The Restoration

The urgent need for repairs had become all too apparent when a large part of the ceiling in the Gold Room collapsed having been undermined by wet rot. Masonry was falling from the façade and the Conservatory, choked with overgrown vegetation, was in a dangerous state. The future of one of Ireland’s finest houses was perilously uncertain.

The restoration project took nine years - significantly longer than it took to build the house in the first place. Every single aspect of the house from the roof down required remedial attention. Skilled craftsmen worked on the elaborate inlaid floors, repaired the gilding and the stucco work or treated the stone work of the house which was disintegrating. After this emergency work, a process of redecoration could begin with carefully selected paint finishes, papers and textiles bringing the interiors back to life. The house has been furnished with a collection of Irish art and antiques from around the world, fine Irish mahogany, French chandeliers and mirrors by Thomas Chippendale. The result was spectacular, and one of Ireland's most endangered great houses emerged ready for the current century, a place of grandeur, yet warmth, providing the kind of welcome envisaged when the house was first built.