This weekend, it is announced that the latest recipient of the Historic Houses of Ireland/O’Flynn Group Heritage Prize is Clonalis, County Roscommon. Today home to the 27th generation of the O’Conor family since their forebear was the last High King of Ireland in the 12th century, the present house at Clonalis dates from the late 1870s but occupies a site associated with the O’Conors for hundreds of years, and is filled with historic material linking them with significant events in this country. The library, for example, contains over 7,000 volumes and is one of the finest such collections in Ireland.
The Historic Houses of Ireland/O’Flynn Group Heritage Prize is an initiative devised by the Irish Aesthete to acknowledge the importance of our privately-owned heritage properties and to recognise the invaluable work by their owners. For this reason, the prize is being presented in association with Historic Houses of Ireland, a charity established in 2008 to promote the immediate and long-term future of the country’s privately owned historic properties. All HHI members are owners of such buildings and they understand better than anyone the sector’s particular problems, especially over the past year. Worth €5,000 and adjudicated by a small group of assessors, the prize is generously sponsored by the O’Flynn Group has already shown itself keenly aware of the importance of providing a viable future for historic buildings, as can be seen in the company’s own redevelopment of the early 19th century former barracks site in Ballincollig, County Cork. The Irish Aesthete congratulates Clonalis and its owners on being very worthy recipients of the prize.
I would be very nice to be able to watch a video about the interior.
“Tales from the Big House” Episode 2 was all about Clonalis:
Nice video. Thanks for posting.
Tom
What a very beautiful house, and the library is so inviting _ I would love to be sitting there before the fire browsing the books…..
What a beautiful house, and the library is so inviting – i woud love to be sprawled on that sofa in front of the fire browsing some of those books
Exactly my thoughts and sentiments. I love (among other things) beautiful libraries full of exquisite bindings. And let’s not forget some very fine coffee!
What an exquisite mirror. Should there be a relationship between the HHI and the IGS ?
It was about time we hear some good news! It is so depressing to read/hear nothing but stories of decay, neglect, criminal indifference, the demolition of some beautiful old house, etc…
The HHI deserves a great deal of credit and support. However, I am afraid most Irish billionaires would prefer to spend money in some garish yacht or a ridiculously overpriced car than supporting the HHI (sadly, it is a symbol of the times we live in…)