Impression of Frescati. Like other Georgian piles, Frescati had a very simple design on the outside, in contrast with an elaborate interior

Frescati (sometimes misspelled 'Frascati') was an estate situated in Blackrock, between the mountains and the sea. During the eighteenth century, Blackrock found favour with the well-to-do of Ireland and it grew into a fashionable seaside resort. The gentry of smog-ridden Dublin advanced into the area to embrace the sea-air. It was around this period that many marine villas sprung up around Blackrock – Maretimo, Carysfort, Lios an Uisce, and Sans Souci to name but a few. Frescati House was built in 1739 for the family of Hely Hutchinson, the Provost of Trinity College. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1022x262, 82 KB) Summary From The Lady of the House 1901 Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1022x262, 82 KB) Summary From The Lady of the House 1901 Licensing This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus... BlackRock Inc. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Trinity College, Dublin, corporately designated as the Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, and is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin, Irelands oldest university. ...

The Duchess

In the 1750’s, Hely-Hutchinson sold the house to the FitzGeralds, Ireland’s largest landowners, who owned land throughout Leinster. Frescati became one of their three principal residences alongside Leinster House and Carton in Co. Kildare. They spent much time in Frescati, especially in the summer. When the Duchess of Leinster, Emily FitzGerald saw Frescati, she is said to have fallen in love with it. James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster (May 29, 1722) - (November 19, 1773) was an Irish nobleman and politician. ... Statistics Area: 19,774. ... Leinster House The former palace of the Duke of Leinster. ... Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster (1731-1814), known before 1747 as The Lady Emily Lennox, from 1747 to 1761 as The Countess of Kildare and from 1761 to 1766 as The Marchioness of Kildare, was the second of the famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond...

Enlargement and improvement

Unlike Kildare House and Carton, the Fitzgeralds did not commission Frescati House, but their enthusiasm for it was denoted by the fact in the 1760’s, they lavishly extended and enhanced it. They are said to have spent £85,000 (worth many millions of pounds today) on the house. It tripled in size and received flanking wings and bay windows to exploit its panoramic sea views. It was at this time that the house was given its name, Frescati, a deliberate corruption of the Italian resort of Frascati. Bay windows in San Francisco, California. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Architecture and landscape

Unlike many other great houses, its exterior was austere and not adorned with pediments or pilasters. For some, this gave it a noble simplicity. For others, it seemed unremarkable and undermined the case for preservation. Its exterior contrasted with a richly ornate and well-proportioned interior. The interior was magnificent, with carved marble chimneypieces, many fine ceilings and plasterwork of a high quality. There was a celebrated book room, a classical stone staircase with medallioned walls and a circular room with a groined ceiling. In the long parlour there was a painted ceiling by Riley, a student of Joshua Reynolds. Frescati boasted its own theatre with Corinthian columns. Jacob Smith, who also worked at Carton and Russborough, landscaped and devised the large formal gardens filled with rare plants and shrubs. The house stood well back from the road on acres of woods and parkland, and a stream passed through its grounds. There was also a small seawater pool in the garden. The gateway stood close to where the entrance to the Blackrock Shopping Centre stands today and its lands stretched back to where Sydney Avenue is located today. Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (July 16, 1723–February 23, 1792) was the most important and influential of eighteenth-century English painters, specialising in portraits and promoting the Grand Style in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. ...

