Category Archives: Offaly

Easily Overlooked



Some distance to the east of the main site at Clonmacnoise, County Offaly, and easily (although unwisely) overlooked, are the remains of the Nuns’ Church. This little building was built in 1167 under the patronage of Dearbhfhorghaill, wife of Tighearnan O’Rourke, King of Breifne. Famously, 15 years earlier, she had eloped with/been abducted by Dermot MacMurrough Kavanagh, an incident often deemed to have precipitated the Norman invasion of Ireland. The church later fell into disrepair, but both the entrance doorway and the chancel arch were reconstructed in the mid-19th century and are now outstanding examples of Hiberno-Romanesque design, both replete with geometric designs, along with human and animal forms on the chancel capitals. 



The Irish Aesthete is generously supported by

A Site Lonely and Desolate


‘Adjacent to a branch of “the Bog” are the interesting ruins of Clonmacnois, the school where, according to Dr O’Conor, “the nobility of Connaught had their children educated, and which was therefore called Cluain-mac-nois, the secluded recess of the sons of nobles.” It was also, in ancient times, a famous cemetery of the Irish kings, and for many centuries it has continued a favourite burial-place, the popular belief enduring to this day, that all persons interred here pass immediately from earth to heaven. The abbey is said to have been founded by St. Kieran around the middle of the sixth century, and soon became “amazingly enriched”, so that, writes Mr Archdall, “its landed property was so great, and the number of cells and monasteries subjected to it so numerous, that almost half of Ireland was said to be within the bounds of Clonmacnois.” The ruins retain marks of exceeding splendour. In the immediate vicinity there are two “Round Towers”.’
From Ireland: Its Scenery, Character, &, by Mr & Mrs S.C. Hall, Vol. 2 (1842) 






‘We now pass the Grand Canal, and at Shannon Bridge see, on the right, the celebrated ruins of Clonmacnoise, the most recent description of which is given by Dr. Rodenburg, as follows: “Close to the shore stands Clonmacnoise, one of the most remarkable ruins in this island of the saints. The banks rise here slightly, and on the grass-clad mound stand two round towers, ruins of churches and a cemetery. On the first hillock are the sunken walls of an old ecclesiastical building; on another hill is the great round tower. The roof has disappeared, and a broad belt of ivy winds like a garland round its centre. Down in the bottom, rather further inland, is the second round tower, still perfect, and behind it, M’Dermott’s Church with its splendid round arched portal, fresh as if carved but yesterday. From the mound of the great round tower to the second the ground is covered with upright gravestones, among which stands a ruin, St Kieran’s Church, where the saint himself is said to be buried. The wonder of Clonmacnoise is St Kieran’s Stone, a cross of rare beauty, covered with sacred images. A wall surrounds the holy spot, which is to this day the scene of many pilgrimages and processions”.’
From How to Spend a Month in Ireland, and What it Will Cost by Sir Cusack Patrick Roney (1861) 






‘Like most of these sites, Clonmacnoise occupies a site lonely and desolate, significant of that spirit of asceticism which was wont to exclude the world and repel its busy life. The loneliness of Glendalough is that of the secluded valley; that of Clonmacnoise of the desolate flat in the midst of a wild moorland country, over which the Bog of Allen stretches its almost interminable waste. “If ever,” says Otway, “there was a picture of grim, hideous repose, it is the flow of the Shannon from Athlone to Clonmacnoise.” Round a swampy flat of meadow the river winds in an amphitheatre, upon the southern curve of which the seven churches are erected. To obtain the best view of the group, one should ascend the green hill which rises at the northern extremity like an oasis in the desert. From this he will see the churches, the two round towers, the overhanging bastions of the old castle of O’Melaghlin, all rising, ruinous and desolate, as if out of the brown bog that stretches away southward…In the extensive churchyard most of the churches are situated, and the intervening spaces are crowded with tombs and graves ancient and modern – for it is still a favourite place of burial with the people – with inscriptions in the oldest form or Irish characters to the modern Roman and Italian letters. But perhaps the most remarkable and interesting objects are the numerous antique crosses, some of the most exquisite workmanship and richly carved with scriptural subjects.’
From Picturesque Europe: A Delineation by Pen and Pencil, by Bayard Taylor, Vol. 1 (1875)  


