Powerscourt is a large estate to the
south of Dublin, famous for its extensive gardens
and large house. Nella had read about it, and we resolved to visit, signing up on-line
(www.dublinsightseeing.ie) for a five-hour bus tour. The estate is advertised as being
"20 minutes from Dublin", but the trip took us noticeably longer, as we apparently took
the scenic route. "Apparently" because visibility was limited for much of the trip due
to inclement weather. But not all of it – we started by heading eastward along the south
bank of the Liffey, and we had no problem seeing the river, or Dublin's harbor, which we
eventually reached.
Samuel Beckett Bridge
Dublin Harbour
P&O Ferry European Endeavour
From the harbor we turned south, eventually reaching our first scheduled stop, the seaside
town of Dún Laoghaire. The town's
name is very old, and means "fort of Laoghaire" (Laoghaire
MacNeill was a 5th Century high king of Ireland). Later in its history, the town's name was
sometimes anglicized to "Dunleary", and is sometimes referred to by this name even now. A
large construction project turned the town into a major Irish-British port early in the 19th
Century. When King George IV visited in 1821, the town's name was changed to Kingstown, but
the name was changed back in 1920, when Ireland was breaking away from Britain. The harbor
and marina remain among the largest in Ireland (the marina is actually the largest), but much
of the harbor's former traffic has moved to the harbor at Dublin. But ferries occasionally
still leave for Britain, and Dún Laoghaire is something of a cruise ship destination, with
its scenic piers and many businesses that cater to tourists.
But the businesses didn't get a chance to cater to us, as the rain was coming down in
buckets, and nobody left the bus.
Martello Tower
Waterfront from Bus
Dún Laoghaire Town Hall
Anchor and Marina
Leaving the wet port of Dún Laoghaire, we headed inland and soon reached the wet
estate of Powerscourt, where the rain continued its contrary ways. We hustled from
the bus into the estate's large house, and were pointed to a cafeteria where we could
get lunch. We selected some food, and while there was outdoor seating with lovely
views of the gardens, we opted to eat indoors.
Outdoor Seating
The house was renovated from a medieval castle to its present configuration, more or
less, from 1731 to 1741, under the ownership of Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount
Powerscourt. Among its famous guests was King George IV, who stayed there on the trip
which included his visit to Dún Laoghaire. The estate was purchased in 1961 from the
9th Viscount Powerscourt by the Slazenger family, of sporting goods fame. But the
estate found its way back into the Wingfield family in 1962 when Wendy Slazenger
married the 10th Viscount, Mervyn Niall Wingfield. In 1974, after a refurbishment of
the house for the purpose of opening it to tourists, there was a fire which gutted the
house, leaving it an empty shell until it was re-roofed in 1996. It was opened to the
public in 1997. The house once had 68 rooms, but only two are open to visitors as
they once appeared. Much of the ground and first floors are open as retail space, and
as the cafeteria where we had our lunch.
Decorative Urns
A Stone Lion
Wrestlers
Urn with Statues
Nella with Cherubs
The Ballroom
Nella in Ballroom
Photo of Ballroom, ca. 1900
After looking through the accessible rooms of the house, we found ourselves looking
from the windows of the ballroom, on the top floor, at the gardens. They looked beautiful
but wet.
Garden Through Wet Window
Garden Through Wet Window
Pond from House
The gardens assumed their present form late in the 19th Century. The large central
area is known as the Italian Garden, but there are also walled gardens, Japanese gardens,
a stone tower (with cannons), some ponds and even a pet cemetery. There are plants and
trees from many parts of the world, all maintained by a gardening staff headed by Alex
Slazenger, who has made the gardens his life's purpose. National Geographic recently
voted the Powerscourt Gardens as the third best in the world. This being the case, we
determined to go out and look at them, rain or no rain. But as we emerged from the
house, the rain miraculously let up. We didn't know how long the rain would be stopped,
so we hurried down into the Italian Garden.
Estate Grounds
Gardens
The House
In the Gardens
Trees and Gigantic Lawn
In addition to the grass and flowers, there were several sculptures in the Italian Garden.
An Angel
The Goddess Diana
Cherubs and Dog
We continued down the hill to the lake at the bottom, called the Triton Lake. There were
sculptures scattered around (and in) the lake also.
The Pond
The Pond
Winged Horse (Zinc)
Statue Hiding in Weeds
Fountain
Pathway Under a Bridge
Climbing back up the hill, we stopped and looked at a fountain that couldn't really be
seen from the top, called the Sundial Fountain.
Fountain with a Sundial
Grillwork Above Fountain (1875)
After doing some shopping in the stores inside the house, we returned to the bus at
the time designated for our return journey to Dublin. On the way we saw a poster
expressing support for local girl and national heroine
Katie Taylor, a boxer who
had carried the flag for Ireland in the Olympics that year, and who by this time
had won the gold medal in the lightweight division (in her career she won five
consecutive world titles, and she went on to box again in the 2016 Olympics, but
was defeated in the quarter-finals).
Poster of Support for Katie Taylor
On entering Dublin, we noticed that the city had been newly cleaned by the rain.
Colorful Door
O'Connell Bridge and River Liffey
After leaving the bus, we noticed that the rain seemed to have let up, and since it
was only mid-afternoon of our last full day in Ireland, we decided we should go see
something we hadn't seen yet. We settled on Trinity College.