Irish readers over a certain age may remember the name Molly Cusack-Smith, since her colourful exploits (and sometimes language) often appeared in newspapers during the closing decades of the last …

After Monday’s examination of a fake castle in County Tipperary, here is a real one, albeit now in very poor condition, elsewhere in the same county. On the banks of the river Cromogue, Borrisoleig…

The origins of the Royal Irish Constabulary can be traced back to July 1814 when Robert Peel, then Chief Secretary for Ireland, established the Peace Preservation Force, a rudimentary policing body…

Above are the stone gate piers at the entrance to Kilmacroom, County Cork. Below are the gate piers at the entrance to Hazelwood, which lies a mile or so away from the first property, both being ho…

Buried inside the present 19th century Wells House in County Wexford is a much older building, thought to date from the second half of the 17th century. This was constructed by John Warren, a soldi…

Yet another example of the Church of Ireland’s ambitious building strategy during the 19th century, this is St John’s in Kilturk, County Wexford. Later than most and not part of the Board of First …

‘Among Mr. Windele’s MSS.* in the Royal Irish Academy is to be found a comparison between Mallow Castle and that of Dromaneen, which latter was erected by the O’Callaghans, and occupies…

In a corner of the graveyard surrounding the now roofless 19th century church at Killaloan, County Tipperary can be seen this very substantial square limestone mausoleum. On one side, a pair of mar…

‘Crossing the left bank of the Boyne at Bellinter bridge we enter the noble demesne of Ardsallagh, now belonging to the Duke of Bedford, who has recently erected here a handsome Elizabethan mansion…

After last Monday’s discussion of the incomplete fantasy that is Brittas Castle, here are some remains of the real thing. Moylough Castle in County Galway dates from the first half of the 13th cent…

In January 1835, The Gentleman’s Magazine reported that Major Henry Langley of Brittas Castle, County Tipperary, ‘late Captain in the 2nd Life Guards’ had died the previous year on October 12th at …

South of Enniscorthy and close to the banks of the river Slaney, the Cambro-Norman Fitzhenrys are believed to have built Macmine Castle, County Wexford in the 13th century and remained on the site …

‘Clonmines: Ths group of ruins is of more than ordinary interest, as it contains a church which was described by the late G. V. Du Noyer as, in his opinion, quite unique in Ireland, if not in…

Deep in the woods of Monivea, County Galway can be found the ffrench Mausoleum. This was commissioned by Kathleen ffrench to commemorate her father Robert who died in 1896. Said to have been design…

The O’Dwyer family claimed descent from Milesius of Spain who, according to legend, conquered Ireland for the Gaels (hence the term ‘Milesians’ to describe the Irish race). By the late Middle Ages,…

The castellated entrance into the former estate at Tynan Abbey, County Armagh. In his definitive guide to the gate lodges of Ulster (1994) J.A.K. Dean describes this the building as a romantic Goth…

Last May, the Irish Aesthete looked at the sad fate of St Loman’s, Mullingar, a vast range of buildings dating from the 1850s and originally opened as a lunatic asylum (see Squandering National Res…

After last Monday’s concern over the fate of Ballyteige Castle, County Wexford, here is an example of what can happen to a neglected historic monument. This is Barnaderg Castle, County Galway, a fi…

Nine years ago, Wexford County Council opened the first phase of ‘The Norman Way’, a 65-kilometer self-guided heritage trail along the south-east coast, which leads to a variety of mediaeval buildi…

Named after John Audley who owned the property in the 16th century, Audley’s Castle, County Down dates from the middle of the previous century when constructed on a rocky site high above Strangford…

In 1887, Constance Duguid, daughter of a wealthy wine merchant based in Dover, came to Ireland to visit her sister Madeleine who lived in Myshall, County Carlow as wife of the local rector. During …

At the top of a long, tree-lined laneway and adjacent to the very fragmentary remains of a sixth century monastery founded by a disciple of Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, this is Leitir or Letter Ho…

Mount Juliet, County Kilkenny dates from the 1760s when commissioned by Somerset Butler, 8th Viscount Ikerrin and 1st Earl of Carrick from an unknown architect. Located on an estate he had bought t…

