My entry for all of the OPW sites in Connaught was too long, so since it is mainly about Portumna Castle in Galway, I have separated my Galway OPW entry from the other counties in Connaught.
Leitrim:
1. Parke’s Castle, County Leitrim
2. Sean MacDiarmada Cottage, County Leitrim
Mayo:
3. Ceide Fields, County Mayo
Roscommon:
4. Boyle Abbey, County Roscommon
5. Rathcroghan, County Roscommon
Sligo:
6. Ballymote Castle, County Sligo
7. Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, County Sligo
8. Sligo Abbey, County Sligo
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“Parke’s Castle occupies a striking setting on the northern shores of Lough Gill in County Leitrim.
A restored castle of the early seventeenth century, it was once the home of English planter Robert Parke. There is evidence of an earlier structure on the site, a tower house once owned by Sir Brian O’Rourke, lord of West Breifne [The Kingdom of Breifne, or Breffny, was what is now Leitrim and parts of Cavan and other neighbouring counties]. O’Rourke, whom one English governor described as ‘the proudest man this day living on the earth’, resisted crown rule and fled Ireland, but ended up in the hands of Queen Elizabeth’s forces. He was thrown into the Tower of London, tried and finally hanged at Tyburn.“
By the 11th century Breifne was ruled by the O’Rourke or Ua Rairc dynasty. Brian O’Rourke assumed the leadership of Breifne after assassinating his older brothers, apparently! His daughter Mary married The O’Conor Don, Hugh O’Conor (1540-1627) – for more on the O’Conor Don, see my entry about Clonalis, County Roscommon. Sir Brian O’Rourke was indicted in 1591 for sheltering Francisco de Cueller, an officer of the shipwrecked Armada in 1588, who later wrote about his time in Ireland.
The land was then given to Robert or Roger Parke. It passed to his son Robert (1585-1671).
The OPW website continues: “Tragedy struck in 1677, when two of Parke’s children drowned on the lake. The castle then fell into disrepair. Only in the late twentieth century was it restored, using traditional Irish oak and craftsmanship.”
Robert Parke’s daughter Anne married Francis Gore of Ardtarmon, County Sligo, a brother of Arthur Gore, ancestor to the Earls of Arran.
Unfortunately although we visited during Heritage Week in 2021, the castle was closed due to Covid restrictions. We were able to enter the courtyard and courtyard buildings, and to wander around the castle, but did not get to go inside, which is normally open to the public.
The last member of the Parke family left the castle in 1691.
“The homestead of the 1916 leader Seán Mac Diarmada in Kiltyclogher, County Leitrim is the jewel in the county’s historic crown.
The cottage is the only original existing homeplace of any of the seven signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. It offers an unparalleled insight into the origins of a key figure in one of the most explosive episodes of Irish history. It is also an authentic traditional Irish cottage and as such gives us a glimpse of what life was like for ordinary people a hundred years ago.
The cottage has been maintained in its original condition for decades. Regular tours allow visitors to experience the authentic atmosphere of this incredible historical resource.“
Mayo:
3. Ceide Fields, Glenurla, Ballycastle, County Mayo:
Ceide Fields, photograph by Alison Crummy, 2015, for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool. [1]
General Information: 096 43325, ceidefields@opw.ie
“Beneath the wild boglands of north Mayo lies a system of fields, dwelling areas and megalithic tombs which together make up the most extensive Stone Age monument in the world.
The stone-walled fields, extending over hundreds of hectares, are the oldest known globally, dating back almost 6,000 years. They are covered by a natural blanket bog with its own unique vegetation and wildlife.
The award-winning visitor centre is set against some of the most dramatic rock formations in Ireland. A viewing platform on the edge of the 110-metre-high cliff will help you make the most of the breathtaking scenery. Come prepared with protective clothing and sturdy footwear, though. The terrain – and the weather – can be challenging.“
Day break over the Visitors centre overlooking the Ceide Fields and the Atlantic Coast County Mayo Ireland, photo from Ireland’s Content Pool by Failte Ireland. [see 1]
“This Cistercian monastery was founded in the twelfth century by monks from Mellifont Abbey under the patronage of the local ruling family, the MacDermotts. It was one of the most powerful of the early Cistercian foundations in Ireland and among the foremost in Connacht.
Cromwellian forces wreaked devastation when they occupied the abbey in 1659. It was further mutilated during the following centuries, when it was used to accommodate a military garrison. Despite all the violence it has suffered over the centuries, Boyle Abbey is well preserved and retains its ability to impress.
A sixteenth/seventeenth-century gatehouse has been restored and turned into an interpretive centre, where you can learn more about the abbey’s gripping history.“
“Tightly packed into a few square kilometres of the Roscommon landscape at Rathcroghan lie over 240 archaeological sites. These include Stone Age tombs and royal burial mounds, great ringforts and places of ceremonial inauguration. The legendary Oweynagat (Cave of the Cats), for example, is regarded as the origin-place of the festival of Samhain. Fearful Christian scribes described Oweynagat as Ireland’s Gate to Hell.
A two-metre standing stone, meanwhile, is said to mark the grave of King Dathi, the last pagan king of Ireland, who died when he was struck by lightning in the Alps.
Perhaps most impressively, the great warrior Queen Medb ruled all of Connacht from her home at Rathcroghan. Experience Rathcroghan’s rich archaeology, mythology and history through our interpretive rooms and expertly guided tours. The Rathcroghan Visitor Centre, the home of our museum, is located in the medieval village of Tulsk, Co. Roscommon. (This is a Communities Involvement Initiative Project, supported by the OPW.)“
We went to the Visitor Centre when in County Roscommon during Heritage week 2022, but did not go to the actual site.
I found the timeline in the Visitor’s Centre very helpful for seeing the age of various archaeological sites. Rathcroghan is mainly a bronze age site, and so is from around 1000BCE. Newgrange is Neothilic and therefore over 2000 years before the Bronze Age, created around 3200BCE.
It’s really interesting to see other events on the timeline in relation to archaeological sites in Ireland. Newgrange is older than the pyramids of Egypt which were built in the Chalcolithic age, and both pre-date the Bronze Age and Iron Age.Before the Iron Age was the Bronze Age, which is where we can chronologically place much of Rathcroghan.The Visitor Centre in Rathcroghan has some Bronze Age artefacts on loan from the National Museum of Ireland. We can even see a tiny arrow head older than the Bronze Age items, which is from the Neolithic period.I find it incredible that this Bronze Age bowl, which could be as old as 4500 years, is still intact.
After the Bronze age came the Iron Age, which was around the year zero. The visitor centre has a model dressed in Iron age clothing:
He wears a yellow linen shirt, or leine dyed with saffron. Over this he wears a red tunic or ionar. The cape or brat is trimmed with fur.These Irish items of dress were worn for centuries. This man would have been a warrior of high rank. The sword would have been made of bronze in Ireland but imitates the steel sword of a type made in Grundlingen in Germany. The shield would be made of wood covered in leather with a metal handgrip.
The rath gives the place its name, while the area is called in Irish Cruachan Ai.
The OPW information board at the site tells us that Ballymote, taken from an Irish word meaning “town of the mound,” was built by the Norman Richard de Burgo, the “Red Earl” of Ulster in around 1300. It was probably the strongest castle in Connacht, but was captured by the O’Connor family in 1317 and from then on it changed hands many times. In 1598 it was sold for £400 and 300 cows to Red Hugh O’Donnell (1572-1602) and it was from here that he assembled his army for the Battle of Kinsale (1601). He was beaten in this battle by Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy (who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland under Queen Elizabeth I and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland under James I), and he left for Spain to seek support from King Philip III, but died abroad in 1602.
Charles Blount (1563-1606), 8th Baron Mountjoy, photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.
Nearly 100 years later it was surrendered to Lord Granard after an artillery attack, and fell into ruin. The information board also tells us that the Book of Ballymote was partly compiled at the caste in around 1400. It is a manuscript including sections on the invasions of Ireland, the creation of the world and a study of the old Irish Ogham style of writing.
“Carrowmore – the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland. It lies just south-west of Sligo town, right at the heart of the Cúil Írra Peninsula, an area alive with prehistoric significance.
Packed together at Carrowmore are more than 30 stone tombs, many of which are still visible. Most are passage tombs and boulder circles. There are various forts and standing stones in the area too. The origins of these monuments reach far into prehistory – the most ancient among them is close to 6,000 years old.
A restored cottage houses an exciting new exhibition that will satisfy the curiosity of even the most demanding visitors. Come prepared for a hike across rugged terrain.“
“This Dominican friary has dominated Sligo town centre since the mid-thirteenth century, when it was created by Maurice FitzGerald, the founder of the town itself. Some of the building from that period has survived the next nine centuries of turmoil.
The abbey was partially destroyed by burning in 1414, when it fell foul of an unattended candle, and suffered further mutilation following the Rebellion of 1641. According to legend, worshippers salvaged the abbey’s silver bell at that time and threw it into Lough Gill. You can hear it peal even now – provided, that is, that you are wholly free from sin.
