Castletown House, Ireland's largest and earliest Palladian-style house, was built between 1722 and 1729 for William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and the wealthiest commoner in Ireland. In 1967, the house was bought by the Hon. Desmond Guinness, founder of the Irish Georgian Society and opened to the public. In 1994, ownership of the house was transferred to the State, and it is now managed by the Office of Public Works. Castletown House, a history, is the story of that house, written by the children who grew up there, Baroness Diana Wrangle Conolly Carew, the Hon. Sarah McPherson & their brother, the Hon. Gerald Edward Ian Maitland-Carew. In this fascinating history, the character of the house is brought to life through its former residents, together with stories of their Olympic medals, the chance survival of the house through the Civil War, and tales of visiting royalty to the greatest of Ireland’s great houses.
Castletown House, Ireland's largest and earliest Palladian-style house, was built between 1722 and 1729 for William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and the wealthiest commoner in Ireland. In 1967, the house was bought by the Hon. Desmond Guinness, founder of the Irish Georgian Society and opened to the public. In 1994, ownership of the house was transferred to the State, and it is now managed by the Office of Public Works. Castletown House, a history, is the story of that house, written by the children who grew up there, Baroness Diana Wrangle Conolly Carew, the Hon. Sarah McPherson & their brother, the Hon. Gerald Edward Ian Maitland-Carew. In this fascinating history, the character of the house is brought to life through its former residents, together with stories of their Olympic medals, the chance survival of the house through the Civil War, and tales of visiting royalty to the greatest of Ireland’s great houses.
Castletown House, in County Kildare, was Ireland's largest private residence, a spectacular Palladian mansion which was once an alternative seat of political power to Dublin, and whose design was the basis for the White House in Washington DC. The four Conolly-Carew children, Sarah, Patrick, Diana and Gerald, were the last generation to grow up within its walls, and their story is a window into Ireland's real Downton Abbey, a world of servants and lavish balls, of cars run on charcoal, visiting Princesses, IRA intimidation, and Olympic glory. Today Castletown is owned by the state and operates as a highly regarded tourist attraction, but in this book you will hear what really happened in these banquet halls and about the dramas that unfolded beneath these still glittering chandeliers.
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