s history. Away from the championship golf course there is plenty of opportunity to try the game for the first time at the Fun Golf Area with a six-hole short course and Himalayas Putting Green. The Galgorm Fairy Trail is another family option which runs out of Arthur’s Cottage at the Fun Golf Area.And if looking for great food and drink, a meal at the Castle Kitchen + Bar at the Galgorm Castle clubhouse is a must. Members and non-members are welcome.”
The website contains a history of the Castle:
“Galgorm Castle is one of the finest examples of Jacobean architecture in Ireland. In May 1607, King James I granted the Ballymena Estate to Rory Og MacQuillan, a mighty warrior, famous for stating “No Captain of this race ever died in his bed,” (which thankfully means Galgorm Castle has one less ghost.). His Castle overlooks and dominates the 10th green and a network of souterrains at the fifth and eighth greens.
“Sir Faithful Fortescue (b. 1585) was the nephew Arthur Chichester. This name may have come from his habit of being particularly sharp in his dealings as he tricked Rory Og McQuillan out of estates and started to build Galgorm Castle in 1618. He might better have been known as Sir Faithless Fortescue as during the Civil War, in the heat of the battle of Edghhill, he changed sides from the Parliamentarians to the Cavaliers, but forgot to instruct his men to remove the orange sashes of the Parliamentarians so seventeen of them were slain by the Cavaliers as the enemy.
“Always known for turning a quick buck Sir Faithless sold the estate to the infamous Dr Alexander Colville [(c.1597-c.1679. He was a clergyman who became a wealthy landlord so it may have been malicious gossip that led to rumours)] who, as legend has it was an alchemist, reputed to have sold his soul to the devil for gold and knowledge. The stories of the good doctor are well documented and his portrait is not allowed to ever leave the castle or disaster will fall. His footsteps beat out a steady tattoo through the night as he does his rounds. Other nights, a ghostly light flickers around the park as he searches for his treasure, lost for over 300 years.
“The Youngs – rich linen merchants, bought the Estate in 1850 and their cousin Sir Roger Casement lived here for six years while he was at Ballymena Academy.
“The Duke of Wurtenburg made his headquarters at Galgorm following the Battle of the Boyne. The renowned Irish scholar Rose Young was born at Galgorm in 1865.
“During the 1980s, Christopher Brooke and his family inherited Galgorm Castle Estate and began developing his vision to turn Galgorm Castle into the one of Northern Ireland’s premier destinations, securing the Estate’s long-term future.”
Irish Historic Houses 
