Programmes

Historical background:
Cavan National School was built circa 1820 as a school by royal appointment and was the first building to be built specifically for this purpose in Cavan. Francis Johnston and John McMahon were the architect and builder, respectively. In 2005 the school owners applied to the Irish Georgian Society for funding to help restore the former residential part of the school and were awarded a grant of €3,500.

Brief description of project:Read more »

Historical background and project:
The Dromoland Gazebo was built on a hill within the grounds of Dromoland Castle circa 1740 by Sir Edward O’Brien, 2^nd Bt. Its purpose was most likely a vantage point from which to observe the training of horses which makes the structure a “belvedere.” Having fallen into disrepair, the Dromoland Turret P... Read more »

Historical background:
Mount Ievers Court was built in 1736 by John Rothery for Col Henry Ievers. It is among the earliest and grandest of the tall Irish country houses, though it may have been inspired by Chevening, the family seat of the Earls Stanhope. In the 1980s the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Ievers, began a programme of restoration. A grant was requested from the Irish Georgian Society in 2003 to offset the cost of cleaning and repairing the gutters as well as restoring the... Read more »

Historical background:
Kilshannig was built in 1766 by Italian architect Davis Ducart for Quaker merchant, Abraham Devonsher, and possesses important interiors with plasterwork by the Swiss-Italian Lafranchini brothers. It lies on an elevated site overlooking good parklands and in recent years has undergone major restoration works spearheaded by its owner, Hugo Merry. Between 2002-2007 the Irish Georgian Society awarded over €54,032 in conservation funds toward the works in Ki... Read more »

Historical background:
Set within a mature park landscape with entrance gates and a gate lodge to the north, Laurentinum House was constructed circa 1745. Originally a three-storey structure, the top floor was removed around 1850 and the porch was also added around this time. For many years prior to the dawn of the twenty-first century the house lay unoccupied and fell into disrepair. Marred by a leaking roof, damaged ceilings and floors among other problems, the current owners ... Read more »

Historical background and project:
Originally built in 1810, No. 8 North Mall building has now been subdivided into flats. A major early-nineteenth century campaign included replacing some interior plasterwork and joinery to the ground floor as well as the addition of a rear extension. The rendered quoins and architraves were added around 1860, along with the cast-iron balcony, plate glass window... Read more »

Historical background:
No. 38 North Great George's Street, Dublin was built in 1785 by stuccodore Charles Thorpe who lived in the building and went on to become Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1800. The house was later occupied by Professor John Pentland Mahaffy, tutor of Oscar Wilde, and it is for him that the house is today named. Between the 1920s and 1960s the house deteriorated into tenement use but after its purchase by Desiree Shortt in 1975, it gradually underwent a long series of ... Read more »

Historical background:
Mountjoy Square is the only “true” Georgian square in Dublin, each of its sides being exactly 140 metres in length. No. 54 was erected as part of a pair with No. 53 in 1792 by master builder William Pemberton. The historic fabric of the square was significantly compromised in the twentieth century with one-third of its buildings demolished, making the survival of No. 54 all the more valuable. In fact, it is one of only three original houses to ... Read more »

Historical background:
This conservatory was built at the home of David Drummond, Esq. in Rathgar and was referred to as a “Gentleman’s Crystal Palace.” Drummond was one of the Commissioners of Rathmines and Rathgar Township. Inspired... Read more »

Historical background:
Dublin’s Ely House was supposedly built as a townhouse in 1771 by Henry Loftus, 3rd Earl of Ely, though recent research suggests he may have bought it from developer, Gustavus Hume. It was originally built with six bays. In 1811 Nathaniel Callwell added the left entrance door to create two houses and the central entrance hall was re-planned. The house remained in private ownership until Lady Aberdeen secured the lease for use as the Women’s Nation... Read more »

Historical background:
A church was initially constructed on this site in the late-eighteenth century but in the 1820s the architect George Semple was engaged and transformed this by adding transepts, enlarging the tower and contributing the entire Moorish-Gothic mantle. The 1860s also saw further changes with the construction of a chancel to the design of John McCurdy which effectively modified the “T” plan to that of a cruciform. A well-cared for architectural gem ... Read more »

One of the most exciting developments in the history of the Irish Georgian Society has been its acquisition of the old City Assembly House, on South William Street, on a lease from Dublin City Council. In partnership with the Council, the Society aims to restore and revitalise this landmark building as a centre for its heritage and cultural activities but also, and most importantly, to give back to the life of the city one of its long forgotten but once venerable public spaces - the octagonal Ex... Read more »

By Belinda Jupp and Brendan Twomey

It is always exciting when a plan finally ‘comes together’. This spring the long-cherished ambitions of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (RSAI) and the Irish Georgian Society (IGS) to recreate the urban Georgian garden in the rear of No... Read more »