Lord Edward FitzGerald

It was the favourite place of residence of Lord Edward FitzGerald, the tragic leader of the United Irishmen. He was Emily’s son and had spent much of his childhood here. Emily was fearful for her children’s health, so they spent most of their time in Blackrock and were educated there. Emily was a strong devotee of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Emile, which preached the importance of practical lessons from the real world rather than rigid book learning. Emily decided that Blackrock would be the perfect place to practice the Rousseau ideals of education on her children. The Duchess, who was no stranger to extravagance, invited Rousseau himself to Frescati to be her children’s tutor. He declined, so Emily hired a Scottish tutor instead. The tutor, named William Ogilvie, was told to bring Emile to life in Blackrock. She later shocked and scandalised her family by marrying Ogilvie six weeks after her husband’s death. Lord Edward married his wife Pamela in Tournai in December 1792. After spending some time in Hamburg, the couple came to Frescati in 1793. The couple rarely had a permanent home during their time together, due to Lord Edward FitzGerald’s involvement with the United Irishmen. Pamela, widely believed to be the illegitimate daughter of Duke of Orleans, seems to have been a mysterious and complicated character. She was described as “elegant and engaging in the highest degree” and of “judicious taste in her remarks and curiosities”. She never lost confidence in her husband all through the feverish events, which took place one after the other. At the time, Britain was very wary of the wave of events in France. For this reason, Lord Edward’s family wished her connections with the Orléans family to be kept secret. Frescati House served as the venue for some of the key United Irishmen meetings. Thomas Paine, the author of The Rights of Man visited Lord Edward in Frescati House. Lord Cloncurry, who lived nearby in Maretimo, was also a frequent visitor to the house. This is a passage from a letter FitzGerald wrote to his mother in 1793: The Lord Edward FitzGerald (15 October 1763 - 4 June 1798) was an Irish aristocrat and revolutionary. ... The Society of the United Irishmen was a political organisation in eighteenth century Ireland that sought independence from Great Britain. ... Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster (1731-1814), known before 1747 as The Lady Emily Lennox, from 1747 to 1761 as The Countess of Kildare and from 1761 to 1766 as The Marchioness of Kildare, was the second of the famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond... Jean-Jacques Rousseau (June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778) was a Genevan philosopher of the Enlightenment whose political ideas influenced the French Revolution, the development of socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism. ... The Lady Edward FitzGerald (1773? – November 9, 1831), was married to Lord Edward FitzGerald, and was an enthusiastic supporter of Irish independence in her own right. ... Louis-Philippe-Joseph dOrléans, by Antoine-François Callet. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Thomas Paine wrote the Rights of Man in 1791 as a reply to Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke, and as such, it is a work glorifying the French Revolution. ...

Wife and I are come to settle here. We came last night, got up to a delightful spring day, and we are now enjoying the little book room, with the windows open, hearing the birds sing, and the place looking beautiful. The plants in the passage are just watered: and with the passage door open the room smells like a greenhouse. Pamela has dressed four beautiful flower-pots, and is now working at her frame, while I write to my dearest mother; and upon the two little stands are six pots of fine auriculas, and I am sitting in a bay window with all those pleasant feelings which the fine weather, the pretty place, the singing birds, the pretty wife and Frescati give me.

When he returned to the house in 1797, he wrote:

I can’t tell you how pleased I was to see this place again. In a moment one goes over the years; every shrub, every turn, every peep of the house has a little history in it. The weather is delightful and the place looks beautiful. The trees are all so grown and there a thousand pretty sheltered spots, which near the sea in this season is very pleasant. The birds sing, the flowers blow, and make me for moments forget the world and all the villainy and tyranny going on in it.

It was as a direct result of a crucial meeting at Frescati on 24 February 1798, that Fitzgerald’s revolutionary plans were betrayed by Thomas Reynolds. By March 1798, the United Irishmen had been infiltrated by spies. At this time, members of the Leinster committee were arrested. Lord Edward Fitzgerald escaped and went on the run. However an informer, attracted by the £1000 reward, was responsible for Fitzgerald’s arrest in Dublin's Thomas Street on the 19 May. He shot one of his attackers, in his attempt to escape, but he received a gunshot wound in the process. He died later from his untreated injuries in Newgate Prison on the 4 June. Frescati’s greatest historic attraction lies in its association with this popular Irish hero. February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1798 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ...

Pembroke Place, a terrace built by Reverend Craig

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The Victorian era

Later, it was owned briefly by Sir Henry Cavendish, Receiver-General for Ireland. For a time, it housed Reverend Craig’s boys’ school which began in 1804. This school prepared students for Trinity College, Dublin, and emphasised anti-Papist (anti-Catholic) values, much the opposite of what Lord Edward believed. Several important fireplaces were removed at this time. According to Gerald Campbell's book Edward and Pamela Fitzgerald Lady Campbell (their daughter) traced two of them to houses in Merrion Square. The five stables (which were situated before the bend of what is now Frescati Park) were converted into houses. The Craig family sold the house in the 1850's. Merrion Square is situated on the south side of Dublin city centre and is considered one of the citys finest Georgian squares. ...

