On Friday the 7th May, a small number of members, including one
of our new members - Tim Sheehan, travelled to Curraghmore House to
visit the estate of Lord Waterford. This was arranged by one of our
members, Barrie Graham. The group assembled at the Radisson Hotel in
Little Island at 10:30am. From there, we travelled to Carrick-on-Suir,
where we stopped for lunch. Following lunch, we continued to Portlaw,
where Curraghmore House is located. This is an amazing 11th century
house, the home of the Marquis of Waterford. His ancestors (the
Delapoers) came to Ireland from Normandy after a 100 year stopover
in Wales around 1170AD. Some 2,500 acres of formal gardens,
woodlands, and grazing fields make this the largest private domain
in Ireland. The tour of the house took approximately 2 hours,
including some of the finest neo-classical rooms in Ireland which
featured the magnificent plaster-work of James Wyatt and grisalle
panels by Peter de Gree.