The Dairy at Farmleigh
The building of the dairy was a serious business in Victorian times. An earlier fashion for follies and temples had evolved by then into a combination of the decorative and the useful. As part of the country house economy, the dairy became also a garden feature, a...
An Gairdín Daingean
Clúdaíonn an Gairdín Daingean thart ar cheithre acra agus tá sé le fána go seoigh i dtreo an deiscirt. Tá péire breá geataí rímhaisiúla iarainn bhuailte le feiceáil ar an mbealach isteach i dtreo rian trasnánach coisithe ag a bhfuil ciumhsóga dúbailte bláthanna a...
The Kerry Cattle return to Farmleigh
Here at Farmleigh we are delighted to welcome the Kerry Cattle back on site. On Tuesday 7th June six heifers and three calves will move in to their field which we have prepared for them. For many years Farmleigh was synonymous with the Charolais breed of cattle....
International Sculpture Day
International Sculpture day (ISDay) Saturday the 30th April 2022 An opportunity to stroll through the gardens and grounds of Farmleigh Estate and take in some site specific and contemporary pieces of sculpture by Irish and internationally renowned sculptors. One of...
Lady Gwendolen Florence Mary Guinness (Nee Onslow) 1881-1966.
by Niall McFadden. To celebrate International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, I’d like to focus on a figure connected to the life of Farmleigh who played a pioneering role in advancing women’s political rights in the 1920’s and 1930’s. For eight years from 1927 to...
Portráidí sa Bhailiúchán Ealaíne i Farmleigh
Is de ghaolta i bhfad amach le muintir Guinness atá cuid mhór de na portráidí i dteach Farmleigh. Bhí aon pháiste is fiche san iomlán ag Arthur Guinness a hAon. Mhair deichniúr díobh go dtí go raibh siad ina ndaoine fásta. Mar sin, tá an chraobh ghinealaigh measartha...
Walter Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne (1880-1944)
By Niall McFadden, Guide & Information Officer, Office of Public Works. Amongst many attractions for visitors to Farmleigh’s beautiful “Nobel” room are a series of photographs of the family of Edward Cecil Guinness, founder of Farmleigh in its modern form. Whilst...
Farmleigh Tree Detectives
by Aisling Randles, Office of Public Works, Farmleigh. Discover our wonderful trees on the historic Farmleigh Estate. Trees are amazing, they help to keep our air clean and our ecosystem healthy. They remove pollutants from the air and produce oxygen that we...
Introducing the trees at Farmleigh: The Fountain Lawn
The focal point of Farmleigh's pleasure grounds is the lawn at the back of the house, which rises gently up to a large circular fountain. It is the view framed in the over fireplace window of the Nobel Room which beautifully connects the interior of Farmleigh house...
Look Back – The Painting that tells a Treasure of Stories
by Emer Ingoldsby, Office of Public Works, Farmleigh. If a picture paints a thousand words – One amazing painting tells hundreds of Heritage heart warmers. In this video series, Farmleigh Guides present and explore Michael Angelo Hayes’ painting in Farmleigh Library –...
National Tree Week
The leaves aren't quite budding yet but the blossoms will start blooming soon. National Tree Week runs from 21st to 27th March 2021. Bring your camera next time you visit Farmleigh and enter the Tree Week 2021 tree photography competition! Here are some trees to keep...
Seachtain na Gaeilge
Edward Cecil Guinness Ba le muintir Guinness Teach Farmleigh tráth. Ba é fear darbh ainm Edward Cecil Guinness an chéad duine de mhuintir Guinness a chónaigh anseo. Mac garpháiste le Arthur Guinness agus fear gnó den scoth ba ea é. Thosaigh sé ag obair sa ghrúdlann...
Women Writers in the Benjamin Iveagh Collection
by Dr Nora Moroney, IRC Postdoctoral Fellow TCD, Marsh's Library, Farmleigh House. The Benjamin Iveagh Library, in its beautiful wood-panelled room at Farmleigh, contains over five thousand books. Of these, only a handful are written by women. This is not altogether...
Open House Dublin
Open House Dublin 2020 was celebrated online this year! As Covid 19 restrictions prevented any public tours entering Farmleigh House, Farmleigh Guides invite you to join them on a virtual visit for views and history of Farmleigh Clock Tower. This video highlights...
Culture Night / Oíche Chultúir 2020
Connect Through Culture Exploring Farmleigh Archives For Culture Night / Oíche Chultúir 2020, Farmleigh Tour Guides present a video from Farmleigh Library looking at what it says in the papers on Friday 18th September 1868. Continuing with a theme from our Heritage...
Discover the History of the Gate Lodge
by Aisling Randles, Office of Public Works, Farmleigh. Castle, monastery and city gates had existed for centuries, but the small lodge at the entrance to the country mansion was an eighteenth and nineteenth century phenomenon. The gates with their lodges were built to...