The early 20th century and development

In the 20th century, residential developments were built on the estate of Frescati, such as Frescati Park. Frescati Park partly incorporated Stable Lane, and the stable-houses were demolished to make way for it. It was built on woodland around Frescati, and comprised houses with bow windows, mirroring those of Frescati. When Lisalea House was demolished, its lands were incorporated into the Frescati Estate.

The beginning of the end

Frescati’s demise began in the late sixties, when speculators acquired it from the McKinleys. The grounds of the Frescati remained substantial. Even after land had been acquired for the Blackrock dual carriageway, the house retained at least seven acres. In the late sixties, the Dún Laoghaire Corporation acquired lands at Frescati to build a bypass. At the same time, Frescati and its lands were rezoned for commercial development. This meant a high financial potential for the lands. By 1970, Frescati had fallen into the hands of “Frescati Estates Limited”, a company controlled by the directors and owners of Roches Stores. The house at the end of the east wing continued to be occupied for some years, and appears in good condition where the rest of the house is boarded up. They sought planning permission to have it demolished. It was swiftly granted, provided that they secured permission for whatever was to be built on the site. Roches Stores controlled Frescati Estates. A department store, an office block, a hotel and a car park were planned for the site. Dún Laoghaire (Irish pronunciation ; anglicised spelling Dunleary, pronunciation ) is a suburban seaside town and a ferry port situated some 12 km south of Dublin city centre, and is the administrative centre of the county of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown. ... Roches Stores Logo - More Value, More Choice, More Service Roches Stores is a chain of department stores in the Republic of Ireland. ...

Frescati boarded up after purchase by Frescati Estates

Image File history File links Frescatilaw. ... Image File history File links Frescatilaw. ...

The struggle to save Frescati

When the public found out in 1971, there was a huge outcry. When a meeting was called to discuss the future Frescati, Blackrock Town Hall was packed with people. Several groups emerged in opposition to its demolition. The local people organised into an organisation called the Frescati Preservation Society. Desmond FitzGerald acted as the chairman, and Marie Avis Walker championed the cause in her role as secretary. All that Roches Stores were prepared to retain of the house was a single stuccoed ceiling, which was to be kept in a memorial hall attached to the store. Local politicians joined the “Save Frescati” bandwagon as the house’s welfare became an increasingly important issue with the people of Blackrock. Since permission to demolish the house had already been granted on the condition that permission was granted for whatever was planned for the site, the campaign focussed its efforts on preventing this planning permission from being granted.

Roches threatened to sue Dun Laoghaire Corporation for £1.3 million pounds, an obscene amount. This was in spite of the fact that legal opinion of the time dictated that such a claim could never be substantiated. However, they said that they would withdraw this claim if they were allowed to knock down the wings. Having realised the situation they had placed themselves in, Dun Laoghaire Corporation found itself in an impossible position. They submitted a proposal for opinion that they could demolish the wings and integrate the famous Pillar room into the part that was to be retained. This was widely rejected. Several groups in favour of conservation including An Taisce, Bord Fáilte, the National Monuments Advisory Council, the Old Dublin Society, the Arts Council, and the Irish Georgian Society, signed a formal objection rejecting any proposition on the part of Dun Laoghaire Corporation to permit the demolition of any part of Frescati. Several companies offered to buy the house and promised to develop the lands while preserving Frescati. One of these companies wanted to erect a residential development in the remaining land which integrated a restored Frescati. Alas, all of these offers were refused. An Taisce (Irish for The Treasury), also known as the National Trust for Ireland, was established in 1948 and is the most influential environmental body in the Republic of Ireland. ... The Arts Council of Ireland is a government funded body which promotes art in the Republic of Ireland. ... The Irish Georgian Society (IGS) is a group concerned with conservation of the Irish architectural heritage. ...

