Category Archives: Lodge

Better Treatment



After the rather sad spectacle of the O’Callaghan Mausoleum shown here last week (see Shabby Treatment « The Irish Aesthete) here is another building associated with the same family: a former shooting lodge at Glengarra, County Tipperary. It was constructed for Cornelius O’Callaghan, first Viscount Lismore, who also commissioned the now-demolished Shanbally Castle, completed in 1819. Since the latter was designed by John Nash, it is often proposed that this architect was also responsible for the Tudoresque lodge, which presumably dates from around the same period: in 1837 Samuel Lewis noted that ‘his Lordship has lately erected a lodge, a structure of much beauty in the glen of the Galtees.’ In the late 1930s, the building was leased to the Irish Youth Hostel Association An Óige who used it as accommodation for visitors until 2012. It then sat empty for several years and suffered the inevitable vandalism but in 2015 a local group, the Burncourt Community Council, undertook to rescue the lodge and restore it as an amenity for the area. It now serves as location for a variety of activities.


On the Game



Buried in woodland to the north of the main house, this is an early 19th century gothick lodge at Mount Stewart, County Down. Known as the ‘Gamekeeper’s House’, the building is thought to have been constructed around 1810 or possibly a little later and was given the appearance of a miniature fort, thanks to crenellations along the top and the little pyramidal finials at each corner. Above the pointed arch windows and entrance are blind quatrefoils, another fanciful detail. Inside, there are just two rooms, each with a vaulted ceiling rising the full height of the house: the gabled timber porch was a late 19th century addition. This charming lodge was used by a hunting syndicate until about six years ago, but is now standing empty and, alas, falling into disrepair.