Category Archives: Cork

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The extraordinary ceiling in the drawing room of Fota House, County Cork. This part of the building dates from the mid-1820s when Sir Richard Morrison was employed by Fota’s owner, John Smith-Barry. The plasterwork, which had deep borders of floral wreaths containing birds alternating with lozenges of bay leaves containing trophies of musical instruments and hunting paraphernalia, bears similarities with what can be seen at Ballyfin, County Laois where the same architect was employed. However, unlike the latter where the ceilings are predominantly monochrome, at Fota the Dublin firm of Henry Sibthorpe & Son was hired towards the end of the 19th century to decorate both the drawing room and its adjacent ante room, gilding the borders while the main surface was covered with an elaborate multi-coloured scheme, partly painted and partly stencilled. 



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Once Sumptuous


Buttevant: ‘It is called in the Ecclesiastical books Bothon; by the Irish and Spencer, Kilnemullagh; and was formerly an antient corporation, being once governed by a mayor and aldermen; but by the wars it has gone to decay; ‘tis said to have suffered greatly by the last plague in Ireland. There are still to be seen the remains of a wall that surrounded the town; in this place are the remains of the once sumptuous abbey of Buttevant, founded by David de Barry (who lies buried therein) in the reign of Edw. 1st. He was lord justice of Ireland, and his tomb remains in the choir, opposite the great altar. The walls of the choir, with the nave of the church and several other buildings remain entire; also the steeple, which is a high square erected on a large gothic arch. To the S. is St Mary’s Chapel, in which are several tombs of antient Irish families; on the N.W. side of the abbey stands a ruined tower, said to have been erected by an earl of Desmond, who retired here; ‘tis called Cullin. On each side of the W. entrance of the abbey, are large piles of skulls, which some say were brought thither after the Battle of Knocknanoise, which was fought but five miles from hence.’
From Topographia Hibernica: or the Topography of Ireland, Antient and Modern, by Wm. Wenman Seward (Dublin, 1795)





‘To the south is St Mary’s Chapel, in which are several tombs of ancient Irish families, viz the Barrys, Magners, Fitz-Geralds, Prendergasts, O’Callaghans, Donegans, Meads, Dowlings, and Healys. In this chapel are the remains of an altar, and two others in the nave of the church, on each side of the choir, in which are other tombs of the Barrys, Nagles, Lombards and Supples; also, one of a later date, of Mr. Richard Morgan, who died October 15, 1748, in the 107th year of his age. This man lived above 70 years at Castle-Pooky, near Doneraile; he had been clerk of the crown and peace for this county, in king James’s time, never eat salt with his meat, and died with no other complaint than the mere effect of old age. Beside the above-mentioned tombs, there are others of the Coghlans, Mac Auliffs and O’Kiefs. About 12 years ago, as they were making a grave, the body of a woman was discovered, who had been buried here 20 years before quite whole and entire; she died of the small-pox. The skin appeared hard, dry and very stiff, of a dark brown colour; she was interred in a dry vault between two lime walls, through which the wind and air had a free passage; which probably contributed to parch up the body, and keep it so long from corruption.’
From The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork by Charles Smith (Cork, 1815)





‘The ruins of the abbey are finely situated on the steep bank of the river Awbeg, and consist chiefly of the walls of the nave, chancel and some portions of the domestic buildings; the upper part of the central tower, supported on arches of light and graceful elevation, fell down in 1814; the tomb of the founder, David de Barry, is supposed to be in the centre of the chancel, but is marked only by some broken stones which appear to have formed an enclosure. On the south side of the nave are the remains of a finely proportioned chapel in which, and also in the nave and chancel, are numerous tombs and inscriptions to the memory of the Barrys, Fitzgeralds, Lombards and others.’
From A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis (London, 1837) 


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Coming to a Bad End



After Monday’s tale of Barryscourt Castle, here is another property that formerly belonged to the once-mighty Barry family: Buttevant Castle, County Cork. Thought to date back to the early 13th century, this would have been one of their first strongholds but in due course they moved their principal residence elsewhere and Buttevant fell into decline. As indeed did the Barrys. In the late 18th century the penultimate Earl of Barrymore, a close friend of the Prince of Wales, was a notorious rake, gambler and bare-knuckle boxer. His wild ways gained him the nickname of Hellgate while his younger brother Henry, who inherited the title after his sibling’s death at the age of 23, had a clubfoot and accordingly was called Cripplegate. Meanwhile, the third sibling Augustus, despite being an Anglican clergyman, became so addicted to gambling that he was known as Newgate, supposedly because this was the only debtors’ prison in which he had not spent time. And the trio’s only sister, Lady Caroline Barry, swore with such frequency and proficiency that she was called Billingsgate, after the foul-mouthed fishwives of that market. Between the four of them, they managed to dissipate their once-great estates in Ireland, including the extensive lands around Buttevant Castle, which was bought by Scottish entrepreneur John Anderson, whose son gave the building its present appearance around 1810. Occupied until the start of the last century, it was then abandoned and has since fallen into a ruinous state.