Historical background:
Completed in the late-eighteenth century, this gate lodge and gateway were erected by Walter Lawrence as an entrance to his Bellevue estate. Known as the “Volunteer Gate,” it was created to commemorate the victory of the Volunteers who helped to win Free Trade for Ireland in 1782. In 1912, the Lawrence family left Bellevue and over time the house fell into dereliction and was later demolished. Bellevue Gate and adjoining gate lodges could also hav... Read more »

Historical background:
Situated just off the rugged coast of Kerry, north of the Skellig Islands, Cromwell Point Lighthouse was commissioned in 1837 and started functioning in 1841, while the residence was added later to house the lightkeeper. As the need for such a lightkeeper disappeared with the advent of mechanisation, the house fell into severe disrepair by the early twenty-first century. It was subsequently taken in as a conservation project by the Irish Landmark Trust who re... Read more »

Historical background:
Built on the site of an earlier church, Saint James’s Church was erected through a gift of ₤1,100 from the Board of First Fruits in 1808 and the enlargements and repairs that took place circa 1840 were funded by the Ecclesiastical Board. At some point in its past, two of the church’s original windows were inappropriately replaced with modern casement windows. In 2004, Mr Eric Prestage of Tralee applied to the Irish Georgian Society for funding to ... Read more »

Historical background:
Ballinderry House was built circa 1743 for Mary Pearson, wife of Garret Tyrell. However, the interior rococo plasterwork dates to the 1760s. During the 1798 rebellion the home was damaged by rebels with much of its contents burned. A series of alterations and additions took place in the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, such as the addition of accommodation to the rear of the house and the replacement of many Georgian window subdivisions with larger V... Read more »

Historical background:
Kildrought House was built by Robert Baillie in 1719 to the design of Kildare architect Thomas Burgh who also designed the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. Baille was responsible for bringing tapestry weaving to Ireland. The house became the Celbridge Academy in 1782 and subsequently served as a fever hospital, vicarage and dispensary. By the 1850s the house was in poor condition and suffered from decay, though it was soon renovated. However, by 1985 the h... Read more »

Historical background:
Built around 1820 for Richard St. George, Kilrush House is a rare example of an Irish Regency villa that retains much of its original decoration and contents. In 2003 the St. George family commenced a works programme to restore the house which had suffered some damage and decay. The Society awarded a grant of €4,000 towards these works.

Bri... Read more »

Historical background:
St. Peter’s Church in Portlaoise, Co. Laois, was built in the late-eighteenth century to the design of James Gandon, architect of Dublin’s Four Courts and Custom House. Extensive alterations and improvements were made to the building in 1872. In 2007, the church authorities put in place a works programme that included consolidation of the spire, faulty rainwater goods, weathering, and inappropriate cement pointing. The Irish Georgian Society award... Read more »

Historical background:
Morgan’s House in Co. Limerick consists of three structures built in separate stages, beginning in the early eighteenth century, though there is documented evidence of habitation on the site as early as 1570. That habitation may account for the medieval wall which abuts the two smaller structures, the northernmost of which may have originally extended further into the garden. The southern structure is older and taller than tha... Read more »

Historical background:
The mid-sized Ledwithstown House has been called a “miniature gem” by historian Robert O’Byrne. Rife with intricate plasterwork, detailed wood mouldings and fine stone carvings, architectural photographer Dr. Maurice Craig said of Ledwithstown, “there can be few houses of its size in Ireland more thoroughly designed, and with internal decoration so well integrated.” The house was built for the Ledwith family in 1746 to the design... Read more »

Barmeath Castle, Co. Louth

Barmeath is situated near Dunleer in the centre of the county and looks out across Dundalk Bay towards the Cooley peninsula. The house was originally an outer castle of the Pale and is of great heritage interest due to its multi-layered architectural history and the survival of outstanding gardens by the 18th century landscape architect Thomas Wright.