Conservationists feared that Roches Stores would attempt to demolish the house illegally, as had happened in other cases. These fears proved well founded when vigilant locals noticed a truck masonry from the house. They alerted the Dublin Corporation who sent a housing inspector. After a long wait, they gained access to the house. Inside, they found the architect of the shopping centre with some workmen. He noticed that some floors had been removed. The architect claimed that they were “just lifting floorboards and joists”. There was no apparent reason why they would need to carry out such a job on the house. In any case, they were not permitted to carry out any works of this kind on the house. The housing inspector pointed this out. Saving Frescati soon proved to be very much an uphill battle. The campaign to save it continued, involving several lengthy court battles and well-subscribed petitions. One historian in Trinity College prepared a thesis for a Master’s degree based on the Frescati situation. She was asked in court how she felt about the possible destruction of Frescati’s wings. “Bluntly”, she replied, followed by a loud applause from the public gallery. “It’s vandalism. What else could one say of the destruction of good things left by our ancestors which are built to last?” A petition was presented in court that contained thousands of signatures from Ireland and abroad. It was argued that Frescati was structurally sound but that much work needed to be done inside. Princess Mariga Guinness of the Irish Georgian Society said that she had several inquiries from people who wanted to live in Frescati. She added that she had seen buildings such as the British Embassy and Holy Cross, which were in a much worse state of repair, restored.

Marie Avis Walker exploited a legal loophole, which had first been exposed by somebody who, earlier in the seventies, had applied for permission to build “a small cabin of clay and wattles made, nine bean rows, and a hive for honey bee” on the Isle of Innisfree. This application was rejected in a deadpan decision by Sligo County Council, who claimed that it would hinder the amenities of the public park. When Marie Avis Walker made use of the loophole, she was a little more successful. She was granted planning permission for a shopping centre development in which Frescati was retained in its entirety. The developers were outraged that she was able to do this, even though she was not the owner of the land. The law was changed as a direct result of this, and it is not possible now to seek planning permission for land in which you do not have significant legal interest. This event was important for another reason: Even though Marie Avis Walker proved that the shopping centre and Frescati House could co-exist, Roches rejected the possibility, and in doing so demonstrated their complete unwillingness to compromise or make any allowance for the continued existence of Frescati.

As the war raged on, the house was deteriorating rapidly. Valuable interior fittings such as chimney-pieces were removed. Lead was stolen from the roof with predictable consequences for the general condition and the beautiful plasterwork. Roches Store gave the house nothing more than token protection from vandals, and this was completely inadequate. The pitiful fences were soon broken down by vandals and were not replaced. The Corporation was partly to blame, as they did not properly replace the wall that they had demolished to facilitate the new road. This left the grounds of Frescati open to all and sundry. No action whatsoever was taken against the people who were reducing the house to rack and ruin. No repairs were carried out on the house and it descended into dereliction in a remarkably short time. The worsening condition of the house was one of the factors which made its ultimate destruction inevitable.

In the early eighties, An Bord Pleanála finally sealed Frescati’s fate by granting permission for its wings to be demolished. In 1981, it was stripped of its wings. These constituted seventy percent of the house. Incredibly, the essential conditions that called for the restoration of the rest of the house were subsequently ignored. When the wings were demolished, nothing was done to prop up the remainder of the house. Despite this, the building was still structurally safe. The Corporation’s case had argued that the proposed development was unsuitable for the area. Once Roches had completed their Department Store, the conservationists had no legal leg to stand on, since permission to demolish the house was effective once permission to develop the site had been granted. They became unwilling to negotiate with the conservationists. Roches, more than likely aware of its legal position, declared that Frescati was beyond restoration. This statement was questionable, especially as Marie Avis Walker pointed out that the British Embassy in Merrion Square, which had been gutted by fire, had been restored. In any case, the poor condition was a result of vandalism that Roches failed to prevent, and damage they failed to repair. At this stage Frescati had become a filthy roofless ruin with boarded-up windows in the middle of a sea of concrete. An Bord Pleanála (or The Planning Appeals Board) determines appeals and other cases under the national planning acts in the Republic of Ireland. ...