Despite the ravages of history, the abbey contains a great wealth of carvings, including Gothic and Renaissance tomb sculpture, a well-preserved cloister and a sculptured fifteenth-century high altar – the only such altar to survive in an Irish monastic church.“
9. The Lower House Rooms, Donaghmore, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, BT70 3EZ€
10. Spice Cottages, Dungannon, County Tyrone€€
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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
Fermanagh:
1. Castle Archdale Countryside Centre & War Museum – demolished in 1970 but the stables remain intact.
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 61. (Archdale/IFR) “A noble house of 1773 on the shores of Lough Erne, built by Colonel Mervyn Archdall in 1773 to replace a “Plantation castle” originally built by John Archdale 1615.
“Three storeys over a basement; a six bay entrance front with a two bay breakfront centre; and a tripartite doorway with Ionic pilasters, entablature and pediment, the latter breaking forwards on two Ionic columns to form a porch, which appears to have been a subsequent alteration.
The side elevation was of three bays, the bottom storey having Venetian windows with Gothic astragals in its outer bays. The quoins were rusticated and bold; with a solid roof parapet. Derelict since 1959 and now ruinous.” [1]
Castle Archdale, County Fermanagh, from Discover Northern Ireland website.
Built in about 1618 by Sir James Balfour, a Scottish planter, the castle was in continuous occupation until the early 19th century. Open all year.
Timothy William Ferres tells us: “CASTLE BALFOUR formed the nucleus of the town [Lisnaskea]. It stands beside the parish church, in the graveyard. The Castle was built with local stone ca 1618 by Sir James Balfour. Sandstone was used for the quoins and dressings. The main block consists of a rectangular block, 78 feet by 24 feet, with a large wing projecting to the east and west, comprising two L-shaped units. The northern block has three storeys with attics. The kitchen is vaulted, with a fireplace and oven. Corbelled turrets and gun-slits are a feature.
“During the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Castle Balfour and the village were burnt but later reoccupied. In 1689, the Castle was again badly damaged by the Jacobite armies but was repaired after the Williamite victory at Limerick. About 1780, Castle Balfour was sold to the 1st Earl of Erne, and the Balfours subsequently left County Fermanagh.
“The last person to inhabit the Castle was James Haire (1737-1833), of Nutfield, who leased the Castle from Lord Erne. James Haire and his family ceased to occupy the castle after it was destroyed by an arson-based fire in 1803 (his mother, Phoebe, was killed in the rubble caused by the fire).
“Thereafter the Castle remained ruinous, until it was placed in state care by the 6th Earl of Erne in 1960.
“Major conservation work was carried out between 1966-68 and again during the late 1990s.” [2]
“Castle Coole is one of the greatest neo-classical country houses in Ireland. Home to the Earls of Belmore, it was commissioned and built to impress by the first Earl of Belmore by Amar Lowry Corry, 1st Earl Belmore (1740-1802) and furnished largely by Somerset Lowry Corry, 2nd Earl (1774-1841).”
The castle is still in private hands but the grounds are open to the public.
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 95. “(Crichton, Erne, E/PB) A large castellated mansion combining Baronial and Tudor-Revival elements, by the side of one of the many inlets of Upper Lough Erne, built 1829 to the design of Edward Blore. The entrance front has a gabled projection with a corbelled oriel at each end, but they are not entirely similar; while the tall, battlemented entrance tower, which incorporates a porte-cochere, is not central but to one side, against the left hand gable. The adjoining garden front is symmetrical, dominated by a very tall central tower with slender octagonal turrets, inspired by various Tudor gatehouse towers in England, but without a doorway. On either side of it is a gable and oriel. In the park are the ruins of the earlier Crom Castle, a Plantation castle of 1611, destroyed by fire in 1764.”
Enniskillen Castle by Gardiner Mitchell 2015 for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool (see [3]).
The website tells us: “Enniskillen Castle, situated beside the River Erne in County Fermanagh, was built almost 600 years ago by Gaelic Maguires.
“Guarding one of the few passes into Ulster, it was strategically important throughout its history. In the 17th century it became an English garrison fort and later served as part of a military barracks. This historic site houses two museums, Fermanagh County Museum and The Inniskillings Museum.“
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 121. (Cole, Enniskillen, E/PB) A large and impressive fortress at one side of the island in the River Erne on which the town of Enniskillen is built; with walls enclosing a ward of courtyard, an inner keep and a tall and frowning water gate with two conical-roofed bartizans. Until C18 the castle stood on a small island of its own, separated from the rest of the island by a ditch of water crossed by a draw-bridge. The castle was originally built C15 by the Maguires; it was granted 1607 to Captain William Cole, who rebuilt the keep as a house for himself, and renovated all the fortifications; the water gate probably dates from his time. The Coles continued to live on and off at the castle until 1739; afterwards, they established themselves permanently at Florence Court. The castle then became barracks, and the keep was rebuilt once again. The buildings remain in good repair.”
Enniskillen Castle by Chris Hill 2018 for Tourism Ireland, Ireland’s Content Pool (see [3]).
6. Florence Court, County Fermanagh
Florence Court, formerly the home of the Cole family, Earls of Enniskillen, is surrounded by a large area of parkland, garden and woodland, with beautiful views to Benaughlin and the Cuilcagh Mountains. photo Courtesy of Tourism Northern Ireland by Brian Morrison 2008 (see [3]).
1. Belle Isle Courtyard cottages and castle accommodation, Lisbellaw, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh Northern Ireland€(self-catering)
Nestling close to the water’s edge and set within a landscape of lakes and islands of gently rolling hills and fragrantwoods, Belle Isle Castle provides self-catering or fully catered accommodation. Situated at the heart of Belle Isle Estate and dating from the early 17th century the castle has been extensively yet sensitively refurbished, ensuring that a full range of modern facilities blends seamlessly with original period grandeur. Photo for Tourism Ireland, 2008. (see [3])
“Belle Isle provides an outstanding mix of natural beauty and authentic heritage on a private 400 acre estate designated a Special Area of Conservation with a range of accommodation options including castle rental, luxury cottages and self-catering apartments. Whether you are looking to host your wedding, enjoy a private event with friends and family or just have a relaxing weekend with your pets, we have something for everyone. Enjoy a Summer Getaway to the Belle Isle Estate with one of our great special offers.
“Belle Isle has a rich history dating back to before the 15th century as the place where the Annals of Ulster were written. Belle Isle Castle was built in the early 17th century as the home to many generations of nobles and has been hosting events since as early as 1760. In 1991, the castle was fully refurbished to open its doors to more visitors. Belle Isle Estate stretches over 470-acres across Lisbellaw, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is a private estate with access to its estate grounds and trails open solely its visitors. If you are looking for the ultimate experience in luxury, Belle Isle Estate is one of the best hotels Fermanagh can offer.“
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 38. “(Gore, Bt/PB; Porter, sub Baird/IFR) A house beautifully situated on an island in Upper Lough Erne; the seat of a distinguished C18 soldier, Sir Ralph Gore, 6th Bt, 1st and last Earl of Ross and Viscount Bellisle, who was C-in-C in Ireland 1788. Bought early in C19 by Rev. J.G. Porter.“
Ralph Gore (1725–1802), 6th Bt, Later 1st Earl of Rosse, on His Bay Hunt, attriibuted to Thomas Spencer, courtesy of National Trust.
“The present house appears to incorporate a two storey C18 range with a three sided bow at one end, to which a range of 1820-30 was added at right angles, with a staircase hall, top-lit by an octangular lantern, in the re-entrant. The house was re-modelled post 1880 in the plain English Tudor manor house style made popular by Norman Shaw and his disciples; producing a gable entrance front with mullioned windows, a projecting porch and a tall, church-like battlemented tower at the corner of th 1820-30 range. The latter range, which is the garden front facing the lough, remains unaltered apart from having Victorian plate-glass windows; at one end is the end bow of C18 range, with Georgian astragals. Inside the house, arches were opened up between the staircase hall and the rooms at either end of it, to make a much larger hall; the staircase hall was also widened at the expense of the rooms in 1820-30 range, the old wall being replaced by a massive oak beam. An oak staircase with barleysugar balusters replaced the original stairs; the walls were panelled in oak, or decorated with half-timbering. The octangular ceiling lantern, however, was left undisturbed. The drawing room, in 1820-30 range, was redecorated, having been reduced in width, and given a chimneypiece of old oak carving, possibly of more than one period and nationality. The room extending into the bow of C18 range, which is now the drawing room, was given a stone Tudor fireplace; but it still keeps its original doors with shouldered C18 architraves. In 1907 the entrance front was prolonged by a wing in Tudor style containing a long and lofty gallery, with a timbered roof, an elaborate Tudor fireplace and overmantel and a minstrels’ gallery, the balustrade of which has slender turned uprights and would appear to be late C17 or early C18 woodwork brought from elsewhere. At this end of the entrance front stands a pedimented and gable-ended office wing which would appear to date from quite early C18. After the death of N.H.A. Porter 1973, Belle Isle was inherited by his niece, Miss Olivia Baird.”