The Irish Aesthete is generously supported by

Left of Centre



After last week’s coverage of Loughton, County Offaly, here is the site where various members of the families who once owned the property are interred. Dating from 1830, the mausoleum stands in the graveyard of nearby Borrisnafarney church, erected the previous year with funds provided by the late Thomas Ryder Pepper who, it will be remembered, had died in 1828 following a hunting accident. Of dressed limestone with a pitched slab stone roof, the Gothic Revival building has buttresses at each corner and at the centre of the side elevations, at the top of which run lines of arcades. One curious detail: note how the pointed arch doorcase is not quite in the middle of the building (instead being slightly to the left of centre). Having fallen into some disrepair, the mausoleum underwent restoration in 2022.



The Irish Aesthete is generously supported by

A Picturesque Eye Catcher




After Monday’s post about Loughton, County Offaly, here is an earlier dwelling found within the demesne. Standing on raised ground to the immediate south of the main house and evidently retained as a romantic eye-catcher, this is a four storey tower house likely dating from the early 17th century when constructed for the then-dominant O’Carroll family. Circular bartizans remain at the top of the building on the south-west and north-east corners, with an internal staircase beginning on the east wall before turning 90 degrees and ascending up the north. A large fireplace opening also remains on the east side of the now-roofless castle.




The Irish Aesthete is generously supported by

Another Gratifying Example



Following the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, Captain George Pepper was confirmed by the crown in ownership of Ballygarth Castle, County Meath, a property that had hitherto belonged to the Netterville family. However, by the second half of the 18th century, one branch of the Peppers had settled in County Offaly where, in 1777 they commissioned a new residence called Loughton. Facing north across sweeping parkland, as originally constructed, the house had its entrance located in a central canted bay with two bays on either side, and probably looking not unlike Newhall, County Clare (see New Blood for New Hall « The Irish Aesthete). It served as home to Thomas Ryder Pepper until killed in a hunting accident in 1828. Having no direct heir, he directed that Loughton be left to his brother-in-law, Lt-General Benjamin Bloomfield, who had been created Baron Bloomfield three years before. After a distinguished career in the army, Bloomfield had entered royal service, acting as an Aide-de-Camp, then Chief Equerry and Clerak Marshall to the Prince of Wales, before becoming Private Secretary to George IV, as well as Keeper of the Privy Purse and Receiver of the Duchy of Cornwall from 1817-22. It was in his role as Keeper of the Privy Purse that he ran into trouble, since Bloomfield attempted to curb the monarch’s notorious extravagance, thereby not only incurring the latter’s wrath but also that of Lady Conyngham, George IV’s mistress and a frequent beneficiary of his largesse: once a great friend of the king, Bloomfield was ignominiously removed from his positions in 1822. 





Following the first Lord Bloomfield’s death in 1846, Loughton was inherited by his only son, John, second baron and diplomat who began his career in 1824 acting as an attaché in Lisbon. In 1851 he was appointed ambassador to Berlin and from thence to Vienna in 1860, eventually retiring 11 years later. When he died in 1879, he left no legitimate heir, although while posted to Stockholm in 1826 he had at least one child with Swedish actress Emilie Högquist, later mistress of King Oscar I. The Loughton estate then passed to Benjamin Bloomfield Trench, whose mother Georgiana had been a sister of the second Lord Bloomfield: the Trenches lived not far away at Cangort Park (see A Work in Progress « The Irish Aesthete). Benjamin Bloomfield Trench and his wife Dora had two daughters, and following their deaths, Loughton passed once again to another relation, Major Anthony Guy Atkinson, whose family for many generations had also lived in the area at Cangort House (see A Feast of Colour and Light « The Irish Aesthete). His son would sell Loughton in 2001 to Dr James Reilly, former Minister for Health who, in turn, sold the property to its present owners in 2016. 