The gates and gatelodge which once led to Ryehill, County Galway. The estate here originally belonged to a branch of the Redington family, whose main residence was elsewhere in the county at Kilcor…

A former lock keeper’s cottage on the Royal Canal in County Westmeath. Dating from c.1810 and adjacent to Lock Number 35, the cottage was built to a common plan and style by the Royal Canal C…

In 1862 The Dublin Exhibition Palace and Winter Garden Company Limited was established with a capital of £50,000 by three men, the Duke of Leinster, Lord Talbot de Malahide and Benjamin Lee Guinnes…

Dating from the end of the 15th century, Farney Castle, County Tipperary began as one of the circular tower houses that are predominantly found in this part of the country. Originally owned by the …

‘Abbey of Sligo: A monastery was founded in this town A.D. 1253 by Maurice Fitz Gerald, then Lord Justice, under the invocation of the Holy Cross, for friars of the Order of St. Dominick. It is sea…

Castle Hackett, County Galway dates back to the 13th century when, as the name indicates, it was built by the Anglo-Norman Hacketts who had arrived in the country during the previous century and mo…

One of the oldest institutions in this country, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland dates back to 1654, although its first royal charter was granted by Charles II in 1667. The man behind thi…

For many years, the Irish Aesthete has driven past a castle in County Tipperary and wondered about its history. No need to wonder any more: the Irish Penny Journal, Vol.1, No.44, published in May 1…

The former County Infirmary in Armagh city. As designed by George Ensor, work began on the building in 1767, but was only completed in 1776 with the south wing overseen by architect Richard Louch a…

‘It was a sadder sight than one would think, To see that ruined church upon the hill, Deserted, dreary, lone and desolate; But then its spire would point to heaven still. Like standard-bearer…

A little detail likely missed by most of the car drivers and pedestrians hurrying past the Garda Station at the junction of Pearse and College Streets. The Scottish Baronial building dates from 191…

Regular visitors to this site will know that the Irish Aesthete is always delighted to learn of an historic property undergoing restoration, especially when this work is being tackled by private ow…

After Monday’s post showing the wonderfully restored walled garden at Glenarm Castle, County Antrim, here is the Barbican Gate. Located on the far side of a bridge leading into the village, the bui…

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date; Sometime too hot the eye…

The remains of a late medieval church at Templecross, County Westmeath. The building was once part of the adjacent Tristernagh Abbey estate, granted by Elizabeth I to the soldier William Piers as a…

There has sometimes been confusion over the likely birthplace in Dublin of the Hon Arthur Wellesley, future Duke of Wellington, since the location was given as Antrim House. The property known by t…

The former Royal Irish Constabulary barracks in Mullinahone, County Tipperary dates from c.1850 and was variously occupied by that organisation, then the Black and Tans during the War of Independen…

In Ireland, there were a number of landed families with the surname Browne, not all of whom were related to each other. There were, for example, the Brownes who eventually became Earls of Kenmare a…

Following Monday’s entry on St Loman’s Hospital in Mullingar, County Westmeath, nothing better exemplifies the Health Service Executive’s indifference to the condition of historic buildings suppose…

On 13 September 1847, the Lord Lieutenant and Council of Ireland made an order that an Asylum for Lunatic Poor be constructed near Mullingar, County Westmeath, to accommodate 300 inmates and to be …

After Monday’s post about St Mary’s Cathedral in Tuam, County Galway which featured a High Cross, here is another of the latter, located to the west of the church in the hilltop village of Tynan, C…

‘The cathedral movement has taken root in Ireland. Our readers must be familiar with the new cathedral at Kilmore, and the restorations in progress at S. Patrick’s, Dublin, ( though, we regre…

At the eastern end of the graveyard around St Owen’s church in Ballymore, County Westmeath and surrounded by tombstones going back several hundred years is this little mausoleum or mortuary chapel …

‘The castle of Ballintober, the chief seat of the O’Conors, in which Felim [Felim Geancach O’Connor King of Connaught, 1406–1474] spent most of his time, deserves more than a passing notice. …

Visiting Kilkenny Castle in 1699, English bookseller John Dunton enthused over the building’s gallery, writing that ‘for length, variety of gilded chairs, and the curious pictures that adorn it, ha…