Belle Isle Estate, photo by Brian Morrison 2008 for Tourism Ireland. (see [3])
“Castle Irvine, also known as Necarne Castle, lies south of the town of Irvinestown, in County Fermanagh, in Northern Ireland.
“The core of Necarne Castle is a castle which was built in the 17th century by Gerard Lowther as part of the plantation of Ulster. In 1629, the lands were leased to Christopher Irvine and the Irvines remained there until 1922.
“In the 1830’s the castle and park were rebuild and a Victorian style wing was built against its south west facade amongst other things.
“In 1925, Captain Richard Outram Hermon, from Sussex, bought the castle. In 1927 an extensive restoration of the castle and its gardens was started while Captain Hermon and his new wife went off on a world cruise. The estate was turned into a haven for shooting parties and Lord Mountbatten and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands were once guests at Necarne Castle.
“In 1941 Necarne Castle was requisitioned by the United States Navy. It originally had 200 beds but was soon enlarged to a 500 bed institution and released to the American Army. The castle, then the 28th Station Hospital, cared for recuperating American soldiers and RAF personnel. After the war the castle was never inhabited again and fell to ruin.
“Fermanagh District Council bought the Necarne Castle estate in 1981; and in 1988 The NI Department of Agriculture leased the estate on a 25-year basis from them. In the last decades the outbuildings of the castle have been used as a student facility for the Enniskillen Agricultural College as the Necarne Castle Equine College.
“Fermangh & Omagh District Council began the search for a new operator for the estate in 2014 following the Agricultural College relocating their Equine Courses to Enniskillen.
“Gardrum Holdings Ltd agreed a lease of the estate from 2020.
“The park around Necarne Castle can freely be visited during daytime. The ruin of the castle itself is boarded up, so its interior can not be visited.”
2. Colebrooke gate lodge,Colebrooke Park, County Fermanagh€ for 4
“Colebrooke Estate in Co. Fermanagh, N.Ireland offers guests a haven of peace and privacy with over 1000 acres to play in. The 5 star Whitehill Cottage and 5 star Woodcock Corner Cottage are sensitively restored original Estate workers cottages. Rossbeg Cottage is located in a stunning part of Co. Donegal, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We are proud of all the properties, which offer high standards of comfort, with all the modern conveniences you would expect to find in quality accommodation.“
“A converted farm building with a spacious living area and views of the Lough Erne.
“Erne View is the largest in a row of holiday cottages on the shores of Lough Erne. The cottage boasts stunning views, an open fire and a wet room on the ground floor.
“Enjoy a coffee whilst taking in the view over to the Island of Inishfendra before heading down to the nearby jetty for a stroll along the shoreline.
“Adventurers might want to take advantage of the Lough Erne Canoe Trail which offers guided trips and canoe hire. Further afield, the pretty town of Enniskillen, with its historic castle, is just 20 miles away.“
5. Florence Court, County Fermanagh – Butler’s Apartment
“Butler’s Apartment served as living quarters for the male servants at Florence Court, the 18th-century mansion next door to the holiday home. This atmospheric first floor apartment overlooks the laundry courtyard and adjoining woodland garden. Inside, you’ll find many historical quirks such as the period fireplaces, large sash windows and wooden floorboards.“
6. Manor House Hotel (formerly Killadeas Manor and before that, Rockfield), County Fermanagh
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 168. “(Irvine/LGI1912) A two storey Victorian Italianate house, in a splendid position on the shores of Lough Erne. Entrance front with pediment and porch in the form of a three arched loggia, flanked by a square tower with glazed belvedere and urns on its parapet. Now a hotel.”
A younger son of the Irvines of Castle Irvine [now dilapidated but you can visit the grounds], John Irvine, acquired the estate in 1660. It was known as Rockfield. The website tells us it remained as Rockfield until it was rebuilt in 1860 by Colonel John Gerard Irvine (1823-1902), who brought workmen from Italy to do the interior decoration which exists to this day.
The name of Rockfield was changed to Killadeas Manor House by Major John Irvine who succeeded to Killadeas in 1835 and died in 1860. It was his son, Colonel John Gerard Irvine, who rebuilt Killadeas, incorporated some parts of the old house into the new mansion.
The website adds that in a directory of Fermanagh, published in 1879, the author states that Rockfield was built in 1710, and greatly altered and added to in 1868 by Colonel Irvine under the direction of that able and artistic architect, Mr Armstrong of Belleek. There are some obvious similarities between the architecture of the Belleek Pottery and The Manor House not least the unusual narrow, arched windows.
During the 1939-45 war it was requisitioned by the Government and was for a time used by the American Forces. The house itself was used as an Officers’ Mess and Headquarters for the Seaplane base of Killadeas. It was a plane from this base which sighted the ‘Bismarck’ and consequently resulted in the destruction of this mighty battleship. The Manor House remained in the Irvine family until 1957 when it was acquired for a Hotel.
Ashbrooke is the Dower House for the Colebrooke Estate it has been in the Brooke family for over 200 years. Formerly the home of Viscount and Viscountess Brookeborough the house has recently been fully restored and renovated to provide luxurious accommodation.
Mark Bence-Jones writes of Colebrook Park in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 89. “(Brooke, Brookeborough, V.PB) An austere Classical house of 1825 by William Farrell; built for Sir Henry Brooke [1770-1834], 1st Bt of 2nd creation. Two storey nine bay front, with a pedimented portico of four giant Ionic columns; three storey irregular side; eaved roof. Of cut-stone, with a sprinking of red sandstone ashlars which gives the elevation a pleasant reddish tinge. Large entrance hall; double staircase in back hall. Drawing room with original white and gold damask wallpaper. Sitting room with C19 arabesques. Large dining room, which Lord Craigavon, 1st Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, christened “Golgotha” on account of the numerous deer skulls covering the walls. The home of Sir Basil Brooke, 5th Bt and 1st Viscount Brookeborough, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland 1943-63; he and the late Lady Brookeborough made an attractive sunken garden at one end of the house. The house stood empty for some years after the death of 1st Viscount, 2nd Viscount living in Ashbrooke, a smaller house on the estate. But the present Lord and Lady Brookeborough have moved back into Colebrook.”
2. Belle Isle Courtyard cottages and castle accommodation, Lisbellaw, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh Northern Ireland – see above
“Colebrooke Park in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland is first and foremost a family home, the seat of Viscount & Viscountess Brookeborough and one of region’s most important and historic stately homes. It is exclusive, discreet and offers a taste of a unique lifestyle which guests may experience whilst staying in an Irish Stately Home. Set in a lush 1,000 acre working estate, Colebrooke Park is only 90 minutes from Belfast, 40 minutes from the West Coast of Ireland and a short distance from the tranquility of beautiful Lough Erne.
“Lady Brookeborough has skilfully recreated the style and grandeur of the past with family portraits, original Victorian wallpaper, 18th Century porcelain and fine furniture used to decorate the grand rooms. Modern additions such as en-suite bathrooms, central heating, a Business Conference Unit and Day Spa makes Colebrooke a discerning choice of venue for business away days and conferences.
“Standing on the banks of the Colebrooke River, fishing, clay pigeon shooting, archery and other outdoor activities are available for guests’ enjoyment. For those who may wish to enjoy a less energetic stay there are long riverside and shrub garden walks and there are purpose built ‘hides’ for watching the abundant wildlife in this remarkable haven. These include deer, otters, mink, buzzards, kingfishers and many others.
“The combination of historic grandeur, modern business facilities, outdoor pursuits and the renowned hospitality of the Brooke family means Colebrooke Park is a truly unique location for special events.
“Colebrooke Park is a brilliant example of how comfortable an historic Irish Stately home can become in the 21st Century; the ultimate in luxury. Above all it is a place where guests can stay in complete privacy. The estate is ideal for weddings, house party breaks, family gatherings and as a corporate venue with a difference, all in the heart of Northern Ireland’s lush countryside.Having approached the house along the sweeping avenue, guests enter through the grand entrance beneath the portico into a large hall overlooked by the impressive main staircase.
“Then guests can make their way to the Library or the Drawing Room and relax in great comfort in magnificent surroundings. In addition to these large reception rooms, there is a large billiard room. The Dining Room seats up to 30 guests at one large table and more in other formats – making it particularly well suited for corporate entertaining, private dinner parties and weddings.
“Within the house, located towards the rear, is the fully equipped Conference Suite. Accommodating up to 70, the suite provides all necessary facilities for business users including overhead projector and screen.Colebrooke Park can accommodate up to 300 guests for receptions with a great deal of flexibility and with that all important personal touch that is so often missing in large hotels. There are 12 comfortable double bedrooms with private bathrooms, all of which have been individually and tastefully decorated by Lady Brookeborough.
