We are visiting Curraghmore House in Portlaw on Sat. July 21 at 11.30. There will be a guided tour of the house, gardens and shell house. Cost is €15 for members and €20 for guests. Lunch is extra.
Curraghmore House in Waterford is the historic home of the 9th Marquis of Waterford. His ancestors (the de la Poers) came to Ireland from Normandy after a 100-year stopover in Wales around 1170, or, about 320 years before Columbus ‘discovered’ the New World.
Some 2,500 acres of formal gardens, woodland and grazing fields make this the largest private demesne in Ireland and one of the finest places to visit in Ireland.
A Sitka Spruce planted on the estate in the 1830s is among the tallest tree in Ireland and stands guard over King John’s Bridge. Built in 1205 this stone-arched structure, spanning the Clodagh River, is the oldest bridge in Ireland. Twelve miles of famine relief boundary walls and four sturdy wrought iron gates surround the estate.
Gnarled pink chestnut trees line the approach to the big house and original castle tower. St Hubert’s stag with crucifix between its antlers – genuine horns on the de la Poer family emblem – gazes across the large Courtyard from atop the old castle.