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Adare
Manor Hotel & Golf Resort
Adare,
Ireland
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Adare
Manor borrows it’s name from the nearby village of
Adare complete with it’s delightful thatched roof
cottages, lively pubs, and antique shops. The Manor
“structurally” as it exists today was not begun until
1832. The Second Earl of Dunraven and his wife, Lady
Caroline Wyndham, were living in a Georgian house
built in the 1720’s by Valentine Quin, grandfather
of the first Earl. But Lord Dunraven, crippled with
gout, was unable to participate in the usual activities
of a landed gentleman of leisure so Lady Caroline
devised the idea of a new manor house to give him
something important to do. As it turned out, it was
a magnificient suggestion: the building of the house
provided labor for the surrounding villagers during
the terrible potato famine that devastated the country
during the mid-19th century. Though Lady Caroline
went to great lengths to establish the myth that Adare
Manor was planned entirely by her husband without
an architect, it is fairly certain today that much
of the design work was done by James Pain who, along
with his brother George Richard, had been commissioned
to design numerous public buildings and country homes.
The actual construction was supervised by James Connolly,
a local mason, until his death in 1852.
The structure is a series of visual allusions to famous
Irish and English homes that the Dunravens admired.
It is replete with curious eccentricities such as
the turreted entrance tower at one corner rather than
in the center, 52 chimneys to commemorate each week
of the year, 75 fireplaces and 365 leaded glass windows.
The lettered text carved in the front of the south
parapet reads: “Except the Lord build the house, then
labour is but lost that built it.” The elaborate decoration
is a miracle of stonework – arches, gargoyles, chimneys,
bay windows, etc. The interior spaces are designed
on a grand scale. One of the most renowned interior
spaces is the Minstrel’s Gallery: 132 foot long, 26-1/2
foot high expanse inspired by the Hall of Mirrors
in Versailles and lined on either side with 17th Century
Flemish Choir Stalls. The private rooms hardly pale
in comparison to the public rooms with elaborately
decorated stone and wood craftsmanship and sweeping
views of the river.
The 840 acre estate that surrounds the Manor House
consists of sweeping parklands, cultivated gardens,
formal French gardens, magnificent mature trees, and
the Maigue, one of Ireland’s best trout rivers. The
Formal Gardens were laid out in geometric box patterns
by P.C. Hardwick in the 1850’s. The assortment of
trees include the magnificent Cedar of Lebanon on
the river bank (approximately 300 years old), the
180 year old Beeches, Monkey Puzzles, Cork, Aspen
and Flowering Cherry. Among the trees southwest of
the Manor are Ogham Stones which were “imported” from
Kerry by Edwin, the Third Earl of Dunraven. Ogham
Stones date from the early Fifth Century to the middle
of the Seventh Century. They are mainly Christian
in context and are usually associated with old churches
or early Christian burial sites. Ogham inscriptions
are in an early form of Irish, frequently followed
by Latin inscriptions and often read from the bottom
upwards. A pet cemetery is located close to the Ogham
Stones with carved memorials to the Dunraven pets.
Lord Dunraven did not live to see his dream Manor
finished in 1862 but his eldest son, the 3rd Earl
of Dunraven, did. The home remained in the Dunraven
family until 1982 when Lady Dunraven sold it to an
investment consortium. In 1987, the Thomas F. Kane
Family of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, acquired the
Manor. The delicate and detailed restoration was completed
in 1988 transforming Adare Manor into a world class
home away from home. In 1989 the River Wing, indoor
swimming pool, and conference rooms were completed.
The Robert Trent Jones, Sr. golf course opened in
August 1995. Stretching 7,138 yards from the championship
tees, Adare Golf Club encompasses 230 acres of lush
countryside. The River Maigue meanders through the
back nine creating a sense of beauty and challenge.
The Spring of 1999 saw the opening of the 18,000 square
foot clubhouse. This facility men’s and women’s changing
rooms, a pro shop, a bar, dining room, a conference
center with 5 break-out rooms, and 11 en-suite bedrooms.
We also opened 25 two and four bedroom Townhomes located
in an elegant courtyard close to the Manor and adjacent
to the Clubhouse. Adare Manor has indeed entered a
new era as a premier vacation destination offering
the finest of Irish hospitality. |
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