“The landscaped gardens, parkland and ancient woodland with 3 miles of the Colebrooke river meandering through it, form this stunning 1000 acre estate which is a haven of tranquility. There is also a dry grassed lawn at the side of the house suitable for a large marquee, demonstrations and exhibits or as a pleasant area to congregate on sunny days.“
The website also tells us of the history, quoting an article in Country Life magazine:
“A sprawling barracks* of a country house, in the heart of terrorist-torn Northern Ireland, encumbered with death duties and overdraft, is an unenviable inheritance. Particularly when, abandoned to patching, the fabric has begun to rot; the extensive stables and outbuildings are in ruins; the Victorian wallpaper is peeling from the walls of rooms empty from a house sale seven years earlier. Income from the beautiful – but agriculturally poor – 1,100 acre estate cannot conceivably support the maintenance, let alone restoration, of the house. [* Someone else’s description – not ours!]This was the situation that confronted Lord Brookeborough and his wife in 1980. The Brookes are a fairly typical Anglo-Irish ‘plantation’ family. They arrived in the 1590’s and were granted a large portion of confiscated lands at Brookeborough as reward for services during the 1641 Rebellion (the name Colebrooke derives from the 17th century marriage of Maj Thomas Brooke to Catharine Cole). Thereafter they displayed a record of competent – often enlightened – land-holding, combined with remarkable honours for military and public service (the family includes both Field Marsh Viscount Alanbrooke and a Prime Minister of Northern Ireland).
“The present house was built in 1820 by Henry Brooke (1770 – 1834), created baronet (2nd creation) in 1822, as the culmination of some three decades of frugal living aimed at restoring the fortunes of the estate after the excesses of his uncle. In common with Irish building tradition, the new house, a severe neo-Classical block, subsumed an earlier building of unknown appearance. In his ‘Specification of works’ of 1820, William Farrell – a Dublin architect who practised mainly in Ulster – wrote ‘All the old house except the present Drawing Room and Dining Parlour (the present south range) to be taken down.’ In its place, Farrell attached two ranges of red sandstone (quarried at Alterbrock on the estate and by 1835 covered with Roman cement) containing a palatial entrance hall, stone staircase, reception rooms and bedrooms. This switched the main front from south to east, leaving an untidy arrangement of windows on the south-east corner where the new two-storey building met, under the same roof, the three storeys of what remained of the old. The only ornament to this austere addition was an ashlar cornice and a free-standing giant Greek-Ionic pedimented portico, on a base of two steps, in front of the central three bays. The cost was £10,381.
“Despite the sandstone in place of Portland stone, the shallow, eaved roof and lack of balustrade, the resemblance of the main front to neighbouring Castlecoole, Wyatt’s neo-Classical masterpiece is striking. This is no accident. A drawing in the Brookeborough papers held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, reveals that Farrell discarded a more modest, and in many ways more appropriate design – the central three bays broken forward with an attached Ionic porch – for a direct quote of the Castlecoole portico. In a note to Henry Brooke of May 23, 1821, he approves an increase in the dimensions of the house, apparently with the sole purpose of eclipsing those of its illustrious neighbour, commenting that these changes would make the new ensemble ‘far superior to any in Castle Cool House’.
“Other notes reveal ideas of increasing grandeur through the summer. First, the dining parlour was extended from the original measurements; then in September, the rooms to the left of the hall were altered ‘by taking down the partition wall and the floor over it to form a Room for a library of 36ft by 18ft …’ (In earlier plans and elevations the library is a modest, two-bay room between the drawing room and the dining parlour in the north range; this now became a breakfast room – currently the billiard room.) In 1823 additional offices were also agreed.
“For the next 50 years, alterations and additions continued in a steady stream – the dower house, Ashbrooke (a plaque in the stableyard is dated 1830); lodges (a plan is dated 1833); a triumphal arch gate. These became most significant with the succession of Sir Victor (1843-91), 3rd Bt, in 1864. ‘Few houses in Britain showed more distinctly their owner’s proclivities,’ wrote Oscar Stephen in Sir Victor Brooke, Sportsman and Naturalist (1894). ‘From floor to ceiling, heads of every variety were to be seen; … bison, wild boar, moufflon, Neilgherry ibex, Pyrenean bouquetin … every known variety of red deer … markor, brahsing, ovis ammon, burrel … a grand series of roe’s heads … over the chimney piece in the hall the huge horns of an Irish elk and two enormous German red deer … two of the tigers he had killed in India … the famous black panther, and, most valued of all, the monster tusk of the great elephant, whose mighty bones … lay in mighty massiveness round the foot of the billiard table.’ It was a taste in interior decoration which prompted Lord Craigavon, first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, to christen the dining room ‘Golgotha’.
“Given that he occupied Colebrooke permanently for only seven years – thereafter paying visits only in the summer and autumn, after the delicate health of his wife prompted a move to Pau in the south of France – Sir Victor’s legacy was considerable. He introduced sika deer into the park and built the splendid ‘Conservatory with the curved projection’, mentioned in an account of October 1864 from the celebrated William Turner of Dublin. Presumably it was Sir Victor, also, who commissioned the unexecuted colour-washed designs (signed C.W.W.), for panelling the library and dining room, which have Classical and hunting themes and the Classical stained-glass window over the stone stairs.
“By the 1876 return of Landowners in Ireland, the estate was almost 28,000 acres, the third largest in the county – only slightly smaller than Crom or Florence Court. However, there was a sharp change in fortunes when all but 1,300 acres were sold under the Ashbourne and subsequent Land Acts, leaving, as with so many Irish houses, a ‘demesne’ scarcely able to support a large country house. This development, combined with the agricultural depression of the 1880s which left most of the gentry even worse off than they had been in the years following the Famine, suggests that when the 4thBt, Sir Douglas Brooke, had the ‘house and demesne’ valued in 1893 (for £22.035 6s 3d) it was with a view to selling the whole property.
“By 1910 Sir Basil Brooke (1888 – 1973), 5th Bt, (Prime Minister of Northern Ireland 1943 – 63), who from childhood had nursed a powerful affection for the house – as a pupil at Winchester he wrote of it as ‘always tugging at my heart’ – was writing of his desire ‘to get it on its legs’. By the time of his return after the war, high taxation had eaten into the depleted income of the neglected property. Farm profits were low and the long-term trend of food prices was down. However, by reclamation and innovation over the decades the estate became a model of efficient farming. Changes to the house included repainting, removing the cement render, demolishing the conservatory and creating a sunken formal garden on the south front.
“In the early 1930’s a Minister of Agriculture official described the house as ‘comfortable but with many rooms unused’. By December 1939, Sir Basil’s letters reveal the felling of trees as ‘the only way to save Colebrooke’ and clear the overdraft. All might have been well, however, had some tax planning been made before Lord Brookeborough (as he was from 1952) died in 1973. As it was there was no alternative but to sell up, leaving the house in the condition in which the present Lord Brookeborough found it in 1980.
“The question was whether a house in such a state could ever again be made to support itself, let alone remain a home. The London-based architect Paul Hyett was called in to help arrange a feasibility study and devise ways of raising capital. For a time, conversion to a golf club looked the only possibility, although it was realised that the character of the house and its setting would be unlikely to survive such a change.
“Fortunately, by 1985 Lord Brookeborough’s business idea had begun to take off. The Colebrooke estate offers one of the best driven snipe-shooting anywhere, excellent stalking of sika, fallow and red deer over 10,000 acres and pheasant shooting and fishing, all of which had the potential to be developed along the one guiding principal; that all these activities must bring paying guests into the house. As the idea developed, hope returned, especially when the Northern Ireland Tourist Board agreed to provide up to 50% of the necessary capital.
“Problems, however, were not long in surfacing. Government grants, geared to the provision of commercial accommodation, tended to insist on features hardly compatible with the preservation of the fragile character of a historic house; from en suite facilities to numbers on bedroom doors. Planning permission for such a change of use also triggered an avalanche of fire provisions. Although at times the differences between the parties seemed irreconcilable a spirit of compromise won through. Bedrooms were permitted with designated rather than en suite bathrooms with the ample recompense to visitors today of splendid airy proportions and traditional full-length, cast-iron baths with ball plugs. Fire signs were accepted. Numbers on doors were not.
“Having addressed the major structural problems, and prepared four new bedrooms and bathrooms in the south wing, in addition to the principal bedrooms in the main front, Lord Brookeborough, guided by the conviction that just three ingredients are critical to happy apres-hunting: food, comfortable beds and never ending supplies of hot water, put this equation to work. For the rest, the main difficulty was refurbishing – on a shoestring – the vast, bare reception rooms. A friend who had bought one of the original gilt drawing room looking-glasses donated it. Marble busts of Sir Victor Brooke and his wife, by a local artist, Joseph Watkins, were retrieved from a Dublin antique shop.“
Monaghan:
1. Castle Leslie, Glaslough, Co. Monaghan(hotel)–
www.castleleslie.com Tourist Accommodation Facility – since it is listed under Revenue Section 482 as Tourist Accommodation Facility, it does not have to open to the public. It may have events during Heritage Week – see the hotel website.