The end

At this stage, it was clear that Frescati’s battle was being lost. Dun Laoghaire Corporation became aware of this and its reaction was frantic. In 1982, the Corporation tried to get an injunction in the High Court to compel Roches Stores to restore the remainder of the house as per the planning conditions. The judge, Mr. Justice O’Hanlon criticised both sides for the situation that had been allowed to develop. The Corporation had failed both to ensure that the vacant building was kept in proper repair and to enforce the law on Roches Stores. They hadn’t taken effective action over the developers’ refusal to abide by undertakings they had given to retain the one house and to spend £20,000 on essential repairs. Mr. Justice O’Hanlon concluded that the situation had gone beyond the point of no return, and that it was not feasible at this stage to restore Frescati. Here is a quote from the final judgement:

It appears to me that the developers have been completely indifferent to, or perhaps have even welcomed, this deterioration in the condition of the building, and have done virtually nothing to halt it. I feel the developers have shown a complete disregard for the moral obligations which arose from their course of dealing with the corporation or the planning applications; but I feel the corporation have also been extremely remiss to exercising whatever statutory powers were open to them to cope with the situation.

On the 4 November 1983, in the early hours of the morning the ghostly shell of Frescati was razed to the ground, thus ending a campaign which had lasted almost thirteen years. Two JCBs completed the job quietly, and not a single protestor turned up to hamper the demolition, though some came to observe the demolition. Some of the bamboo, which was planted in 1784 by Lord Edward from shoots he brought back from St. Lucia in the Caribbean, was still there, shaking in response to the final bow of the mansion. Souvenir hunters came to scour the rubble, which was left in situ until ten o’clock in the morning. Then the remains were collected into lorries and dumped onto an ignominious heap in Ringsend. Frescati’s end was summarised in a letter by Aidan Kelly, which appeared in the Irish Independent: November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 57 days remaining. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... JCB is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below: J. C. Bamford, a British manufacturer of heavy industrial vehicles whose JCB initials have become a generic name for wheeled mechanical excavators. ... The Irish Independents header consists of its name and a green harp The Irish Independent is Irelands best-selling broadsheet newspaper. ...

Softly, well before the winter dawn, the yellow monster lurched towards the gray façade. A lone rook stirred in the tall beeches nearby, troubled by the relentless purring of powerful motors. Down beyond the stream, what remains of his ornamental garden, a few regal bamboo blades, trembled in the night breeze. A mighty arm nudged the building. There was no crash, not even a rumble. Masonry fell with a rustle and hiss of dust down ivy-clad walls, to thud in moss. Within the hour, Frescati was no more. A long time later, in the dull light of the November morning, early shoppers passed along, wrapped in the world of their own concerns. They noticed nothing. Maybe our small and selfish minds, our furtive Irish ways, our ready response to the turning of a coin, could never grasp the natural nobility and great sincerity of the man [Lord Edward Fitzgerald]! His progressive recognition of the total injustice of the behaviour of the aristocracy towards Ireland, is something the Irish have never had the greatness of mind to value. In the Irish mind this gallant man has always been a lesser patriot. Now they would roll a boulder in, and slap a plaque upon it! How quickly we can add an insult to an injury, and know not that we do it

The boulder which Roches Stores erected after they demolished Frescati

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The aftermath

Though Frescati's was perhaps not one of the greatest insults Architectural heritage has ever sustained, its disappearance represents a loss not only to the people of Blackrock, but to the nation. The saga was one of the endless list of casualties which highlighted the problems of the Planning Act. Since Frescati's demolition, Roches Stores has tripled in size and is now known as the Frascati Shopping Centre. A new shopping centre was built opposite the site of Frescati, and it opened just two years later. By way of compensation for the loss of Frescati, Frescati Estates Limited agreed to endow a scholarship at University College Dublin in perpetuity to the sum of £50,000, to be known as the Lord Edward Fitzgerald Memorial Fund. Roches Stores placed a granite boulder bearing a bronze plaque beside the entrance. The plaque commemorates Lord Edward FitzGerald, though the inscription contains factual inaccuracies, and it mentions that he “lived in Frascati [sic] House”. The boulder stands to the right of the pedestrian entrance to the Shopping Centre today, but hedges are often grown in front of it, making it barely visible to passers by.

