Ireland Examiner view: Preserving our historic landmarks

Annes Grove House to be restored and rejuvenated

Annes Grove House Castletownroche Co, Cork

There may not be one in every townland but, if this old term may be used, there is probably one in every barony in Ireland. 

They may be sometimes no more than brambles shrouding crumbling walls, a patch of high ground where foundations were long ago laid out. Sometimes a chapel ruin, a family graveyard, or an out-of-place yew tree.

Ireland is dotted with the ruins of big houses razed during our War of Independence. 

This decline was captured vividly — and hilariously — in Booker winner JG Farrell’s Troubles. Farrell drowned in Bantry Bay and is buried in Durrus, Co Cork. 

Time, and today’s cultural confidence, offers a perspective other than political, one that allows for some regret over the destruction of many magnificent buildings.

One that will not be lost is Annes Grove House, at Castletownroche, Co Cork. 

The OPW has spent over €2m restoring the house, which had fallen into a very poor condition. The famous gardens are being rejuvenated too and will be fully opened to the public next year. 

It is hard not to see that 11th-hour redemption as a modest but significant victory.