2. Hilton Park House, Clones, Co. Monaghan– section 482
www.hiltonpark.ie Tourist Accommodation Facility – since it is listed under Revenue Section 482 as Tourist Accommodation Facility, it does not have to open to the public. However, check the website as it is open to visitors on some dates.
Hilton Park, Monaghan, photograph taken 2018 for Tourism Ireland. (see [3])
Blessingbourne, County Tyrone, photograph courtesy of Tourism Northern Ireland, 2019. (see [3])
The website tells us:
“Blessingbourne Estate came into the Montgomery family by marriage to the Armar family in the early 18th century. The builder of Blessingbourne was a man of taste; Hugh De Fellenberg known as “Colonel Eclipse”, Montgomery, grandfather of Captain Peter Montgomery.
“Blessingbourne originally belonged to the Armars. The Estate came to the Montgomerys in the eighteenth century when Elizabeth Armar married Hugh Montgomery [b. 1692], of Derrygonnelly Castle in Fermanagh.
“The first Montgomery to live at Blessingbourne was another Hugh. Hugh was born in 1779 and known for some reason as “Colonel Eclipse”. His portrait, which he gave to his old school, Eton, shows him to have been very handsome. However, he was unlucky in love.
“He vowed he would never marry and built himself a bachelor retreat at Blessingbourne, a romantic thatched cottage. He also built the charming little Gate Lodge (transformed to the present day 5 star Gate Lodge)
“But his bachelorhood ended after a few years, for he married a Spanish girl and had a son. His son’s godmother was Lady Byron, who remained a close friend and was greatly attached to his sister Mary, a key figure in the development of Blessingbourne.
“It descended in the family to Peter Montgomery, Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone, who died childless, after which it passed to a cousin. The property was ultimately the inheritance of Captain Robert Lowry, a direct descendant of Colonel Eclipse, and now belongs to Colleen and Nicholas Lowry.
“The Classic Tour encompasses everything well loved about the Estate. Current estate owners Nicholas and Colleen Lowry host all Tours personally. This tour includes a walk through the Victorian gardens, with their majestic setting overlooking the beautiful Lough Fadda. As well as, a private tour of main ground floor rooms of the impressive Manor House. The Manor House was built in 1871-74 and designed by Pepy’s Cockerall a close friend of William Morris. After that, enjoy a guided stroll around the extensive Coach , Carriage and Costume Collections from yesteryear.“
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 44. “(Montgomery/IFR) There was originally no house at Blessingbourne, an estate which came to the Montgomerys through marriage early in C18; the family seat being Derrygonnelly Castle in County Fermanagh, which was burnt later in C18 and not rebuilt. The family lived for some years at Castle Hume, which they rented; then, at the beginning of C19, a romantic thatched cottage was built by the side of the lough at Blessingbourne by Hugh Montgomery (known as Colonel Eclipse) as a bachelor retreat for himself after he had been crossed in love. His bachelorhood ended in 1821, when he married a Spanish girl; but during the next 50 years the family lived mainly abroad, so that his cottage was all they needed for their occasional visits to County Tyrone. The present Victorian Elizabethan house was built by his grandson, Hugh de Fellenberg Montgomery, between 1870 and 1874, to the design of F. Pepys Cockerell. Pepys Cockerell, son of the better-known C.R. Cockerell, as an artist as much as an architect; his patron and his patron’s wife were also people of tate; so that Blessingbourne is an unusually attractive and successful example of it style and period. The grey stone elevations are not overloaded with ornament; such as there is had restraint: caps on the chimneys, small finials on the gables, curved and scrolled pediments over some of the mullioned windows. The interior of the house is comfortable, with great character. The hall has a staircase incorporated in a screen of tapering wooden piers. Through glazed arches one looks across an inner hall to the lough and mountains. The principal rooms have chimneypieces of carved sone in a Tudor design, flanked by niches for logs: some of them being decorated with William de Morgan tiles. The dining room still keeps its original William Morris wallpaper of blue and green grapes and foliage; while there is another original Morris paper in the library. The late owner, Capt P. S. Montgomery, former President of th Northern Ireland Arts Council, stylishly redecorated much of the interior, which houses his collection of modern Irish art. Blessingbourne has passed to his nephew, Captain R.H.Lowry.”
Hill of The O’Neill and Ranfurly House Arts Visitor Centre, Tyrone, by Brian Morrison 2014, for Tourism Northern Ireland (see [3]).
The website tells us:
“The O’Neills were perhaps the greatest of the Irish clans, whose origins date back as far as the 10th century and whose lineage includes two High Kings of Ireland.
“Hugh O’Neill became leader of the clan in 1595 and as such was known as The O’Neill. A charismatic, even romantic figure, he had a long, tempestuous and complicated relationship with the English Crown, a relationship largely of convenience – for both parties. It was characterised by double-crossing by each side, building and abandoning strategic alliances. And ultimately, by all-out war.
“In this story Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone and the last inaugurated chief of the O’Neills, plays the central role. Dungannon was at the eye of an international political storm from 1594 to 1603, during which time The O’Neill would lead mighty armies, would win and lose battles, and create problems for at least four monarchs.
“And the repercussions were serious. Some might say that the consequences are still being felt today. When Hugh O’Neill was ultimately outmanoeuvred, his defeat paved the way for two connected seismic events that would forever transform his kingdom.
“The O’Neill was a military genius who repeatedly got the better of the Crown’s generals in Ulster. However, after a bitter defeat at the Battle of Kinsale, he was driven to bid farewell to the Hill of the O’Neill and the lands he ruled over.
“O’Neill’s departure for Spain, with the Earl of Tyrconnell and 90 followers, became known as the Flight of the Earls. It was a pivotal event in Irish history, effectively marking the end of the Gaelic way of life.
“With The O’Neill and his followers effectively gone into exile, the way was clear for the organised colonisation of their lands by wealthy settlers, largely from Scotland and England under King James I. This was known as the Plantation, a plan conceived to subdue, control and ‘civilise’ the wayward Irish. Instrumental in managing the process and distributing the lands was the Lord Deputy of Ireland – Arthur Chichester, who had defeated Hugh O’Neill in the Nine Years War. (Chichester would go on to become a major figure in the founding of Belfast.)
“The Plantation is the point that marks the shift in Ulster from an ancient Gaelic tradition to a new Anglo-Scottish ethos. It is in effect, the beginning of another age in the history of Ireland, Ulster, Dungannon and, of course, of the Hill.“
Killymoon Castle, County Tyrone, photograph @ChristopherHeaney for Tourism Ireland 2022, Ireland’s Content Pool. (see [3])
The website tells us:
“Killymoon castle sits in picturesque surroundings overlooking the Ballinderry River on the outskirts of Cookstown just 50 miles from Belfast by car. The castle is a grade A listed building designed by the famous John Nash who also designed the Regent Street area of London and its most famous landmark Buckingham Palace. The castle was originally built in 1600 for James Stewart, six generations of the Stewarts lived in the castle until 1852. It was described in the Irish Penny Journal of 1841 ‘as one of the most aristocratic residences in the province of Ulster’.”
“The original castle, built in 1671 by James Stewart on the substantial demesne had been granted to him under the Plantation Settlement. Stewarts ancestors had come from Scotland during the plantation to settle in Cookstown, and in 1666 James bought the land lease for the castle site from Alan Cooke – the founder of Cookstown. The castle was destroyed by fire in 1801 and in 1802, Colonel William Stewart had a new, more imposing castle built, designed by John Nash, the famous London Architect.“
James Stewart (1741-1821) of Killymoon, County Tyrone, by Pompeo Batoni, Ulster Museum, National Museum of Northern Ireland.
“Killymoon was Nash’s first castle in Ireland, and reputedly cost £80,000 to build (about £7.4 million today). It was described in the Irish Penny Journal of 1841 as “one of the most aristocratic residences in the province of Ulster”, with state apartments consisting of “a breakfast-parlour, dining room, ante-room and drawing-room, all of which are of noble proportions and their woodwork of polished oak”.
“The Killymoon estate remained the property of the Stewart family for six generations; however, their extravagant lifestyle caused the Stewart family to fall on hard times, especially during the years of the Irish famine. The estate was sold in 1852 for £100,000. In 1857, the castle had again been sold to the Cooper family; and, in 1865, Colonel Bolton, an English gentleman, purchased the castle.
“A mere ten years later, Mervyn Stuart Thomas Moutray JP, became the owner of Killymoon Castle until 1916, when Gerald Macura bought the castle and town of Cookstown for almost £100,000. By 1918, Macura was also in financial difficulties and was compelled to sell off his assets. John Coulter bought the castle and grounds in 1922 and it remains the home of the Coulter family to this day.“
Killymoon Castle, County Tyrone, photograph @ChristopherHeaney for Tourism Ireland 2022, Ireland’s Content Pool. (see [3])
“Take a tour of Killymoon Castle and step back in time. Visit Lady Molesworth’s morning room, the oval dining room whose restrained plasterwork and marble fireplace show the dignity of their Georgian origin. Ascend the magnificent cantilever style staircase and admire the fragile plasterwork like sugar spires on an inverted wedding cake .
