homes historical ireland

Lissadell - "That old Georgian Mansion" in the words of W.B. Yeats - is still owned by the Gore-Booth family. A fine but austere example of Greek-Revival architecture, it is full of many artefacts associated with succeeding generations of the family. Visitors can expect a genuine atmosphere of faded grandeur....

Susan Langstaff Mitchell was born 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 to be very talented, char...

Ballyfin house is possibly the finest neo-classical houses in the country. Built in 1821-6 in Slieve Bloom sandstone by Sir Charles Coote to the designs first of Dominic Madden (best known for Tuam Cathedral) and then Sir Richard Morrison and his son William Vitruvius. On entering by the tetrastyle ionic portico and through the formal entrance hall one is confronted by a magnificent suite of rooms.

Adjoining the library is a superb Richard Turner conservatory. The grounds were lands...

A sweathouse was a type of early sauna, used in Ireland in 18th and 19th centuries, but its origins may date back much further. Tirkane sweathouse is in a secluded area and is set into the side of a small leafy valley. Sweathouses were largely abandoned after 1851, although some are said to have been used up to 1936. There are only a few such sweathouses remaining in Northern Ireland....

Original Georgian home of noted Anglo-Irish family, was then rebuilt in Gothic revival style. Although burnt in 1933 the remaining towers and turrets, mostly ivy clad, give this enchanting structure a fairy tale air....

Dungiven Priory is one the oldest churches in Co. Derry. The earliest part is believed to be the nave erected in the12th century. It was reinforced in the 14th century with a highly decorated tomb, insertedin the wall. The tomb contains six stone Gallowglasses (Scottish mercenaries). There is an effigy of a knight, who is traditionally believed to be Cooey na nGall O'Cahan, a member of the O'Cahan's, a local ruling family in the Middle Ages. The chancel arch and the north door of the nave w...

Situated 7 miles south-east of Tuam, owned by the Cistertian brothers, this is an imposing early 19th century house built of limestone ashlar, seven bays, two storeys with parapet....

Mount Stewart offers to the visitor one of the most complete gardens in the care of the National Trust. The garden, designed by Edith, Lady of Londonderry from 1921, includes almost every style of gardening and supports an incomparable plant collection.

Frances and Charles, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, became celebrated figures, leading a glittering social life and travelling extensively. They collected works of art and furniture on their travels and brought them back to Mount Stewa...

During the 19th century this fine house with a sweeping panorama of Kinvara Bay acquired a reputation for smuggling into the country contraband wine and tobacco, among other items.

There is supposed to be a cave leading from the shore into the cellars of the house, but a diligent search has failed to uncover the reputed passage. The house is now privately owned....