Farmleigh House
A History and Guide
It’s difficult to imagine the horse drawn carriage making the trip from the iconic St James Gates of The Guinness Family Brewery all the way to the equally renowned and recognisable gates of the Phoenix Park and then up the dignified driveway to Farmleigh House, the residence of Mr Edward Cecil Guinness, the First Earl of Iveagh himself. But as many Irish historians will attest, this journey used to occur on a daily basis. Mr Guinness first purchased the remarkable house for that very purpose in 1873. However hard it may be to imagine, Cecil Guinness, who was the great grandson of the famous Arthur Guinness, reasoned that the avenues that led him to the gates of his business were the perfect for trotting his horse along or traversing by foot in order to be at his desk by nine.
After being purchased by the Irish state in order to house visiting dignitaries, Farmleigh house has gone under some astounding reconstructions in order to bring it back to the beautiful residence that it once was. Today Farmleigh House functions as the Irish Government “B&B” for VIP guests. However, in 1999, the house was in no way a hospitable environment for Ireland’s official visitors, or anyone for that matter. To bring the house back to its former glory, the Office of Public Works (OPW) carried out some significant refurbishments to the property and grounds. Upon its purchase, Farmleigh was reduced to a shell of its former glory after many years without any family in residence. The refurbishment by the OPW, which came to the total of 23 million euros (on top of the original 29 million euro purchase price), included the restoration of the house’s beautiful glass conservatory as well as the additional modern redesigning of the third floor. The third floor now holds a number of seven-star luxury suites that regularly host visiting dignitaries.
Farmleigh House these days, is open to the public to visit on days when there are no foreign dignitaries in residence. The tour, which is free, takes the public through the house’s ground floor. This floor features the house’s main study, the very same room that was used by Cecil Guinness to draw up his yearly plans for the factory. This now refurbished study remains in use today when dignitaries meet at the various summits the government host there. Taoiseach Enda Kenny has also used the study to host meetings and discuss politics with other world leaders. Another room on the tour of the remarkable house is the dining room. This room is decorated with lavish eastern tapestries that are a clear representation of the enormous wealth that the Guinness family had. This room too was host to parties with impressive guest lists featuring the likes of the current president Michael D Higgins as well as former Irish Presidents, and American visitors such as the Clintons and the Obamas. The china set on the table is is the state’s national pattern, an opulent design featuring the harp. Undoubtedly, the most impressive room is the personal library that is also located on the ground floor of the house. This library is host to many century’s old copies of literary texts that are sought after by both scholars and sight seers. Unfortunately, the only lucky few permitted to read the ancient texts are students, who must pass lengthy clearance processes and are strictly supervised. The Farmleigh house is even host to one of the first English/Irish language dictionaries, which was used by Queen Elizabeth the first in order for her to learn spoken Irish as she wanted to write to the Mayo ‘Pirate Queen’ Gráinne Mhaoil. This book, although not accessible to visitors, is said to even have the scribbles of her royal highness, where she tested out her ‘Conas ata tu’ and ‘Dia Duit’, both common Irish greetings which mean ‘How are you’ and ‘Hello’
A tour of our nation’s very own V.I.P. guest house is wonderfully entertaining; visitors are treated to anecdotes about the grandeur in which the Guinness family that once lived. One tale that draws belly laughs from the crowd relates to the debtor chairs in the main hall that Mr Guinness used to make people who owed him any money sit in. The sinister design of the chair, trapped the men’s legs as they sat with an iron bar so that they couldn’t move until their debt was paid. This chair however was used for an altogether different purpose when our nation’s third president, Eamon DeValera was paying Mr Guinness a visit. The Guinness children, who were known to have remarkable methods of entertaining themselves, invited the president’s guards to take a seat in what looked to be two run of the mill chairs. The two men were left trapped in the chairs until eventually they were sought after by the president. The antics of the Guinness children give the large house a homey feel, demonstrating that children will be children, no matter their address or illustrious family name.
Farmleigh House is certainly one of the most fascinating and beautiful buildings present in Ireland. A genuine national treasure the house provides abundant uses, from welcoming foreign dignitaries, to hosting business conference, and staging cultural and artistic events.. The history that it has to offer is only the starting point of why Farmleigh house is a monument of which Irish people should be proud.
Bibliography
Nolan, Brendan. Phoenix Park A History and Guidebook, Dublin 2006
http://www.farmleigh.ie/ March 2015
The First Earl of Iveagh