“Colonel Stewart was only 27 when this castle was built and it must have been a truly wonderful fairy tale to bring his beautiful bride to this romantic spot.
“Fortunes and families rise and fall and this fabulous fairy dwelling which cost £80.000 to build in 1807, was gambled in a game of poker and sold for an unbelieveable sum in the 1920’s
“Group tours can be arranged by clicking the button below and filling out a request form. Private tours also available.“
Killymoon Castle, County Tyrone, photograph @ChristopherHeaney for Tourism Ireland 2022, Ireland’s Content Pool. (see [3])
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 173. “(Stewart/LGI1912; Moutray/LGI1912) One of John Nash’s earliest castles, built ca 1803 for William Stewart, MP, incorporating part of the previous house which was burnt ca 1800. A building with a romantic silhouette in a glorious position above the Ballinderry river with a backdrop of sweeping woods and parkland. The principal front dominated by an almost central battlemented and machicolated round tower and turret; at one end, an octagonal battlemented and machicolated tower; at the other, the profile of the square tower in the adjoining front, the base of which is arched to form a porte-cochere. The latter tower has slender octagonal corner turrets, with cupolas. Pointed windows grouped together under segmental hood-mouldings, which were regarded by Nash and his contemporaries as Saxon. Good interior planning with square, circular and octagonal rooms fitted together. Hall with double staircase, lit by Gothic lantern on plaster fan-vaulted ceiling. Drawing room with plain gilt plasterwork cornice of wreath and honeysuckle design. Library in form of Gothic chapel, with stained glass windows. Sold after William Stewart’s death 1850. Subsequently the seat of the Moutray family.”
Killymoon Castle, County Tyrone, photograph @ChristopherHeaney for Tourism Ireland 2022, Ireland’s Content Pool. (see [3])Killymoon Castle, County Tyrone, photograph @ChristopherHeaney for Tourism Ireland 2022, Ireland’s Content Pool. (see [3])Killymoon Castle, County Tyrone, photograph @ChristopherHeaney for Tourism Ireland 2022, Ireland’s Content Pool. (see [3])
The house is open from Easter to mid September on Saturdays and Sundays, and during July and August it is open Thursday to Sunday. Opening hours are from 12:00 – 17:00. 3 guided tours per day at 12:30, 14:00 and 15:30.
“Lissan House is an enchanting country residence set within a 260 acre demesne of ancient woodland and forestry.
“The estate was created in the 17th century and remained the home of the Staples family for nearly 400 years. Lissan came to prominence in 2003 when its popularity helped it reach the final of the BBC Restoration programme.
“Following extensive redevelopment, the house opened its doors in spring 2012 to reveal modern interactive exhibits and original family furnishings which take you on a unique journey through the history of the estate and the family characters that have shaped it. Children will be kept entertained in the house with the teddy bear treasure hunt. The demesne also features a challenging adventure playground for children, a wooded picnic area, walled garden.“
Lissan House and estate is now run and managed by a charitable board, who help secure the future of the property for the benefit of the community.
Robert Staples (1772-1832) 8th Baronet, courtesy of National Trust Springhill.
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his A Guide to Irish Country Houses (1988):
p. 188. “(Staples, Bt/PB) A plain three storey 9 bay Georgian house with later additions. At one end, a single-storey wing with a three-sided mullioned bow. At the other, a gable-ended office range. And in the middle of the entrance front, a single-storey protuberance of unusual depth, embodying a porch and a bow-fronted porte-cochere with windows. Some time post mid-C18, a garden was laid out here by the architect, Davis Duckart; with an “artificial sheet of water with cascades, and a picturesque bridge.”
Nestled in the heart of the estate’s historic courtyard the collection of 5 award-winning self-catering apartments are ideal for family breaks, romantic breaks and groups. Guests can enjoy a relaxing country estate experience.
Guests can choose from 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom self-catering accommodation, all of which are pet friendly. Experience a home from home environment with the apartment’s warm and inviting décor. All apartments feature open plan Living, Dining and Kitchen areas. On-site laundry facilities are available.
5. Cobblers Cottage Omagh, County Tyrone(sleeps 5)€
The lovingly renovated Cobblers Cottage has a cosy living/kitchen/dining area, 2 spacious bedrooms (sleeps 5) & a bathroom.
Enjoy the simplicity of this recently renovated 200 year old traditional Irish cottage in peaceful surroundings of Tyrone at the foot of the Sperrin Mountains between Omagh and Cookstown, in the area of Creggan.
Stay with us in our Castle Lodge, located in the grounds of Killymoon Castle on the banks of the Ballinderry River, offers the most tranquil of breaks. Only a short distance from Cookstown town centre and a one hour drive to the north coast, Donegal or Belfast. With Killymoon golf club and the Ballinderry River on your doorstep what better way to relax.
9. The Lower House Rooms, Donaghmore, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, BT70 3EZ€
Located in Donaghmore in the heart of Mid-Ulster, the conversion of The Lower House into 7 rooms of accomodation has been our pride and joy. Renovated with the finest fixtures, fittings and decoration, a stay at The Lower House rooms is an experience full of character and luxury.
4 Stunning self catering family cottages situated in the Dungannon countryside, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland
[1] 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.
www.powerscourt.ie Open in 2025: Jan 1-Dec 24, 27-31, house and garden, 9.30am-5.30pm, ballroom and garden rooms, 9.30am-1.30pm
Fee: Jan-Oct, adult €14, OAP, €12, student €10.50, child €5.50, family €20, Nov-Dec, adult €10.50, OAP €9.50, student €9, child €5.50, Jan- Oct, concessions-family ticket 2 adults and 3 children under 18 years €33, concession-Nov-Dec family 2 adults and 3 children under 18 €25
I haven’t revisited Powerscourt Estate this year but I have been there many times, and as the lockdown continues for Covid 19, I will write another entry from previous visits and research. I want to write about Powerscourt in continuation of our Wingfield run!
It used to be that one went to the estate to see the 47 acres of landscaped gardens, since the house was gutted by fire in November, 1974, and remained closed for many years. The fire was probably due to a chimney fire that ignited. Since then, it has been gradually renovated. The Slazenger family, living in the house at the time of the fire, moved into a section of the wing that was not destroyed by the fire. Nowadays inside is a shopping mecca and lovely Avoca cafe, with a growing exhibition about Powerscourt estate itself. My family has been visiting Powerscourt estate since I was a child. The ultimate in romantic, with terraces, groves of trees, stone sculptures, nooks, the mossy labyrinth in the Japanese gardens, the “secret” boat house with its view onto the surface of the lake, and the Versailles-like Neptune fountain, the memory of its purple and grey dampness was an aesthetic touchstone for me when I lived in hot, dry, bright Perth and California.
In 1974, David Hicks tells us in his Irish Country Houses, a Chronicle of Change, only months before the fire, Stanley Kubrick filmed Barry Lyndon in the house, and the film shows the interiors of the house before they were destroyed.
Powerscourt by George Barret the Elder, courtesy of Yale Centre for British Art.
The estate is named after previous owners of the land, the Powers, or Le Poers. The site was a strategic military position for the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century, and by 1300 the Le Poers had built a castle there. In 1609 the land was granted to Richard Wingfield, Marshall of Ireland.
Richard (1697-1751) 1st Viscount Powerscourt (of 3rd creation) built Powerscourt, designed by Richard Castle (or Cassells) in 1728.
Powerscourt, Hall, County Wicklow, photograph by Robert French, Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
In 1961 the estate was sold by the 9th Viscount, Mervyn Patrick Wingfield, to Mr. Ralph Slazenger, and the Slazenger family still own it. [1] The same family owned Durrow Abbey near Tullamore in County Offaly (which they purchased in 1950, but it now belongs to the OPW). [2][3]
According to the Dictionary of Irish Biography, Richard Wingfield (1551?–1634) 1st Viscount Powerscourt, a soldier, was eldest son of Sir Richard Wingfield, governor of Portsmouth, and his wife Christian Fitzwilliam of Milton. He was born into a family with a strong martial tradition: his brothers and uncles bore arms for the crown in the Low Countries, France, and Ireland. He came to Ireland c.1573 to serve as a soldier under his uncle Sir William Fitzwilliam (1526-1599) who was twice Lord Deputy of Ireland. Richard then returned to fight overseas but returned to Ireland, where he fought with the rebel forces of Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone.
On 27 January 1600 he was made marshal of the Irish army and was a member of the Irish privy council by 24 March. He played a key role in organising the royal army during the latter part of the Nine Years War.
He played a prominent role in both the siege and battle of Kinsale in late 1601. He was granted the lands of Rebane, Queen’s County, in March 1602. After the final suppression of the rebellion, he was granted in October 1603 a 21-year lease of the district of Ferncullen (formerly held by the O’Tooles) in north Co. Wicklow. He established his residence there at Powerscourt castle. [4]
Richard Wingfield appealed to James I for the land in order to secure the district from the incursions of native Irish lords and the families who had previously occupied the land, such as the O’Tooles. [5] In 1609 the King granted him full ownership.