As seen today, Loughton shows the results of a radical remodelling and enlargement of the house undertaken by architect James Pain in the mid-1830s for the first Lord Bloomfield. On the exterior, the entrance was moved from the north front’s canted bow to a new single-storey extension on the east side, leaving a rather sober rendered facade of three storeys over basement, tall, plain and relieved only by the windows’ limestone dressings. The eight-bay, south-facing garden front is altogether more immediately engaging, reversing the plan on the north side so that full-height canted bays flank a central two-bay recess, the window treatments also more dressed with details such as pediments and entablatures on console brackets. One curious feature is that the heights of the windows in the two central bays have not been raised to match those on either side, thereby disrupting the lines. The enfilade of principal reception rooms lies immediately behind this front, the drawing room leading to the library and thence the dining room. Immediately behind the library, Pain cleverly used the canted bow former entrance as a hall, its cantilevered stone staircase snaking around the walls to the main bedrooms immediately above. The most important of these formerly contained a richly carved bed made in 1821 in expectation of a visit to the house by George IV: the king never came to Loughton but the bed remained in situ until very regrettably sold at auction in 2016. Meanwhile, off the staircase hall can be found the former billiard room which acquired its present decoration of inlaid doors and window shutters, as well as a Tudor Revival chimneypiece, around 1890 seemingly thanks to Dora, wife of Benjamin Bloomfield Trench. Since acquiring the property nine years ago, when all the contents were sold, the current owners have been working both to refurbish and refurnish Loughton, an arduous task given the size of the place. Nevertheless, given how much has already been achieved here, their ambitions seem perfectly achievable. This is another gratifying example of what can be done to ensure Ireland’s historic houses have a viable future. 



The Irish Aesthete is generously supported by

Somewhat Pharaonic



On high ground to the south of St Finian’s church in Kinnitty, County Offaly, this is a mausoleum erected to commemorate the Bernard family who lived nearby at Castle Bernard (now Kinnitty Castle). There seems to be some confusion over who was responsible for commissioning the structure, with many writers proposing that, following time spent in Egypt, Richard Wellesley Bernard did so in 1834 , but since he was then only aged 12 and had yet to leave Ireland, this seems unlikely. It may instead have been his father, Thomas Bernard, who died that year and was also responsible for rebuilding the family house. In the Pevsner Guide to this part of the country, Andrew Tierney proposes that the inspiration for the mausoleum came from the first century BC Pyramid of Cestius found next to the Protestant Cemetery in Rome. Of grey sandstone ashlar, rather unusually, the blocks run diagonally across each face before interlocking in the middle. Notice also how the cast-iron doors giving access to the interior are laid flush with the wall.



The Irish Aesthete is generously supported by

Simple but Effective



The Mucklagh Gate formerly providing access to the Charleville Forest estate (see: The Consequence of Extravagance « The Irish Aesthete). Although the date 1860 is inscribed on a lintel, it is possible that this castellated building was designed at the start of the 19th century by Francis Johnston when he was working on the main castle. The rubble stone entrance, simple but effective, comprises a battlemented carriage gateway flanked by round towers, with pedestrian access via one of the latter.



The Irish Aesthete is generously supported by

A Feast of Colour and Light


The first member of his family to settle in Ireland, Anthony Atkinson appears to have arrived here in the late 16th/early 17th century, serving as a soldier who rose to the rank of Lieutenant. In due course, he was granted land in County Offaly where, prior to his death in 1626, he built a residence called Cangort Castle. During the Confederate Wars and their aftermath, this building was garrisoned for the crown but later captured by members of the Commonwealth army and badly damaged. When the original owner’s grandson, another Anthony Atkinson, recovered the property in the aftermath of the Restoration in 1660, he built a new house adjacent to the ruins of the castle and, allowing for various additions and alterations, this remained the family’s home until it was sold in 1957. In the early 18th century, a third Anthony Atkinson, married to Mary Guy (whose father was Admiral John Guy, remembered for breaking the boom across the river Foyle and thereby relieving the Siege of Derry) trained as a barrister and served as an MP in the Irish Parliament. Several generations later, in 1859 the estate was inherited by 12-year old Guy Newcomen Atkinson, and it would seem that once he came of age in 1868, the house was extensively remodelled to its present appearance. On his death in 1890, he, in turn, left a young heir, Guy Montague Atkinson, who after coming of age chose to sell Cangort to his uncle, William Henry Atkinson; it was the latter’s grandson, Major Anthony Guy Atkinson, who sold the house in 1957, thereby ending the family’s link with this property.