The Irish Georgian Society has grant aided essential works to repair a conical roof o... Read more »

Historical background:
The site of St. Peter’s Church has been used for worship since the foundation of the town of Drogheda in the late-twelfth century, though the present church was built between 1745-1750 by Hugh Darley. Its spire was added circa 1780 by Francis Johnston. A survey was carried out in 1999 and plans were put in place to repair damages made by the passage of time. However, these plans received a significant setback in 1999 when a malicious arson attack caused... Read more »

Historical background:
Designed by Francis Johnston for Blaney Balfour in 1794, Townley Hall, Co. Louth, is considered one of his finest works. The home was passed down through the Balfour family over the centuries and finally was purchased by Trinity College, Dublin in 1956. The house is set on a prominent site in parklands which, in 1827, were called by Gardener’s Magazine, “one of the most magnificent demesnes in the kingdom.” In 2003 the owners applied to the ... Read more »

Historical background:
A house was first built at Enniscoe by the Jackson family in the 1760s and, fifty years later, the family engaged the Waterford architect John Roberts to significantly extend this original building. In 1834 the house was passed to the Pratt family of Co. Cavan, subsequently to a c... Read more »

Historical background:
Though its foundations were set in the 1600s, Annesbrook House was primarily built in the mid-eighteenth century as a simple Georgian structure. In 1821 however, owner Henry Smith commissioned an impressive portico and a Georgian-Gothic “banqueting room” in preparation for a visit from King George IV who was touring Ireland and staying with his mistress, Lady Conyngham, at nearby Slane Castle. Much to Smith’s chagrin, the King never saw the ... Read more »

Historical background:
Hamwood House was built circa 1764 by Charles Hamilton, agent for the Dukes of Leinster, whose family have continuously occupied the property since that date. It was erected as a mid-sized, lime-washed Palladian villa of unusual design. The curved passages which extend from either side of the main house terminate in small octagonal pavilions whose responding granite steps were added by the Duke of Leinster for his agent around the turn of the nineteenth centu... Read more »

Headfort, Co. Meath – a Robert Adam interior rediscovered
Donough Cahill, Executive Director

In 2004, Headfort, Co. Meath, was selected by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) for inclusion in its List of 100 Most Endangered Sites due to the significant interest of its Robert Adam interiors and for the threat posed to these by water ingress. Since that time, the Headfort Trust, through funding from the WMF, the Heritage Council and the Department of the Environment, Herita... Read more »

Historical background:
Lime kilns like that at Nobber, Co. Meath, were historically used to create quicklime to be used as mortars and stabilisers in traditional buildings. The Nobber kiln, built circa 1800, gradually fell into disuse and due to mortar deterioration many of the upper stones had fallen into the central hearth area. The cornerstones were particularly loose, though fortunately the estate owners had conveyed these fallen stones to storage for retention. The Irish Georg... Read more »

Historical background:
What was once a conventional and restrained Georgian house built circa 1722 has been altered at least twice since that time, creating a romantic and whimsical chateau. The last major changes to Bessmount Park were made in 1868 by either William Barre or William Hague for his client, William Henderson. The house was raised by a floor and illuminated by fenestration on exposed gables crowned with pyramidal spires. A water tower was also built which features a t... Read more »

Historical background:
There has been a house on the site of Hilton Park since the early seventeenth century, at which time it was called “Killshanless.” That house was altered in 1734 when it was bought by Samuel Madden, in whose family the house remains today, and it was dubbed “Maddenton” before being given its present name in the late eighteenth century. Unfortunately, an accidental fire was started by a servant in 1804 which completely gutted the top tw... Read more »

Historical background:
Birr Castle was originally a Norman structure dated 1170 and has been significantly altered and extended since that time, mainly by the O’Carroll family and, from the 1620s, by the Parson family who continue to live there to this day.

The only known architect is John Johnston who added the Gothic Saloon and entrance gate alongside Sir Laurence Parsons in 1801-1802, and the present façade was completed circa 1840. The castle exists within ... Read more »

Historical background:
Birr Theatre, also known as Oxmantown Hall, was erected in 1888 to the design of James Fuller. It is an extremely ornate building and was used as a theatre until 1965 at which point it became the town hall. Previous to 2001 the entire building was restored and refurbished for its present purposes. However, the building was still in need of modern services, such as wheelchair access at the emergency exit as well as repairs to other areas of the site. The Ir... Read more »

Historical background:
While the design is often attributed to Thomas Mallison, the Old Geashill School was built by Lord Digby of Geashill in 1862. It is situated within a random coursed boundary wall and nearby stands a recently constructed replacement school building. Having been made redundant as a school, the building fell into disrepair and subsequently required significant repair works. Phase I of the refurbishment project had largely included emergency repairs and external ... Read more »

Historical background:
Scregg House was built in the mid-eighteenth century and was occupied continuously by the Kelly family until circa 1980. Scregg is of exceptional interest for the quality of craftsmanship applied in its construction and the relative sophistication of its design. Further, it remains largely unchanged since the time of its construction. Though it has lain empty for nearly a quarter of a century, it retains most of its original fabric with interesting plasterwor... Read more »

Historical background:
This charming lime-rendered building on the southern end of the Annaghmore Estate in Co. Sligo was built as a rural schoolhouse for the estate tenants’ children circa 1860. After its use as a schoolhouse and headmaster’s quarters became obsolete, the small structure served as a gate lodge and residence. The house fell into disrepair and was in a severe derelict state when acquired by the Irish Landmark Trust in 2004. Shortly thereafter a total res... Read more »