Information board.Detail of an order given by King Henry VIII granting deed and title of Ferncullen, which is the land of Powerscourt, to the O’Tooles in around 1535. This chronology is on a board in the whiskey distillery, shop and cafe in the Millhouse on the grounds of Powerscourt.
He also received 1,000 acres at Ballnabarney as part of the Wexford plantation in November 1613. He sat as MP for Downpatrick in the 1613–15 parliament after being rejected by the largely Scottish electorate of Co. Down, acting as one of the chief government spokesmen in the house of commons. On 1 February 1619 he was created Viscount Powerscourt, having paid £2,000. He died on 9 September 1634. [see (4)]
He had no children so his cousin Edward Wingfield (d. 1638) succeeded him. Although they are both Wingfields they were actually cousins through the Cromwell line. Richard had married Frances Rugge, widow of 3rd Baron Cromwell. Edward Wingfield (d. 1638) married Anne Cromwell, daughter of the 3rd Baron Cromwell and Frances Rugge.
Edward Wingfield and Anne Cromwell had two sons: Lewis and Richard (d. 1644).
Richard (d. 1644), married Elizabeth Folliott daughter of Henry, 1st Lord Folliott, Baron of Ballyshannon, and they had a son Folliott Wingfield (1642-1717) who was created 1st Viscount Powerscourt in 1664/65. Folliott married Elizabeth, daughter of Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery. On his death, his title became extinct as they had no children.
The other son of Edward Wingfield and Anne Cromwell, Lewis, had a son Edward (d. 7 January 1728). Edward lived at Powerscourt, and was MP for County Wicklow. I suspect he moved to Powerscourt when Folliott Wingfield died. He married Eleanor Gore, daughter of Arthur, 1st Baronet Gore, of Newtown Gore, Co. Mayo. Their son Richard (1697-1751) was created 1st Viscount Powerscourt, of Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow in 1733/34. Their daughter Isabella married Henry King, 3rd Baronet of Boyle Abbey, County Roscommon [we will come across the King family when I write about King House in County Roscommon, a section 482 property.] Their daughter Sidney married Acheson Moore of County Tyrone. [6]
Richard (1697-1751) 1st Viscount Powerscourt was MP for Boyle, County Roscommon between 1727 and 1744, and was created a Privy Counsellor in 1746. He married twice. His first wife was Dorothy Ussher, daughter of William Ussher of Ussher’s Quay in Dublin. She died childless in 1723, and then he married Dorothy Rowley, daughter of Hercules Rowley of Summerhill, County Meath.
Richard Wingfield (1697-1751) 1st Viscount Powerscourt by Anthony Lee courtesy of Christie’s sale catalogue.
It was Richard 1st Viscount Powerscourt who built the Powerscourt house we see today. He incorporated some of the old building into a new residence he had built in 1728. According to Sean O’Reilly in Irish Houses and Gardens. From the Archives of Country Life, the 1974 fire exposed the fabric of the history of the house. He writes:
“The original structure consisted of a low range incorporated in the two bays to the left of the entrance. This appears to have been a long, two-storey, rectangular block, raised to a third storey in later development, and retaining, in one corner, a cross-shaped angle-loop. The vaulted room on the ground floor in this range survived into later remodellings. This earliest block, which dates from no later than the fifteenth century, was extended by a connecting block now incorporated in the garden front and, finally, by a third rectangular range fronted by the two bays on the right of the entrance, creating a U-plan.” [2]
The Wicklow house built for Richard Wingfield was designed by Richard Castle (or Cassels), who had worked with Edward Lovett Pearce. Both Lovett Pearce and Cassels favoured the Palladian style, and Cassels took over all of Lovett Pearce’s commissions after his untimely death aged just 34. Cassels worked on Carton, designed Russborough House(another section 482 house https://irishhistorichouses.com/2020/11/08/russborough-house-blessington-county-wicklow/ ) and Leinster House.
Powerscourt consists of a three storey centre block (see photograph above) joined by single-storey links to two storey wings, in the Palladian style. Borrowing from Mark Bence Jones’s description in his Irish Country Houses, the centre block has nine bays and the entrance front is made of granite. [6] There is a five bay breakfront in the centre of the middle block front facade, with a pediment of six Ionic pilasters (Ionic pillars have scrolls) standing on the bottom storey, which is, according to Bence-Jones, treated as a basement, and rusticated (rustication is the use of stone blocks with recessed joints and often with rough or specially treated faces, which is generally confined to the basement or lower part of a building). (see [6]) The pediment contains the arms of Richard Wingfield and his wife Dorothy Rowley.
Between the pilasters on the breakfront are rondels containing busts of Roman emperors, and a female in the centre rondel. The 7th Viscount called the bust in the middle “Empress Julia” after his wife. He purchased the busts of Caesar in London. They came from Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire, and once belonged to the Duke of Sussex.
The four bay links as well as the central block have balustraded parapets. The wings have four bays, and the facade is prolonged beyond them by quadrant walls, each interrupted by a pedimented Doric arch and ending in an obelisk carrying an eagle, the Wingfield crest. [8]
The garden front, pictured above, has seven bays between two bows on either end, and the bows are topped with copper domes. One side has a two storey wing. The garden slopes down to a lake in a magnificent series of terraces. Powerscourt was built with sixty-eight rooms!
Richard and Dorothy had two sons. The first, Edward, 2nd Viscount Powercourt, died childless, so his brother, Richard (1730-1788), became 3rd Viscount Powerscourt.
Portrait of a gentleman, traditionally identified as Edward 2nd Viscount Powerscourt, in a brown coat by circle of Francis Cotes, Hugh Douglas Hamilton.Richard Wingfield (1730-1788) 3rd Viscount Powerscourt.
I wrote about the history of the Wingfield family briefly in my entry for Powerscourt Townhouse. [9] Seven years after inheriting the title, Richard 3rd Viscount began the building of Powerscourt Townhouse, so that he had a grand Palladian home in Dublin for residing and entertaining, when not living in his estate in Wicklow. He married Amelia Stratford, daughter of John Stratford, the 1st Earl of Aldborough. For the rest of the Wingfield successors, see [10] and also the Powerscourt website and see my entry about Powerscourt Townhouse https://irishhistorichouses.com/2020/04/02/powerscourt-townhouse-59-south-william-street-dublin-2/
Powerscourt House front hall, County Wicklow, photograph by Robert French, Lawrence Photograph Collection, National Library of Ireland.
Richard and Amelia’s son Richard 4th Viscount Powerscourt was brave enough to vote against the Act of Union in 1800, upsetting his neighbours. He married, firstly, Lady Catherine Meade, daughter of John Meade, 1st Earl of Clanwilliam County Tipperary, who gave birth to the heir and “two spares.” Catherine’s sister married the 10th Earl of Meath. After her death, he married Isabella Brownlow, daughter of William, MP for Armagh, and they several more children.
His son Richard (1790-1823) became the 5th Viscount and Richard’s son Richard (1815-1844), the 6th Viscount. The 5th Viscount married Frances Theodosia Jocelyn, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Roden, and the 6th Viscount married Elizabeth Frances Charlotte Jocelyn, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Roden.
Richard Wingfield (1815-1844) 6th Viscount Powerscourt, portrait on display at the Irish Georgian Society.Richard Wingfield, 6th Viscount Powerscourt (1815-1844), photograph courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland.Elizabeth Jocelyn (1813-1884), Marchioness of Londonderry, formerly Viscountess Powerscourt, by James Rannie Swinton, courtesy of Mount Stewart National Trust. She was married to the 6th Viscount Powerscourt.She was the daughter of Robert Jocelyn 3rd Earl of Roden.After her husband’s death she married Frederick William Robert Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry, of Mount Stewart, County Down(see my entry about Places to visit and stay in County Down https://irishhistorichouses.com/2023/10/06/places-to-visit-and-stay-in-county-down-northern-ireland/)
From 1842 onwards, the 6th Viscount of Powerscourt employed Daniel Robertson of Kilkenny to improve the gardens. Robertson created Italian gardens on the terraces, with broad steps and inlaid pavement, balustrades and statues. In the fountain below the “perron” of the main terrace, Mark Bence-Jones tells us, there is a pair of bronze figures of Eolus, “which came from the Palais Royale in Paris, having been sold by Prince Napolean 1872 to the 7th Viscount [Mervyn Edward Wingfield], who completed the garden.”
The garden work was continued by F.C. Penrose when Daniel Robertson died in 1849 while working on the gardens at Lisnavagh, County Carlow. Apparently Robertson was often the worse for wear during his work, as he was fond of the sherry. He took to directing from a wheelbarrow, as he had gout and difficulty walking – maybe not just due to the gout!
