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Historic Houses & Country Estates

Georgian mansions, walled gardens, and sweeping parkland demesnes

Across Ireland, stately Georgian and Victorian country houses preserve fine plasterwork, period furnishings, and carefully laid-out demesne landscapes. Many estates now welcome visitors to stroll through formal walled gardens, woodland arboretums, and riverside parklands. These ten houses and estates capture centuries of architectural craft.
Kilkea Castle — photo by GsmithEIDW #1

Kilkea Castle

Kilkea Castle is located 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of Castledermot, County Kildare, Ireland near the village of Kilkea on the R418 regional road from Athy to Tullow. It was a medieval stronghold, for over 700 years, of the Fitzgeralds, earls of Kildare.

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Dangan Castle — photo by J. Stirling Coyne #2

Dangan Castle

Dangan Castle is a former stately home in County Meath, Ireland, which is now in a state of ruin. It is situated by Dangan Church on the Trim Road. The castle is the former seat of the Wesley (Wellesley) family and is located outside the village of Summerhill. It was the childhood home of Field Marshal The 1st Duke of Wellington.

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Castle Saunderson — photo by C.A.Saunderson #3

Castle Saunderson

Castle Saunderson (Irish: Caisleán Shandarsan) is a castle near Belturbet in County Cavan, Ireland. It was the former family seat of the Saunderson family, and is now in ruins. The Finn River flows along the north-eastern edge of the Castle Saunderson Demesne, where the river enters a narrow channel of Upper Lough Erne. The castle is about a half a mile west from Wattlebridge, a small hamlet in the south-south-east of County Fermanagh. The Castle Saunderson International Scouting Centre is a Scouting Ireland facility, opened in 2012 within the grounds of the castle. The centre provides indoor accommodation and campsites covering 34 acres (14 ha). It is open to Scouts year round, as well as to non-Scouts for most of the year. It currently acts as a World Scouting Centre for the Scouts, alongside Cairo International Scout Centre in Egypt and others.

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Kilronan Castle — photo by John D'Alton #4

Kilronan Castle

Kilronan Castle, previously known as Castle Tenison, is a large country house standing in 40 acres (16 ha) of parkland on the shore of Lough Meelagh in County Roscommon, Ireland, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the village of Ballyfarnon. The house, originally constructed c.1820, was considerably expanded in the 1880s to form the current building. The newer part is a two storey, irregular building with a large baronial tower adjacent to the older building. It now functions as a spa hotel.

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Duckett's Grove — photo by Irlandahijo #6

Duckett's Grove

Duckett's Grove (Irish: Garrán Duckett) is a ruined 19th-century great house and former estate in County Carlow, Ireland. Belonging to the Duckett family, the house was formerly the focal point of a 12,000-acre (49 km2) estate, and dominated the local landscape of the area for more than two centuries. The interior of the house was destroyed by a major fire in the 1930s and is now inaccessible. The surrounding gardens, including two inter-connecting walled gardens, are now managed by Carlow County Council and open as a public park.

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Florence Court House — photo by Andrew Humphreys (User:Andrewhumphreys) #7

Florence Court House

Florence Court is a large 18th-century house and estate located eight miles (13 km) south-west of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is set in the foothills of Cuilcagh Mountain. The nearby village is distinguished by the one-word name Florencecourt. It is owned and managed by the National Trust and is the sister property of nearby Castle Coole. The other National Trust property in County Fermanagh is the Crom Estate.

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Humewood Castle — photo by Book authored by Charles Eastlake - the engraver is not attributed #8

Humewood Castle

Humewood Castle is a 32,668 square feet (3,035.0 m2) Gothic-fantasy mansion built in 1870 in 427 acres of parkland at Kiltegan, County Wicklow in Ireland. The mansion was originally built by the English architect William White and extended by James Brooks as a private residence of the Hume family. As of 2024, it is owned by American billionaire John C. Malone. Built of granite, the three-story main building is flanked by a tall, round turreted tower at one end and a more angular tower at the other. The ground floor consists of a drawing room, dining room, salon and ballroom banqueting hall and a lower ground floor a billiard room, smoking room and wine cellar. The upper floors contain 12 bedrooms.

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Brownlow House — photo by Alastair Rae #9

Brownlow House

Brownlow House, also known as Brownlow Castle and Lurgan Castle, is a Grade A listed 19th century house located in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. It was built for Irish politician Charles Brownlow, 1st Baron Lurgan in 1833 by Scottish architect William Henry Playfair and was used as a military headquarters in both world wars.

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Killymoon Castle — photo by Kenneth  Allen #10

Killymoon Castle

Killymoon Castle is a castle situated about one mile (1.6 km) south east of Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, on the north bank of the Ballinderry River. It is located above the Ballinderry River with a back-drop of woodland and parkland. The garden front is dominated by an almost central battlemented, machicolated round tower and turret that protrudes from the facade. At one end is an octagonal tower with similar features; and at the other end (the front) is the square tower in the base of which is arched to accommodate a porte-cochére. This tower also has slender, octagonal clasping buttresses with cupolas. The windows are pointed, grouped together under segmental hood mouldings. An 18-hole golf course was built on the parkland, where British tournaments have been played.

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