SHOPPING FOR FASHION, 18TH CENTURY STYLE! To be transported back in time to another era, to learn about the cultural, social and political attitudes of that time is what makes period dramas so popular. For me, I was especially fascinated by the peculiarities and...
Castletown House, built in the early 18th century by William Conolly, is one of Ireland’s largest and finest Palladian houses in Ireland. Now in the hands of the OPW, thousands visit Castletown every year to see this architecture gem and learn about its history. Yet...
Marguerite Gardiner, neé Power (1789 – 1849) Countess of Blessington. This beautiful miniature is after a portrait by Thomas Lawrence. Marguerite Power was born near Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. Her father was Edmund Power, a small landowner. As a child, she loved to read,...
During the 18th century, the dining room had become one of the biggest and best rooms in the grand house, with plate on the sideboard and large numbers of liveried footmen attending to individual needs and wants. Where previously in the 17th century the saloon had...
WHAT LIES BENEATH – THE GRASSY KNOLL? FRONT LAWN… Anyone familiar with Castletown Parklands might on a sunny day in the past, have sat or ‘picnicked’ on the grass front lawn between the high hedge and Castletown House (begun 1722) and looked...
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything” – Plato It has been my privilege these past years, as music co-ordinator at Castletown, to meet some of the most gifted and talented people. I have been...
