Travel

New Bridge House

A couple of months ago, I went with my friend J and A to the New Bridge House and Farm in Demense, Ireland. J volunteers with the Alone group every couple of weeks. Alone is a volunteer run organization that matches volunteers with the elderly and home bound. They work together to also put on volunteer / elderly outings and socialization programs. I was asked to tag along and to pictures of the group for their newsletter, which I was only too happy to do.

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The New Bridge house and farm about 30 minutes north of the city center. The building itself is a Georgian era home with multiple out buildings including a carriage house, stables, old pig / chicken homes, victorian walled garden, and plenty of park land and animals. Some of the history of the location is as follows:

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On June 19th, 1736, Charles Cobbe (Cobb), then Bishop of Kildare, paid £5,526.5.6 for the townlands surrounding Donabate, Lainstown, Haggardstown and Newbridge, containing 490 acres. In 1747, the house itself was started on part of these lands, in a traditional Georgian style. For inspiration, the Bishop used another fine Georgian house which he had visited in the city center. In 1751, Charles son, Thomas, married Lady Elizabeth Beresford, daughter of the Earl of Tyrone. She brought money into the family, and redecorated and updated the house including adding the famed Red Drawing room. The house has been occupied fairly consistently since the completion under Lady Elizabeth, and remains occupied part of the year by the Cobbe family today. The surrounding parkland, house, and property now belong to the Fingal county council who manage and run it as a public and visitor’s attraction.

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The day that I was there was bright sun most of the day, but also intermittent showers. We toured the house (no pictures allowed) and went out into the petting “zoo” portion of the animal farm and the out buildings. One of the highlights was watching the peacock strut around in the courtyard. We also got to see a very old guilded carriage that used to be used to take the mayor to the swearing in ceremony in Dublin.

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One of the amusing parts of the tour was actually seeing the sign on the blacksmith’s shop – and getting a chuckle.

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If you’d like to see more on the house (including pictures of the beautiful inside) you’re welcome to check out their website at:

http://www.newbridgehouseandfarm.com

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Athenry Dominican Priory Ruins

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Dominican Priories in Ireland were normally built outside the town walls, but here in Athenry, the first Priory was built Inside the town walls, on the opposite side of the river from the original castle fortress. (You can see more about that here.)

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The same founder of the Athenroy castle, Meiler De Bermingham also is credited with purchasing the land to present to the Dominicans. He bought it in 1241, and then gave them the money, knights, horses, wine and cloths for the building itself. When he died in 1252, Meiler was buried here.

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Over time, the native Irish and the Normans extended the complex, creating a seperate dining hall, dormitory, infirmary, and the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The chapel was enlarged in 1324, and in in 1425, the tower was added.

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The building was destroyed in 1652, by Cromwellian soldiers (who also destroyed the nearby castle).

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Today, it’s a fairly quiet little ruin – where the tourists may visit – but the local cats choose to hang out and bathe in the sun.

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Athenry Castle

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Located in county Galway, Ireland, Athenry (or Town of the Ford of the King) is a relatively small town. The main attractions are the castle which was built before 1240 (the Medieval curtain walls are among the most complete and best preserved in Ireland ), and the Dominican Priory ruins which date back to 1240’s as well.

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The castle originally guarded the ford (or crossing point) over the Clareen (Clarin) river nearby. It was first built out of wood, and later stages allowed for a stone castle (started in 1235 by the Norman Baron Meiler De Bermingham), parts of which still exist today. Amazingly, there was only one entrance into the castle from the town when it was originally built.
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The castle itself was destroyed in the 1300’s, expanded to include 5 gates around the larger town, and then destroyed again 1570’s and one more time in the 1650’s. Today it’s been restored and belongs to the Office of Public Works, in Ireland, and is known for the stunning curtain walls that still surround the central keep and town.

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The keep itself went through 3 phases of building –

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and when the Office of Public works (OPW) took it over it was a ruin.

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Today, it’s been restored and you can see the difference that has been made – to both the outside and the inside.

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Below you can see some of the ancient window decorations, and one of the window seats they surround…

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And of course, there’s the open “loo” in the castle guardrobe, where you not only did your “business” but also aired out your clothes if you were the lord / lady of the manor.
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From here, it’s only a short walk down the road – to the next attraction – the Dominican Friory Ruins.
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