The Irish Georgian Society’s grants programme has been supported through the work of its London Chapter whose members organise events throughout the year in aid of Ireland’s built heritage. These grants help owners and guardians of architecturally important historic buildings to fund essential work that may not otherwise be possible.

The total value of grants awarded in 2018 amounts to €46,300.

St. Carthage’s Cathedral, Lismore, Co. Waterford - Grant awarded: €3,000
The cathedral is a major religious site dating from the early Christian era with continuity of worship on the site since its foundation. Its history over a millennium is encapsulated in the fabric and contrasting building styles from different periods. The fabric incorporates the work of notable architects of the past – Sir William Robinson, Sir Richard Morrison and the Pain brothers. In 2018, grant aid was offered towards the repair of early nineteenth century timber windows designed in the Perpendicular style.

Ballyarthur, Ballinagh, Co. Wicklow - Grant awarded: €5,000

Understood to have been built in the late seventeenth century, Ballyarthur’s current external appearance derives mid nineteenth century alterations. Grant aid in 2018 has assisted with urgent and innovative structural repairs to the gable wall which have allowed the removal of the raking shores which have been in place for many years.

7 Arch Bridge, Trim, Co. Meath - Grant awarded: €3,000
Constructed in the late 17th or early 18th century, the 7 Arch Bridge is a curious and easily overlooked piece of our industrial heritage. Serving as a pack-horse bridge for carriage of aggregate from Bearmount Quarry to Trim, it consists of a narrow causeway formed by the arches. The IGS grant supported the structural repair and repointing of six of the seven arches, a project championed by Scurlogstown Olympiad, a local community organisation.

Leixlip Castle Boathouse, Leixlip, Co. Kildare - Grant awarded: €5,000
This little octagonal building makes for a charming feature in the landscape. Designed in the mid eighteenth century with a tea house on the upper floor over the actual boat house. Conservation works will seek the revival of this important landmark through the reinstatement of copper coverings to the domed roof and repairs to the brick facades with reinstatement of windows and the interior being planned for 2019 with ongoing support from the IGS.

Ardrahan Church, Co. Galway - Grant awarded: €2,000
Ardrahan is a wonderfully intact example of a church type found across the island of Ireland. Maintaining such churches requires firm commitment by often small congregations. In light of this, the Society was pleased to be able to support the rolling programme of repairs to the timber windows.

Bridge House, Westport, Co. Mayo - Grant awarded: €2,500
Bridge House is a fine representative example of a well-appointed house typical of so many of Ireland’s towns and villages. Sited prominently on Westport’s Mall, the society has previously provided grant aid towards the repair of the roof. In 2018, a further grant was made available to assist with the stabilisation and repair of internal ceilings and floor structures, allowing the house to be brought back into use as a family home.

Former Christ Church, Rathcormac, Co. Cork - Grant awarded: €1,800
This mid Georgian church has sadly stood forlorn and abandoned for many years. The Society has long been concerned about its condition, in particular that of the carved timber colonnaded and pedimented 1760s family pew. Happily in 2018, the derelict building was acquired by an architect who proposes to sensitively convert into a studio. To assist in establishing the significance of the building and inform the conservation approach, the IGS has provided a grant for the preparation of a Conservation Assessment and Condition Report.

18 Ormond Quay, Dublin 1 - Grant awarded: €3,000
18 Upper Ormond Quay and its rear attendant house at 67 East Arran Street comprise an interconnecting pair of merchant premises of differing construction dates. The front house to the river, built in a conservative late Georgian idiom, dates to 1843. The rear house at 67 East Arran Street, to which this application relates, comprises a much older building of c.1760-1770 date. The houses are the subject of an ongoing restoration project by Dublin Civic Trust and in 2018 grant aid was provided towards the repair, conservation and part-reinstatement of a high status Rococo-style cornice.

Bantry House, Bantry, Co. Cork - Grant awarded: €4,500
Bantry House was first built in the early eighteenth century and since then has expanded considerably, particularly under Richard White, 2nd Earl of Bantry. The building has significant historic, social and cultural interest and has contributed greatly to the local area over the years. Undertaking initial investigations is vital before any works take place and therefore two-staged funding is proposed. The first stage will entail the inspection of the artificial-stone capitals of the pilasters decorating the building’s exterior by a specialist conservator with further assistance being made available on foot of the findings.

Abbeyleix Old Church, Abbeyleix Demesne, Co. Laois - Grant awarded: €1,500
Built on a pre-Reformation site, the mid eighteenth century church is of the few surviving indicators of the relocation of the town by the first Viscount de Vesci (1735-1804) from its historic location, now known as ‘Old Town’, southwest of the present planned town. Within the church, is an important alabaster and marble tomb effigy to Ema, Viscountess de Vesci (d. 1884), by Sir Alfred Gilbert. In 2018, grant assistance was provided for the replacement of the existing concrete floor with a breathable limecrete floor, to alleviate damp issues that were affecting the effigy tomb.

Curraghmore House, Portlaw, Co. Waterford - Grant awarded: €5,000
Continuously occupied and developed since medieval times, Curraghmore is a large early eighteenth century house built around a medieval tower house. The house incorporates the work of a number of the most pre-eminent architects and artists to practise in Ireland, including James Wyatt, John Roberts, Samuel Ussher Roberts and Paulo and Filippo Lafranchini. Renovated and refaced c.1875, the tower house, forms the focus of the current works programme with the Society grant aiding the conservation and restoration of the stuccoed barrel-vaulted ceiling and vaulted window openings of the entrance hallway.

Saunderscourt Gate Lodges, Co Wexford - Grant awarded: €5,000
Constructed by the 2nd Earl of Arran between 1773-1809, the gateway comprises a tall triumphal arch flanked by a pair of single-storey lodges, to which the archway is connected by four curved flanking walls with niches. Long derelict, the Irish Landmark Trust plan on renovating the lodges for short term holiday lets. Funding was offered by the IGS for floor repairs, storage of joinery, and treatment and removal of ivy.

Myrtle Grove, Youghal, Co. Cork - Grant awarded: €5,000
Myrtle Grove is a rare example of an unfortified sixteenth century Irish house to have survived with much of its original form intact. Though renovated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it retains its original character and some interior features, which may date back to the 1580s. The building’s Tudor features are characterized by the steep gables and tall chimneys. Funding has been offered towards repair of the oriel window in the S gable, which looks towards the medieval St Mary’s Collegiate Church and from which Sir Edmund Spencer is said to have written the “Faerie Queen”.