We arrived early in the morning at Rosslare in Ireland. The weather was definitely different to the heat wave we had experienced during the last week in France.
Not far from Rosslare lies the castle of Johnstown, which we decided to visit. We took a long walk through the gardens and around lakes, went on a guided tour through the castle, and after a break at their café, walked through the Agricultural Museum.
Johnstown Castle stands on an estate first granted to the Esmonde family as thanks for their role in the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169. It was confiscated after Cromwell’s invasion in 1649 and later bought by the Grogan family. In the 19th-century, architect Daniel Robertson helped transform it into a Gothic Revival masterpiece. The last permanent resident of Johnstown, Lady Maurice Fitzgerald, died in 1942 and the castle was “gifted” to the state in lieu of taxes in 1945.
The estate was used as an agricultural college, with the students living in the upper floor of the castle and teaching and research taking place there as well. That way, not all the features of the castle had been preserved, but they are doing their best since the castle opened to the public just 6 years ago.
Before the castle was handed over to the government, the heir had all the furniture, paintings and every other piece of furnishing auctioned off during a couple of days. The National Trust, which runs the estate now, is trying to get as much of the original pieces back as possible.
The castle looks lovely to live in, but when Lady Fitzgerald had died in 1942, there was still no electricity, no plumbing and no heating in the house. The walls were damp, and the wooden panelling was rotten.
At the estate’s farm courtyard buildings, the Irish Agricultural Museum shows a collection built up over 40 years, reflecting traditions and progress in Ireland, giving an insight on Irish rural life for farmers and trades people.
We were quite exhausted after our night on the ferry and the visit to Johnstown Estate, that we were just looking for a place to spend the night close by, which we found at a parking for hikers, which had no height limit (52.30761, -6.588417)
Tomorrow, we will visit the Irish Heritage Park nearby – more soon!