The present Cangort House owes much of its appearance to architect William George Murray, who, as mentioned, likely received this commission from Guy Newcomen Atkinson after the latter had come of age in 1868. The son of William Murray, a cousin of Francis Johnston in whose office he trained, the younger man had become a partner in his father’s practice in 1845 along with Abraham Denny. Following Murray senior’s death four years later, the two younger men remained partners until 1855, after which William George Murray ran his own practice with considerable success, specialising in banks and railway buildings. However, in his final years, the architect found himself embroiled in a legal action taken by one of his clients, the Provincial Bank of Ireland, concerning this organisation’s headquarters located on the corner of College Street and Westmoreland Street, Dublin. When this building was completed in 1867, the cost was double the estimate and while the banking hall had been completed, the intended first-floor offices for the directors and management had not been fitted out. The bank took Murray and the building contractor John Nolan to court, alleging fraud and collusion in connection with the issue of certificates for extra work on the property. Although the two men were acquitted, the court of appeal ruled that, because of errors and negligence on Murray’s part, an inquiry should be held to establish whether the sums of money for extra work which Nolan claimed from the bank should be paid. Murray died in 1871, not yet aged 50. The former bank building is now part of the College Green Hotel.




The initial impression of Cangort House suggests that the whole building is an example of the Jacobethan style which became popular in the 19th century. But the west front provides evidence that at least some of the earlier structure remain, with a series of tall arched windows on ground and first floors breaking up the rendered surface. The three-bay south front is faced in ashlar limestone with advanced gabled bays having tripartite windows at either end and a pair of coats of arms in panels set each side of the central doorcase: perhaps prior to Murray’s makeover, this might have been the entrance front? The latter is now on the east side of the house, which has another coat of arms above an additional gable, and a smaller gabled porch to one side; the service yards on the north side lie behind a screen wall here. Inside the building, the same Jacobethan inspiration prevails, the various corridors’ ribbed vaulted ceilings resting on corbels. As with the exterior, only on the east side of the building is its earlier decorative history apparent. The present owners, who have recently decided to sell, wisely chose to brighten up what would otherwise threaten to be a series of mid-19th century sombre spaces. As a result, this is a house of colour and light, boldly demonstrating that Victorian interiors need not be dark. Nor indeed need their exteriors, as shown by the addition of a natural pool on the east side, fed with rain water and filled with aquatic plants. Today a feast of colour and light, the building offers a gloriously alternative approach to the Irish country house. 

The Irish Aesthete is generously supported by

Within these Walls



The beautiful walled garden at Bellefield, County Offaly has featured here before (see A Gardener’s Legacy « The Irish Aesthete). Both the garden and its adjacent house were bequeathed to the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland four years ago following the death of its owner, Angela Jupe and since then it has served as an ideal venue for a series of events open to the public. On Saturday July 12th, I shall be giving a talk at Bellefield on the history and evolution of walled gardens in Ireland, as part of a day dedicated to exploring the subject. More information on this occasion can be found here: rhsi.ie/event/celebrating-irish-walled-gardens/


The Irish Aesthete is generously supported by

A Little Crazy



Hard to believe this is all that remains of Gallen Priory, County Offaly, a once-great religious house founded in 492AD by Saint Cadoc. After being badly damaged in the 9th century, the monastery here was restored by Welsh monks but several hundred years later, it came under the authority of the Augustinian order, remaining so until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1540s and thereafter falling into decay. Excavations of the site in the 1930s revealed parts of over 200 early Christian burial monuments and these have since been unsympathetically and randomly set in cement walls on the locations of what would have been the east and west gables of the church here, suggesting the inspiration was crazy paving.