homes historical ireland

Enjoy the gardens, great food, luxury guestrooms and the historical surroundings of the impressive Kilmokea House, in Campile in County Wexford. This accommodation is housed in a magnificent Georgian property built in 1794, and surrounded by 7 acres of exotic gardens on the banks of the River Barrow, creating the perfect setting for a peaceful break in the countryside.
The former rectory has undergone lavish restoration to provide the utmost in comfort and relaxation....

Once one of the most elegant of Dublin's squares, Mountjoy Square suffered severely from neglect and is now in the process of restoration.
It was developed between 1792 and 1818 and named after the man who planned it, Luke Gardiner, the first Viscount ofMountjoy.
Michael Stapleton and Charles Thorp were among the designers and some of the houses have very fine plasterwork....

Housed in a farm building, this small rural museum features a collection of old farming implements, fishing nets, lobsters pots and other folk artefacts. Sheep from the farm also provide wool for spinning demonstrations. Ground-floor wheelchair access....

Hillsborough Castle is an 18th century historic house, built in the 1770's by Wills Hill, first Marquis of Downshire. It is now the official home of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
The castle is open to visitors on Saturdays during the months of May & June. You can also take a stroll around the magnificent gardens....

Joseph Damer of Tipperary was granted the town and lordship of Roscrea in 1722. He married two years later and shortly afterwards built an elegant town house within the curtain walls of the old castle.

Such arrangements were common and later houses were often built beside or attached to the strongholds they replaced. The troubled state of the country meant that the Irish gentry generally found it wiser to live in castles or fortified tower houses until the end of the 17th century.