Historical background:
English architect Francis Goodwin was engaged to produce the main gate lodge at the Markree Estate in 1825 and it was subsequently completed in 1832. Its original purpose was to be used as a telegraphic tower to communicate with other estates in the area. Unfortunately, by 2006 the gate lodge was being reclaimed by the ravishes of nature. Lichen and other plant growth caused decay as well as cracking which allowed water ingress and the structure was also s... Read more »

Historical background:
Mullanes’ Thatched Cottage has remained in the Mullanes’ family since its construction in the late-eighteenth century. Notably it retains most of its original form and appearance, save for a few exterior changes and the addition of a small extension to the rear. The interior remains as it was originally designed and is built of local materials. In 2002 the Irish Georgian Society was asked for conservation project funding. The Society awarded a gra... Read more »

Historical background:
The two Nasool cottages in Doongelah, Co. Sligo, were erected circa 1750 and existed within a farmyard. In 1969 they were purchased in a derelict state by John Jobson who restored the first cottage to a healthy state and added a northwest extension complete with a nineteenth century Gothic style window. The cottage was then used as an artist’s studio. The second cottage was in poor shape and was re-built in its original style, not only to remain in keep... Read more »

Historical background:
Sooey Forge and Dwelling, a small thatched structure, was built circa 1880. Originally used as a forge or blacksmith’s workshop, it later served as a spirit grocer’s. In fact, before it was restored a small painted sign that read, “P. Breheny, Lic’d to Sell Tobacco” hung over the door. The forge was subsequently used as a dwelling and finally for simple storage before it became overgrown and dilapidated. Despite this neglect the ... Read more »

Historical background:
Cloughjordan is a two-storey, five-bay house built circa 1675 adjoining a tower house erected in the sixteenth century. Several additions and alterations were made in the nineteenth century, with a number of restoration works beginning in 1999. In 2004, the Irish Georgian Society awarded Cloughjordan House a grant of IRP £7,250 to assist with the restoration of the intricate ballroom ceiling and wall plasterwork.

Brief de... Read more »

Historical background:
The Thatch was built circa 1800 and in recent times was converted from residential use to that of a pub. It is an excellent example of the evolution of vernacular structures, having retained much of its original layout. Most notable is its two-storey form which is quite rare for a thatched building. In 2004 the owner applied for a grant to complete various repairs to the house, most notably to restore the thatch roof which suffered water ingress and dec... Read more »

Historical background:
Since its construction in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Ballinlough Castle has been owned by the O’Reilly family who adopted the surname Nugent in the nineteenth century. Thomas Wogan Browne was most likely responsible for the late-eighteenth century remodelling. Most unique is the fact that the estate remained in Catholic hands during this time. However, the Nugent line almost completely disappeared in the late-nineteenth century due to mil... Read more »

Historical background:
St. Bigseach’s church lies outside the Co. Westmeath village of Kilbixy on a site which once was occupied by a medieval monastic settlement. The church is also just one of a number of related structures that include a Greek-Revival mausoleum and rectory. It was built circa 1800 at the expense of Lord Sunderlin and the design is often attributed to architect Francis Johnston. In September 2002 the finials were deemed unsafe and thus the church was closed... Read more »

Historical background:
The Browne Clayton Monument was designed by Thomas Cobden in 1839 at the request of landowner Robert Browne-Clayton in the memory of his comrade, General Ralph Abercromby, who died in Egypt during the Napoleonic Wars. The monument is modelled after Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria, built in 296 AD, and is unique for being the only internally-accessible Corinthian column in existence. In December 1994 the column was struck by lightning, dislodging many of t... Read more »

Historical background:
Mucklagh Towers and gateway form an integral part of the Charleville Demesne. The estate dates to the early seventeenth century when Sir Robert Forth leased the lands from his brother-in-law, Thomas Moore. The demesne is a thoroughly designed romantic landscape whose majority of features date to the eighteenth century. Across the grounds lie a number of designed structures, including the main castle, grotto, a hunting lodge, two boathouses, gate lodges, garde... Read more »

Historical background:
Russborough House in Co. Wicklow is one of the finest Palladian houses in Ireland and one of its best-preserved eighteenth century buildings. It was built 1741-1748 to the designs of Richard Castle for Joseph Leeson who became the First Earl of Milltown and a great art collector. In 1931 the house was sold to Captain Denis Daly and then in 1951 to Sir Alfred Beit who famously brought the Beit art collection to the house. The Alfred Beit Foundation have owned ... Read more »