Quote above from “In Harmony with Nature, The Irish Country House Garden 1600-1900” in the Irish Georgian Society, July 2022, curated by Robert O’Byrne.See below also.
Robert O’Byrne tells us that Daniel Robertson was born in America, and that he was one of the most influential garden designers to work in Ireland in the second quarter of the 19th century.
From “In Harmony with Nature, The Irish Country House Garden 1600-1900” in the Irish Georgian Society, July 2022, curated by Robert O’Byrne.From “In Harmony with Nature, The Irish Country House Garden 1600-1900” in the Irish Georgian Society, July 2022, curated by Robert O’Byrne.
Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt sought to create gardens similar to those he had seen in the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna and at the Palace of Versailles. His task took twenty years, completed in 1880. He enlisted the help of Alexander Robertson.
There are many more elements of the garden to explore, such as the Japanese gardens, the pet cemetery, the pepperpot tower, and the walled gardens. I only recently discovered the pepperpot tower! When I visited the gardens with my parents, we must have always been too tired as a family, after exploring the rest, to walk up from the Japanese gardens to the pepperpot tower!
The dolphin pond, with fountain brought from Paris by the 7th Viscount (photograph by Jane Flanagan)The Pepper Pot Tower. Photograph from Tourism Ireland, photographer unknown. [9]The walled garden (photograph by Jane Flanagan)
I have always loved the Japanese gardens, which remind me of the Japanese tea gardens in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. I have a lovely memory of having a cup of tea and a fortune cookie in San Francisco’s Japanese gardens, and the cookie contained the fortune I’d seen photographed earlier that day in a large photograph on display in a museum: “You will have many interesting and artistic people to your home.” It seemed too much to me at the time to be a coincidence – and it would be, I thought, at the age of about twenty, a dream come true. I sellotaped the fortune onto a small bookshelf on my desk, hoping it would come true. And indeed it has!
Bence-Jones writes of an incident about Powerscourt Waterfall, which is further out on the estate:
“the waterfall, the highest in the British Isles, which, when George IV came to Powerscourt 1821, was dammed up in order that the monarch might have an even more exciting spectacle; the idea being to open the sluice while the Royal party watched from a specially-constructed bridge. The King took too long over his dinner and never got to the waterfall, which was fortunate; for when eventually the water was released, the bridge was swept away.“
The collection of statues, and the wrought iron gates, are beautiful.
Bamberg Gate in the Walled Garden, with its “vista” view of columns. Photograph by John Slazenger, 2014, from Tourism Ireland. [9]
The Irish Aesthete tells us that the Bamberg Gate:
“was originally constructed in Vienna in 1770 and installed in Bamberg Cathedral, Northern Bavaria. Probably in the late 1820s, when all Baroque additions were stripped from the building, the gate was removed and sold: around 1870 Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt bought it from a London dealer and placed it in the present position. On the opposite side of the walled garden is the so-called Chorus Gate, the design supposedly based on a 17th century original (although this has not been found) and likewise purchased in London. Its intricate ironwork features myriad winged seraphim blowing trumpets. Both gates have recently been cleaned and re-gilded.” [10]
The National Inventory has two good pictures of the interior of the house, which is gradually being restored since the 1974 fire:
I cannot recall seeing this room. Is it because the house is now so full with everything going on, that I didn’t notice the decorative pillars and ceilng? That is quite possible! The columns and arches lead me to believe that this was the saloon, comparing it to archival photographs from before the fire, as seen in Sean O’Reilly’s book.Photograph from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, Buildings of Ireland.
The interior of Powerscourt before the fire was magnificently sumptuous and slightly crazy! Fortunately photographs exist, and some are in the National Library archives:
The entrance hall of Powerscourt before the fire. Photograph from the National Library archives, on flickr commons.
I have never seen shells on a ceiling decoration such as these, although I know the famous letter writer Mary Delaney made similar decoration on a fireplace as well as filling an outdoor shell house, similar to the one at Curraghmore [see my entry about Curraghmore]. The Wingfields must have prided themselves on their military connection, with their display of armour and guns, and their hunting prowess, with all the deer head and antler trophies and the skin rugs. There is even an antler chandelier, which Sean O’Reilly tells us is called an Austrian “Lusterweiblen.” Some of the antlers were made of papier-mache! O’Reilly published other old photographs of the interior in Irish Houses and Gardens, including of the saloon, which he explains is more in the Roman Renaissance than Palladian style, which is reflected somewhat in the rest of the house. (see [1])
The house was occupied by the Slazenger family in 1974 when the fire broke out on the top floor, leaving the main building completely destroyed. They had purchased the house complete with all of its contents. Fortunately, nobody was injured. The house was left abandoned for twenty years, but they opened the gardens to the public. In 1996 the family started the renovation process with a new roof and restoration of the windows. [13] (Surely not) coincidentally, Ralph Slazenger’s daughter Wendy (Ann Pauline) Slazenger married Mervyn Niall Wingfield, the 10th Viscount Powerscourt, in 1962. They divorced, however, the same year as the fire, in 1974.
Christies held a sale of the rescued contents of Powerscourt in 1984. Many of the belongings were purchased by Ken Rohan, owner of nearby Charleville House. When I visited Charleville, another section 482 house, the tour guide pointed out the grand decorative curtain pelments purchased in the Powerscourt sale. [see my entry on Charleville House https://irishhistorichouses.com/2020/09/18/charleville-county-wicklow/
Finally, there is a Bagot connection to the Wingfields, albeit indirectly, and I haven’t found any connection (yet!) of my family with this Irish Bagot family. Christopher Neville Bagot (1821-1877) married Alice Emily Verner. When Christopher died, he left a large estate. His son was born less than nine months after he married, and his brother contested the will, claiming that the son, William Hugh Neville Bagot (1875-1960) was not really Christopher Bagot’s son. Alice Emily and her son won the trial to the extent that her son inherited Christopher’s money, but Christopher’s brother inherited the land. Alice Emily came from a well-connected family. Her mother was a Pakenham. Her grandmother was Harriet Wingfield (1801-1877), a daughter of Edward Wingfield (1772-1859), who was the son of Richard Wingfield, 3rd Viscount Powerscourt – the one who built Powerscourt Townhouse!
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[2] A Bagot married into the Herbert family, who owned Durrow Abbey before the Slazenger family. John Bagot married Mary Herbert, daughter of the 2nd Baronet of Durrow Abbey in 1728.
[8] 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.
[10] For the continuation of the Wingfield line who lived in Powerscourt, I refer to Burke’s Peerage, and to the website of Timothy William Ferres, otherwise known as Lord Belmont:
The Wingfields married well. The 3rd Viscount’s son inherited the title and estate: Richard Wingfield, 4th Viscount (1762-1809).
He married firstly, in 1789, Catherine, second daughter of John Meade, 1st Earl of Clanwilliam, by whom he had his successor, Richard.
RICHARD, 5th Viscount (1790-1823), married Frances Theodosia, eldest daughter of Robert Jocelyn, 2nd Earl of Roden, and their son, Richard, became his successor.
RICHARD, 6th Viscount (1815-44), who married, in 1836, his cousin, the Lady Elizabeth Frances Charlotte Jocelyn, daughter of Robert Jocelyn, 3rd Earl of Roden. He was succeeded by his son, Mervyn Edward Wingfield.
MERVYN EDWARD, 7th Viscount (1836-1904), KP, Privy Counsellor, who wedded, in 1864, the Lady Julia Coke, daughter of Thomas William Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester (of the seventh creation!). According to Turtle Bunbury [14], Mervyn published two books: “Wingfield Memorials” (1894) and “A History of Powerscourt” (1903). He was elected president of the Royal Dublin Society and was also a member of the Royal Irish Academy of Science. He was made a Knight of the Order of St. Patrick in 1871. He was later appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland, acting as one of the Lord Justices of Ireland in 1902.
Mervyn Edward and Julia’s son, Mervyn Wingfield (1880-1947), become the 8th Viscount and succeeded to Powerscourt. The 8th Viscount was the last Lord-Lieutenant of County Wicklow, from 1910 until 1922. After Irish Independence, he was elected by W.T. Cosgrave to serve as a Senator in 1921. His son, Mervyn Patrick Wingfield (1905–73) became the 9th Viscount.
The 9th Viscount followed in the family’s military tradition and served in WWII and was captured and became a prisoner of war. According to wikipedia [15], he suffered from shell shock. His wife and children moved to Bermuda during the war and returned to Powerscourt afterwards but their marriage fell apart, and Mervyn Patrick sold Powerscourt.
According to Turtle Bunbury, Richard Wingfield 1st Viscount had a daughter, Isabella, who in 1722 married Sir Henry King, MP for Boyle and Roscommon, who built King House in County Roscommon, another section 482 property.
Turtle Bunbury also tells us that the 6th Viscount Powerscourt purchased Luggala, also in County Wicklow, in 1840, from the “financially challenged” La Touche family. We will come across the La Touch family when I write about Harristown, another Section 482 property.
Irish Historic Houses 