The landscape has been completely transformed.. Almost every reminder of its existence has been erased. The Frescati stream, as it was called, is now culverted under the ground, and has been covered by the tarmac car park. It emerges again in Blackrock Park, but it is now badly polluted and devoid of all life. The original tunnel, which Emily had built to carry seawater to Frescati, remains to this day. Its whereabouts is a well-kept secret, and it has been blocked off. In time of threat from unexpected raids by the Crown Militia from Dublin Castle, the course of the stream could well have formed an escape route. One may notice stray cut-granite blocks which look out of place in the car park. These once belonged to the house. The remnants of Frescati are scattered now and hard to trace. The unique cast-iron railings which graced Frescati were stolen by travellers who occupied the site and melted as scrap metal. A few fragments of plasterwork remain, though these are in safe-keeping by the conservationist Peter Pearson. Ironically, more of the house would have survived if Roches had gone ahead with the demolition in 1971. The stuccoed ceiling which they originally offered to retain is now destroyed. Curiously, the stone pediment of the front doorway and its ionic columns were not removed before demolition and are now more than likely crushed concrete.

A house nearby called St Helen’s was under threat in recent years. The Corporation acquired lands from it for a road reservation. While its grounds were developed, the house lay vacant, and it became the prey of vandals though it did not suffer the same degree of damage as Frescati. Its future was very uncertain for many years. However, thanks to conservationist pressure, the house was declared a national monument. The house has since been refurbished as the five-star Radisson SAS Hotel. The lessons learned from Frescati have been used elsewhere. Hundreds of houses in the area were listed for preservation immediately after Frescati was demolished as a direct reaction. The Frescati case was considered in the final stages of the Architectural Heritage (National Inventory) and Historic Monuments (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 1998 and buildings with cultural importance are now afforded greater protection through the act as a result. The large degree of neglect that Frescati suffered was a key tactic of the developers. Legislation was introduced recently in which owners of historic buildings can be punished by a prison term or a fine of up to one million pounds for negligence. This legislation was exercised when Archer’s Garage in the South City, a listed building was demolished illegally in Dublin. There was an immediate uproar, and the developers found themselves under threat as a result of the new legislation. The developers agreed to rebuild the building, and Archer’s Garage has now been rebuilt. Through the loss of buildings like those on Fitzwilliam Street, Frescati and Powerscourt, a higher respect for historic buildings has developed.

Blackrock after Frescati

Blackrock is a showcase of the undeniable flaws of the Planning System. While it may be said that the village has not necessarily suffered as a result of the bad planning, a ridiculous situation has come to pass where there are two shopping centres facing each other across a busy dual-carriageway. The Blackrock Traders’ Association objected to Frescati’s demolition originally on the grounds of Frescati’s importance and the development of Roches Stores. They may never have guessed that not a single butcher, baker or grocer in the village would have survived the impact of Roches Stores.

Blackrock is a much sought-after residential area. The value of land in the area has soared to enormous heights within the last couple of years. The pressure for development land in Blackrock has resulted in the destruction of many historic houses; Maretimo, Dawson Court, The Grove, Mount Merrion House, The Elms, Laural Hill, Fitzwilliam Lodge, Talbot Lodge, Frescati Lodge, Woodville, Carysfort Lodge, Avoca House, Lisalea, Ardlui, Linden Castle and the soon to be demolished Yankee Terrace (a street comprising of around 10 19th century cottages, torn down to build a road) are just a few houses to have suffered - Though none constituted a loss on the scale of Frescati. Blackrock remains one of the most popular residential areas in Dublin. Blackrock has changed much since the demise of Frescati. The Blackrock bypass has dramatically changed the character of the whole area. There is a vibrant atmosphere in the village, which is dominated by cafés, pubs, and boutiques. Much of Blackrock vanished in the advance of the bypass and the landscape has been completely transformed for the worse. The landscape around the bypass is unsightly and barren.

