August 2015
March 2018
April 2023
Regular readers of this site may remember that five years ago, the Irish Aesthete established an annual prize for owners of historic houses here, kindly sponsored by the O’Flynn Group and organised in conjunction with Historic Houses of Ireland (HHI). This year’s recipients of the prize are the owners of Dromdiah, County Cork, about which more can be read here: The Age of Austerity « The Irish Aesthete.
When first visited almost a decade ago, the house was a roofless shell, smothered with vegetation both inside and out, and widely regarded as beyond salvation. Not long afterwards it was bought and since then has undergone a painstaking restoration that now nears completion (the owners hope to move into the building later this year). The work at Dromdiah shows that no property is beyond salvation and once again demonstrates a new wave of interest in bringing Ireland’s historic houses back to life. As such it is a very worthy recipient of the 2025 HHI-O’Fynn Group Heritage Prize.
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!!! What a great rescue !!!
A very worthy recipient. I just wish there was more could be done to help historic property owners. More often than not, houses are lost because the owners don’t have funds to match grants. But it’s wonderful when a great building like this is saved.
What a magnificent example of intelligent restoration! Let’s hope this inspires others to follow their example, anything is possible if you want it enough.
I hope they received some suitable government grants for their efforts
Glorious resurrection!
Nice to see a plan to fully restore and actually use this wonderful place.
Absolutely incredible! Brave people.
They deserve the award for what they have achieved in restoring the property.
Huge achievement. Bravo.
Thanks for all your work to highlight these beautiful estates and it is so lovely when one is restored to its former glory! Huge achievement indeed!