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Reopened



The Barry family can trace its links with Ireland back to 1183 when the Cambro-Norman knight Philip de Barry arrived here accompanied by his brother Gerald – otherwise known as the chronicler Giraldus Cambrensis – and a number of followers to take possession of extensive lands in what is now County Cork. The Barrys would go on to establish a number of bases throughout the region, one of which lay a few miles to the immediate east of Cork city and came to be known as Barryscourt. Formerly located by a long-since silted inlet to Cork harbour, there is evidence of a watermill having been built here as far back as the 7th century, while signs of more substantial occupation, perhaps an early fortification, are thought to date from c.1200. However, the present castle is believed to date from the late 14th/early 15th century, some time after the Norman keep but predating the subsequently ubiquitous tower house.






In 1581 Barryscourt Castle was inherited by David de Barry, 18th Baron Barry and fifth Viscount Buttevant whose father James had died in Dublin Castle, following his participation in the second Desmond Rebellion. It would appear that around this time David de Barry deliberately ‘defaced and despoiled’ the building in order to prevent it falling into the hands of Sir Walter Raleigh who coveted the property and, indeed, briefly occupied it. Following the suppression of the rebellion, in 1583 de Barry was able to regain possession of Barryscourt and embarked on an extensive programme of repair and improvement, so that a considerable part of what can be seen today dates from that time. This includes the substantial bawn wall measuring 54 by 48 metres around the castle, with substantial towers on the south-east, north-east and north-west corners, the last of these containing a hall and garderobe. Along the south wall are a number of farm buildings dating from the 19th century by which time the castle had long since been abandoned by the original owners.
David de Barry seems to have made this his main residence: in 1606, Sir John Davies, solicitor-general for Ireland, wrote ‘From Youghall we went to Cork, and dined by the way with the Viscount Barrie, who, at his castle at Barriecourt, gave us civil and plentiful entertainment.’ However, after de Barry’s death in 1617, his grandson David, future first Earl of Barrymore, chose to make another property, Castlelyons, the family’s principle seat (for more on this castle, see Decline and Fall « The Irish Aesthete).






Measuring some 15.3 by 10.7 metres the rectangular tower house at Barryscourt is one of the largest of its kind in Ireland, thought to be exceeded only by those at Bunratty, County Clare and Blarney, County Cork. As is common with such buildings, there was only one point of access, a door with pointed arch at the northern end of the east wall. This leads into a small lobby, with a staircase to the immediate north, leading to the first floor. Remaining on the entry level, much of the rest of the space is given over to a large chamber with pointe vault and lit only by deeply-set narrow windows to ensure as much protection as possible from external attack. The limited lighting on this floor contrasts with that above which is covered by a barrel-vault, replacing an earlier pointed vault, of which evidence remains survives at the south end. Here are somewhat larger windows, as well as a simple fireplace on the west wall. Smaller rooms to the north of this space served perhaps as kitchens and garderobes. The second floor holds the castle’s great hall, lit by much larger windows, that on the north wall carrying the date 1586. The great limestone chimneypiece carries the date 1588 and the initials DB, for David de Barry, and ER, for his first wife Ellen Roche. Also on this level is a vaulted chamber that served as a private chapel for the family, while above it was a bedroom for their use. Although no longer occupied by the Barrys, the building appears to have suffered damage during the Confederate Wars of the 1640s before the property passed into the hands of the Coppinger family (for more information on this family, see Holding Court « The Irish Aesthete) who built a house here, since gone. The castle itself fell into ruin and remained in this condition until 1987 and the establishment of a charity, the Barryscourt Trust, for the purpose of conserving and developing the site. The building subsequently passed into the care of the Office of Public Works which undertook further work before closing ten years ago. Happily, having undergone further renovation, Barryscourt Castle reopened to the public last month and – judging by a recent visit – looks to be a highly popular addition to heritage properties in this part of the country.



