The rainy weather was ideal for a tour through one of the grand houses around Dublin. We chose Russborough House, and were mesmerized by the art and beauty of the rooms we could visit on a guided tour.
Russborough House is a Georgian Palladian house, designed by Richard Cassels for Joseph Leeson, 1st Earl of Milltown, built between 1741 and 1755. The interior contains fine ornate plasterwork on the ceilings by the Swiss Lafranchini brothers, famed for their work in Rococo style Stucco in the great Palladian houses of Ireland.
Russborough is famous for its important private collection of European fine and decorative arts, including furniture, silver, porcelain and paintings, many of which have now been transferred to galleries for safe keeping. A series of works by one of the most celebrated painters of the Spanish Golden Age, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682) is currently exhibited hanging side by side in the Dining Room at Russborough. These six remarkable paintings, depicting the parable of the Prodigal Son, will soon have to go back to the National Gallery of Ireland.
The English Leeson family had moved to Ireland by around 1680. A sizeable fortune, made in brewing and property development in Dublin, passed down to Joseph Leeson, who bought land at what was then Russelltown. He became an MP and was made Earl of Milltown in 1763.
While the house was being built, Joseph embarked on two Grand Tours to acquire a suitably impressive collection of paintings, sculpture and furnishings to adorn his new home. Back at Russborough, Ireland’s and Europe’s finest artisans and craftspeople were appointed by Cassels to create a lavish interior.
Sir Alfred Beit bought Russborough in 1952 to house his art collection and in 1976 established the Alfred Beit Foundation, a registered charity, to manage the property. The foundation opened the historic mansion and its collections to the Irish public in 1978. Beit died in 1994 and Lady Beit remained in residence until her own death in 2005.
From Rossbourough, you have great views over to the Wicklow mountains, our next destination. We spent the night at Wicklow Gap, from where we could go on a little hike.
The next day we drove along the Old Military road through the mountains, admiring the bog, even with the grey weather.
The next estate on our list is Powerscourt House & Gardens – more soon!