homes historical ireland

Cavanacor House was built in the early 1600s and is the ancestral home of James Knox Polk, eleventh President of the United States of America.

King James II dined here on the 20th April, 1689 and granted a protection to the house. The tree he dined under still stands in the grounds....

This beautiful Country House was built in 1820s by the Blackhall family. Recognising the natural beauty and first class environment of this area, the famous Dublin family was reputed to have built the house to improve their sons ailing health. The Estate, while changing ownership, stayed intact till around 1960, when it was divided into smaller estates by the Irish Land Commission. Today, Coolamber Manor is a National Training and Development Centre. It stands in 0its original splendour, to t...

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....

It was built as a manorial residence of the Bishops of Down, and is attributed to John Sely who became bishop in 1413, but was deprived of his See in 1441 for having lived in the castle with a married woman. If the date be correct, this would make Kilclief the oldest known tower-house in Ireland.

It was garrisoned for the Crown by Nicholas Fitzsymon and ten warders in 1601-2. The entrance to the four storey tower was on the east side, protected by two flanking towers which are joine...

Westport House is one of Ireland's finest 18th Century historic homes. It was built on the site of a castle owned by pirate queen Grainne Uaile, a bronze statue of whom stands in the grounds of Westport House. It is still lived in and owned by the Browne family, direct descendants of the pirate queen.
It's set in magnificent parklands with mature trees and a lake. On site attractions and facilities include swan pedaloes, a log flume ride, dungeons, a miniature railway, a children's pla...

A focal point of the northern midlands where the provinces of Leinster, Ulster and Connaught all converge, Longford, where history and literature, tragedy and triumph are all woven together, takes its name from the ancient stronghold of the O'Farrell family (Long Fort - Fort of the O'Farrells). Bordered to the West by the majestic River Shannon, Longford is a county of rolling plains and picturesque stretches of water. The highest pint of the county, Cairn Hill, is only 279 m high, but from a...

Coole Park is the former home of Lady Augusta Gregory, a great friend of W.B. Yeats and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre. It's located about 3km north of the county Galway town of Gort and is operated by the National Parks & Wildlife Service. It spans about 1,000 acres and includes 6km of nature trails, 7 woods and of course Coole Lake.
Coole House, since demolished, was a focal point in the Celtic Literary Revival at the turn of the century. The initials of notable visitors to Coole Hou...

Susan Langstaff Mitchell was born here in 1866. She was a poet and one of the figures of the Irish Literary Revival. Her father was manager of the Provincial Bank in Carrick.

Through her friendship with the Yeats family and her post as assistant to A.E. (George Russell) on "The Irish Homestead" she got to know Yeats, A.E., Colum, Stephens, George Moore and the others and became part of the Irish Literary Revival. She wrote both poetry and satire, and was considered...