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A Prize for Bravery


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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A Handsome House



‘Not far from Douglas is a handsome house adorned with a cupola and good plantations, the residence of Mr Richard Newenham, merchant in Cork, a gentleman who is the largest dealer in Ireland in the worsted trade, and employs some thousands in different parts of this country in spinning bay yarn, which he exports to Bristol.’ From The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork by Charles Smith (1750).
The Newenhams are believed to have settled in Cork in the early 17th century and to have prospered as merchants: in 1671 one of their number, John Newenham, served as Mayor of Cork city. One branch of the family would come to live at Coolmore (see Trans-Atlantic Links « The Irish Aesthete). Believed to have been born around 1705, Richard Newenham was the son of another John, a clothier who some years earlier had become a Quaker. His father-in-law, Thomas Wight, who also began professional life as a clothier, was author of A history of the rise and progress of the people called Quakers, in Ireland, from the year 1653 to 1700. The eldest of seven children, Richard Newenham prospered and, as noted by Charles Smith, developed a thriving textile business. As Daniel Beaumont has noted, he may also have been involved in the manufacture of sailcloth, because the village of Douglas, close to Maryborough, had become an important centre for this industry. Newenham also went into partnership with a number of other men in the business of ‘sugar making and sugar boiling’ on the southern outskirts of Cork city. In 1738 he married Sarah Devonsher, member of another successful Quaker family which was responsible for building Kilshannig (see Exuberance « The Irish Aesthete).





Probably built not long before Charles Smith published his book on Cork in 1750 and thought to be on the site of an earlier house, Maryborough was then described as having a cupola, but that no longer exists. The main body of the house is rendered, of three storeys over a raised basement, and seven bays wide, the three-bay breakfront defined with limestone quoins. A substantial flight of steps leads up to the pedimented entrance doorcase, also of limestone. The rear of the house is similar, having a three-bay breakfront but with a Gibbsian doorcase and the two upper floors being slate-fronted, as is the upper section of an extension to the east. The latter’s two-storied facade is a substantial, three-bay bow. This part of the building is thought to be a later extension from c.1830 while behind it is another addition from the late 18th century, a gable-ended wing accommodating a cantilevered Portland stone staircase: Frank Keohane proposes this as the work of local architect Michael Shanahan (who also worked in Ulster for the Earl-Bishop of Derry). The interiors of Maryborough are relatively plain, as befitted the home of a member of the Quaker community, amongst whom there was strong disapproval of gratuitous ornament. However, one room on the first floor has an elaborately decorated rococo ceiling, heavily enriched with scrolling acanthus leaves and an abundance of floral bouquets. 





Following Richard Newenham’s death in 1759, Maryborough was inherited by his only son John, and after the latter died in turn his son, another Richard, inherited the property. In 1837 it was described by Samuel Lewis as ‘the residence of E.E. Newenham Esq., a noble mansion in a spacious demesne, embellished with stately timber.’
Maryborough remained in the ownership of the Newenhams until the late 19th century, although rented out for some years before being sold to Thomas Sherrard in 1889. His descendants lived there until 1995 when the place was sold to the present owners who turned the house into an hotel, with a large bedroom extension added to the south and, more recently, an orangery/function room to the immediate west of the old building.


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The Four Penny Castle


Now surrounded by suburban housing, Monkstown Castle, County Cork once stood proud in its own grounds and overlooking the estuary of the river Lee and access to Cork harbour. The building dates back to the 17th century when it was constructed c.1636 by one Anastasia Gould, wife of John Archdeacon, said to have been a naval officer who was overseas supporting the King of Spain. Legend has it that when he returned home and saw this large structure on his land, he immediately assumed it had been erected by his enemies, and accordingly fired on it, one cannon ball hitting the battlements. The other story associated with Monkstown Castle is that Anastasia Gould was determined not to waste money on its construction and so employed the workmen at a fixed rate with the stipulation that they purchase their daily food supplies and so forth from her at a moderate price. When the job was finished, all bills paid and all sums collected, she found that the castle had cost her precisely four pence. 




Like many similar properties in Ireland, Monkstown Castle has experienced mixed fortunes over the centuries. The Archdeacons do not appear to have enjoyed possession of the building for very long as in the aftermath of the Confederate Wars and the arrival of the Cromwell’s New Model Army, both castle and surrounding estate were granted to Colonel Hercules Huncks, remembered today for having refused to sign Charles I’s execution order (and accordingly being described by Oliver Cromwell as a ‘froward, peevish fellow’). Huncks sold the property to Michael Boyle, Dean of Cloyne (and future Archbishop of Armagh) but in the aftermath of the Restoration the Archdeacons were living there once more, perhaps as tenants of Boyle. In any case, owing to their allegiance to the Stuart cause, they lost the castle again in the aftermath of the Williamite Wars and in due course it was inherited by two of his granddaughters who had married into the Vesey and Pakenham families; thus portions of the estate came to be owned by both the Earl of Longford and the Viscount de Vesci. How well the castle stood is open to question. In 1700 during his Visitation to the diocese Dive Downes, Bishop of Cork and Ross wrote that ‘Mr. O’Callaghan, a Protestant, lives in Monkstown, in a good square castle with flankers. However, at some point in the 18th century it was rented to the government to serve as an army barracks and in his Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork first published in 1750, Charles Smith says the castle ‘is large and in ruins, and is flanked by 4 square turrets.’ On the other hand, the Dublin Penny Journal of August 1833, although judging it a ‘large and gloomy pile of building’, comments that the castle is ‘in good repair.’ 




