Castle Howard, Co WicklowStairhall, Castle Howard, Co WicklowIn 1811 Col Robert Howard purchased a house then called Cronebane Lodge, romantically perched above the Meeting of the Waters, a spot made famous thanks to a poem written by Thomas Moore four years before. Although no longer with descendants of the original owners, Castle Howard remains in private hands and in excellent condition. Dunsany Castle passed into their possession through marriage in the early 15th century. Fronted in cut limestone, Moore Hall stands three storeys over sunken basement, the façade centred on a single-bay breakfront with tetrastyle Doric portico below the first-floor Venetian window. Despite these impeccable republican credentials, and the Moores’ tireless work to ensure the survival of their tenants during the Great Famine of the 1840s, Moore Hall was burnt by incendiaries in the Civil War.

Source: The Irish Times January 17, 2020 05:37 UTC