As its name indicates, the little coastal village of Castletownshend, County Cork grew up around a castle occupied from c.1665 onwards by Richard Townsend, and still in the ownership of his descendants. Castletownshend offers an example of how a small urban settlement can retain its character and charm, and thereby attract visitors who during the summer months throng the place. Located on a small side-street rather grandly called The Mall, the mid-18th century house above has retained much of its original appearance, as is the case for the majority of other properties in the village. A number have benefitted from more recent sympathetic owners such as the house below: dating from the 1880s, prior to independence it was occupied by the Royal Irish Constabulary. Castletownshend is a model of how to get it right.
great to see some well maintained (and very elegant) properties after your post on Millbrook in Laois etc. We were in York last month and it was lovely and wonderfully accommodating to tourists (ie traffic restrictions so you could really stroll around – free tours provided by civic minded volunters) – we really don’t have that many heritage properties in Ireland and seeing them neglected, pulled down or ham-fisted restorations seems so short-sighted