Waterford's Mount Congreve gardens re-open after €7m rejuvenation project

Gardens contain one of the largest collections of plants in Ireland and attractions now include a new visitor centre and cafe, an eco-playground, a gift shop and the restoration of the ground floor of the house

The first visitors to the newly re-opened Mount Congreve Gardens in Co Waterford on Wednesday were twin sisters Sophie and Chloe Drea, age 7. Picture: Patrick Browne

The 70-acre gardens at Mount Congreve in Kilmeaden, Co Waterford, have re-opened following a restoration project that will allow visitors to see inside parts of the 18th-century Mount Congreve House for the first time.

Following the €7m first phase of an ambitious restoration project, parts of the ground floor of the house, constructed in the 1760s, are now open to visitors as part of what is hoped will become a “world-class visitor experience” for the South East.