The Servant Question
by Margaret Soden, Office Of Public Works, Farmleigh. Black and white illustration depicting a maid and lady of the house in The Lady of the House, 1901. By kind permission of Dublin City Library and Archives Failure to provide a definitive response!A visit to...
The Bust on the mantle in the Library, Tim Buckley 1863- 1945
By Don Ross, Office of Public Works, Farmleigh House. I decided to prepare a presentation on the story of the tailor “Tim Buckley”, prompted by the bust of the man himself which takes pride of place on the mantle in the Benjamin Guinness library at Farmleigh House. I...
Look Back – The Painting that tells a Treasure of Stories
by Emer Ingoldsby, Office of Public Works. If a picture paints a thousand words – One amazing painting tells hundreds of Heritage heartwarmers. In this video which launches to coincide with Heritage Week 2020 , Farmleigh Guides present and explore Michael Angelo...
The Clock Tower at Farmleigh
by Don Ross, Office of Public Works The Farmleigh Clock Tower rises to 58.3m (about 200 ft.) in height and from the time of its construction it has been a significant landmark in the Castleknock area. It is believed to be slightly taller than Liberty hall which rises...
The Cross Cultural Heritage of Farmleigh’s Hina Matsuri Dolls
by Margaret Soden, Office of Public Works, Farmleigh. If you were asked to jot down five objects that signify the material culture of Japan, what would you come up with? My list includes, The Kimono, Samurai warriors, Sushi, that wave print (I now know as The Great...
Portrait of Lucy de László by her husband the artist Philip de László
by Maria O'Hanlon, Office of Public Works, Farmleigh. The portrait of Lucy de László (née Guinness) hangs in the hallway in Farmleigh House. The collection of art at Farmleigh comprises paintings, prints and sculptures on loan from the Guinness family, former owners...
The Benjamin Iveagh Library at Farmleigh
By Nuala Canny, Librarian, OPW. When the Guinness family sold Farmleigh to the Irish government in 1999, many of the contents, including the very fine library, were left on loan to Office of Public Works. Now known as the Benjamin Iveagh Library, this splendid...
Dr. Dave Flynn, Composer, Writer-in-Residence
OPW and Farmleigh are delighted to welcome - for the first time under its Writer-in-Residence programme - a contemporary composer from Ireland, Dave Flynn. We are looking forward to a truly imaginative residency which will give Dave a wonderful opportunity to explore...
Eight Months in Farmleigh; Philip St John reflects on his time as writer in residence
A NEW SCRIPT In early August I spent an afternoon brooding my way through the gardens of Farmleigh and out across the sun-tormented plains of the Phoenix Park. I was arranging an event for the ballroom in October. LOVE SCENES promised to be a fascinating evening of...
From Castletown House to Farmleigh House, via a Portarlington Townhouse: The Story of Farmleigh’s Snooker Table
By Dr James Curry, Guide & Information Officer When I was a child my father taught me how to play pool, and although I was never able to become as good at the game as him – despite frequent boasts to the...
Behind the Scenes
By Writer in Residence 2018, Philip St John Directors amaze me. Once rehearsals start, they not only attend to the needs of the cast, design team and (if he is still alive and struggling with the text) the writer, they must also respond to the evolving complexity of...
2018 Farmleigh Writer-in-Residence
We are delighted to announce that the 2018 Writer-in-Residence is Philip St John. Philip St John is a writer of fiction and drama. His first play Maxine (2011), won the International Playwright Forum Award, and was performed in the Philippines. The Sylvia (2013) was...
Enjoy Springtime in the Walled Garden at Farmleigh
Farmleigh Estate and Gardens are open every day throughout the year from 10am until 5pm. The Walled Garden covers about four acres and is sloped ideally towards the south. A fine pair of highly decorative wrought iron gates lead into a diagonal walk with double...
Hi Fashion! at Farmleigh Gallery
Hi! Fashion 1 December 2017 to 29 April 2018 Come and see garments from the collections of Issey Miyake, John Rocha, Noritaka Tatehana and Úna Burke, to name a few! A touring exhibition of fashion from Japan and Ireland produced by the Design & Crafts Council of...
Documentary on Newstalk: Keeping Time
As part of the Spring Season of Documentary on Newstalk, producer Patricia Baker tells the story of Ireland’s unique way of dealing with time, as she explores the rich and diverse history of Ireland’s clocks and watches, that have been keeping time for us for...
Writer-in-Residence 2017
Farmleigh are delighted to announce that their Writer in Residence for 2017 is Mia Gallagher. Based in Dublin, Ireland, she is the author of two widely acclaimed novels: HellFire (Penguin Ireland, 2006) which received the Irish Tatler Literature Award (2007),...
The Grove of Nations Park
Representatives from the Diplomatic Corps today, 19th June, attended a tree-planting ceremony to launch the Grove of Nations at Farmleigh House. The Park is an intiative for the Embassies of Ireland to come together and plant trees in the grounds of Farmleigh Estate...