The loss of Frescati is especially unfortunate in hindsight. It is easy to see now how it could have been fully utilised as an attraction in the important tourism industry, not least because it was the last building to exist that had links with the 1798 rebellion. In the end, Frescati fell victim to the same mercenary spirit that infuriated Yeats in September 1913. Blackrock’s ongoing metamorphosis is perhaps best explained by its long-time resident, the comedienne Rosaleen Linehan. In her own words: “Long live Blackrock. Nostalgia is self-perpetuating. No doubt in forty years time people will be regretting the loss of the Roches Centre with all its outlets and its replacement with a fake version of Frescati House." W.B. Yeats in Dublin on 24 January 1908. ... Dublin, Ireland-born theater and film actress, who was born on June 1, 1937 (the same day as American actor Morgan Freeman) and christened Rosaleen Philomena McMenamin. ...

Historic Irish Houses and Castles

Áras an Uachtaráin | Allenstown House | Ardbraccan House | Ardgillan Castle | Ashford Castle | Ashtown Castle | Avondale House | Bantry House | Birr Castle | Black Castle | Blarney Castle | Bourchier's Castle | Bunratty Castle | Cahir Castle | Carrickmines Castle | Carton House | Castleknock Castle | Castletown House | Chichester House | Clonalis House | Clontarf Castle | Deerfield |Desmond Castle | Donegal castle | Doonagore Castle | Drimnagh Castle | Dromoland Castle | Dublin Castle | Dunboy Castle | Dunguaire Castle | Durhamstown Castle | Emo Court | Farmleigh | Frescati House | Foulksrath Castle | Grianan of Aileach | Howth Castle | Iveagh House | Kilkenny Castle | King John's Castle | Knappogue Castle | Leap Castle | Leinster House | Lismore Castle | Malahide Castle | Mansion House | Mornington House | Muckross House | O'Dea Castle | Ormonde Castle | Parkavonear Castle | Powerscourt House | Rathfarnham Castle | Redwood Castle | Rock of Dunamase | Ross Castle | Russborough House | Slane Castle | Swords Castle | Trim Castle | Tyrone House dublin castle tower File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Áras an Uachtaráin (formerly the Viceregal Lodge) is the official residence of the President of Ireland, located in the Phoenix Park on the Northside of Dublin1. ... Allenstown House was a large 5-bay, 4 storey Georgian mansion in County Meath, Ireland. ... Ardbraccan House (known sometimes historically as Ardbraccan Palace) is a large Palladian county house in County Meath in the Republic of Ireland. ... Ardgillan Castle (Ardgillan Demesne) is a large country house in Balbriggan Dublin with castellated embellishments. ... Ashford Castle is a medieval castle near Cong in County Mayo on the shore of Lough Corrib. ... Astown Castle is a 16th Century fortfied house in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. ... Avondale House, Avondale, County Wicklow, Ireland is the birthplace and home of Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891) one of the greatest political leaders of Irish history. ... Bantry House is a historic house with gardens in Bantry, County Cork, Ireland. ... The castle. ... Lough Gur reaches up to a maintained lawn at the visitor area at the lake. ... View from the top of the castle of the surrounding grounds Kissing the Blarney Stone See Also Blarney Stone of Eloquence External Links Official Blarney Castle Website Categories: Ireland geography stubs | Europe buildings and structures stubs | Castles in Ireland ... Lough Gur reaches up to a maintained lawn at the visitor area at the lake. ... Bunratty Castle Bunratty Castle,Newmarket-on-Fergus,County Clare, Ireland is of Norman Architecture. ... Categories: Ireland-place stubs | Castles in Ireland ... Carrickmines Castle is a controversial archeological site in County Dublin, in eastern Ireland. ... Carton House is one of Irelands greatest stately homes and one time ancestral seat of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster. ... Castleknock Castle is the ruins of a Norman castle in the grounds of Castleknock College in Castleknock, Dublin, Ireland. ... Castletown House, Irelands finest Palladian country house, is an imposing building built in 1722 for William Connolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. ... Clontarf