By the early 19th century, Monkstown Castle was owned by the Veseys but leased to one Bernard Shaw, Collector of Cork Port and a member of the same family as the future dramatist George Bernard Shaw. A large chimneypiece inside the building carries the initials B.S. and the date 1804 (as well as 1636) , indicating work was undertaken here at that time, undertaken by local architect William Deane. Bernard Shaw was duly succeeded by his son, Bernard Robert Shaw who lived here until 1869 when he and his wife moved to England where they died. Whether the castle was still occupied is open to question as around 1840 the Shaws had built a large residence close by, called. Castle House. In June 1871 the estate of Bernard Robert Shaw running to 905 acres was advertised for sale. At the start of the last century, the castle was used by the local badminton club before being acquired in 1908 by the newly-established Monkstown Golf Club, which then made the building its club house. MGC bought the castle and what was then a nine-hole course from the De Vesci estate in 1959 for £4,000, selling the castle and some 32 acres in 1967 for £22,000. Thereafter, while the surrounding land was divided up into plots for housing, the castle remained empty and falling into disrepair, becoming a roofless shell. Between 2008 and 2010 extensive restoration work was carried out on the property, which had permission to be divided into three apartments. However, while re-roofed and made watertight, the building was then left unfinished and has remained in this state ever since. In recent years, it has been on the market for €800,000. Not a huge sum, but somewhat more than the four pence the castle originally cost Anastasia Gould. 


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As the Wheel Turns



Located beside the river Laney, the former corn mill at Bealick, County Cork was constructed by the Harding family in the closing years of the eighteenth century at a time when demand for cereal crops were high due to the Anglo-French wars. Of rubble stone, the triple-pile gable-fronted eight-bay four-storey building continued in operation throughout the 19th century and in 1899 the mill wheel’s power was harnessed to provide electricity to nearby Macroom: seemingly the town was one of the first in the country to benefit from electric street lighting. Fallen into dereliction, the building was restored a decade ago and turned into a visitor centre, although the premises were resolutely closed when the Irish Aesthete paid a call.



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A Missed Opportunity




In her marvellous memoir Bricks and Flower, Katherine Everett described how, in August 1922 and at the age of 50, she had cycled from Limerick to Macroom, County Cork at the request of her distant cousin and godmother Olive, Lady Ardilaun to see what remained of the latter’s property, a castle in the centre of the town which had just been burned by anti-Treaty forces. Located above the river Sullane, the castle dates back to the 12th century and for several hundred years was occupied by the McCarthys before eventually passing into the ownership of the Hedges Eyre family before eventually being inherited by Lady Ardilaun. Two years after the fire, she sold the castle to a group of local businessmen; the main part of the building was demolished in the 1960s, with just the outer walls remaining, a series of mediocre school buildings erected within them. What survives suffers badly from neglect (as indeed does the river and the nine-arch bridge crossing which dates from c.1800) with the local county council failing to make the most of what has potential to be a popular visitor attraction. Instead, Macroom’s most significant piece of architectural heritage as been left to moulder: a missed opportunity.


The Bishop’s Legacy



After Monday’s tale of Riverstown, County Cork, here are the scant remains of another, slightly earlier property built by another member of the same family. In 1710 Dr Peter Browne, former Provost of Trinity College Dublin, was appointed Church of Ireland Bishop of the United Dioceses of Cork and Ross. Ten years later, he acquired some 118 acres of land to the immediate south-east of the city, with the intention of constructing there ‘a good, substantial and convenient dwelling house and a chapel thereunto adjoining together with suitable offices.’ Named Bishopstown and finished in 1726 at a cost of more than £2,000, he created this property and surrounding demesne to serve as “a fit and convenient residence for himself and his successors, the bishops of Cork and Ross”.  The adjacent chapel was consecrated in 1730. Alas, his successors failed to appreciate this legacy and already by 1792 the house at Bishopstown was described as being ‘in a state of decay and totally unfit for the residence of the bishop.’ In the early 1830s the place was leased to a farmer and then in 1878 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners sold the land and buildings. It passed through various hands before being bought by Cork Corporation about half a century ago. Many of the buildings were then in a better condition than is now the case (and some of them have been demolished over the intervening years). What remains is a former farmhouse incorporating an early 18th century limestone doorcase retrieved from the since-lost mansion, and the skeletal remains of the chapel (see below). In the immediate vicinity, jostling for attention with a children’s playground, are a pair of small, three-arched bridges and fragments of a circular battlemented shell house, thought perhaps to have been built during the episcopacy of Robert Clayton, the bishop here 1735-45. Bishopstown today is a heavily-developed suburb of Cork city.