Castle was built in 1172. ... Deerfield is currently the official residence of the United States Ambassador to Ireland and was formerly the official residence of the Chief Secretary in Ireland before Irish independence. ... Desmond Castle is an example of an urban tower house located in the town of Kinsale in County Cork, Ireland. ... Donegal Castle showing keep, on right, and Jacobean wing. ... Doonagore Castle, overlooking Doolin and the Atlantic Ocean Doonagore Castle is a 14th Century round tower house with a small walled enclosure, located on the outskirts of the small, coastal town of Doolin in County Clare, Ireland. ... Drimnagh Castle is a Norman castle located in Drimnagh, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. ... A large castle and five star hotel in County Clare, Ireland. ... Dublin Castle. ... Remains of Dunboy castle Alternative view of the castle View inland from Dunboy castle View across the bay Translation: In memory of the heroes who fell in Dunboy on behalf of country and faith in May 1602. ... Dunguaire Castle (Irish: Dún Guaire) is a 16th century tower house on the southeastern shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland, near Kinvara. ... 1885 Map showing the location of Durhamstown Castle Durhamstown Castle is a 500 year old towerhouse in County Meath in Ireland. ... Emo Court, located in the village of Emo in County Laois, Ireland, is a large neo-classical mansion, formal and symmetrical in its design and with beautifully proportioned rooms inside. ... Farmleigh was formerly one of the Dublin residences of the Guinness brewing family. ... Foulksrath Castle (Irish: Caislean Ratha) is a 15th century Norman tower house located in Jenkinstown in County Kilkenny, Ireland. ... Exterior view of Grianan of Aileach situated in County Donegal. ... Howth Castle lies close to the village of Howth, north of the city of Dublin in Ireland. ... Iveagh House is now the Department of Foreign Affairs as it was donated to the Irish State by the Guinness family in 1939. ... Kilkenny Castle Kilkenny Castle is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland. ... King Johns Castle sits on the southern bank of the River Shannon. ... The Knappogue Castle & Walled Garden, built in 1467, is located in County Clare, Ireland. ... Leap Castle is an Irish castle near the town of Birr in County Offaly. ... Leinster House The former palace of the Duke of Leinster. ... Lismore Castle is a castle in County Waterford in the Republic of Ireland. ... Malahide Castle lies close to the village of Malahide 9 miles north of Dublin in Ireland. ... The Mansion House on Dawson Street, Dublin, is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin and has been since 1715. ... Mornington House was the Dublin social season georgian residence of the Earls of Mornington. ... Muckross House, Killarney, County Kerry Muckross House is located in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland. ... ODea Castle near Corofin, Co. ... Ormonde Castle was the seat of the Butler family—Earls and later Dukes of Ormonde, who acquired the castle in 1315. ... Parkavonear Castle is a 13th Century Norman castle ruin, situated at Aghadoe, overlooking the lakes of Killarney, Ireland. ... Irish Palladianism. ... // Origins Rathfarnham Castle Rathfarnham Castle was originally an Anglo-Norman castle built to defend the Pale from the Irish clans in the nearby Wicklow Mountains. ... Redwood Castle (also known as Egan Castle or Caislean Choillte Rua in Irish) is in Lorrha, County Tipperary, Ireland. ... Dun Masc or the fort of Masc, as it was known by the Celts, is one of the most historic sites in Ireland. ... Ross Castle Ross Castle Ross Castle is the ancestral home of the ODonoghue clan. ... Irish Palladianism. ... Slane Castle is a castle located in Slane village, County Meath, in the Republic of Ireland. ... Swords Castle was built as the manorial residence of the Archbishops of Dublin around 1200 or a little later. ... Trim Castle (Dublin Side) Trim Castle, [[Trim] (Baile Atha Troim in Irish)], Ireland has an area of 30,000 m². It is the remains of the largest castle in Europe, which was Norman in origin, built primarily by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter. ...