Lutyens in Ireland

5, 6 & 7 July 2001

Twenty-four members of the Trust met one sunny evening at the opulent Shelbourne Hotel in the centre of Dublin, with a real air of expectation, albeit tinged with a little concern. The visit programme had been known for a long time hence the anticipation, but concern as to whether the weather would stay fine for the three-mile open boat journeys during the next two days to Lambay Island and Castle. (The party had to be divided into two groups because the boat could only take 12 passengers.)

David Averill had planned an excellent programme, ironed out many logistical nightmares, and arranged a perfect venue for our first dinner at Browne’s Brasserie.

We need not have been concerned about the weather on the first day as it was kind, the little boat rolled and pitched but Lambay loomed ahead all 750 acres of it, solid in the blue sea. As the boat chugged into the old harbour Mr. [Patrick] and Mrs Kelly were there to give us all individually a very warm welcome as well as a helping hand from the boat. We were guided towards the castle nestling in a wooded area behind its large perimeter wall.

Mr. & Mrs. Kelly welcomed us to the castle with an interesting talk on its history, their family, and all the work designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. We were shown interesting early photographs and after coffee, we were all taken on a tour of the whole castle and gardens. It was a great experience, little has changed since Lutyens carried out extensive work on the existing castle, and designed and built the new courtyard buildings. The colours and detail remain unchanged, and the original furniture is still in place. The peace and serenity of the place was almost tangible. Sadly all too soon we were waving goodbye as the little boat left to return to Rush harbour.

On returning to the mainland the two groups joined up for lunch and a visit to Howth Castle. Following a welcome introduction from Mr. Christopher Gaisford-St. Lawrence he and his son took us on a tour of the castle. Again Sir Edwin Lutyens had carried out extensive work on the building and added a new extension, which matched perfectly the existing structure. In particular the library and the drawing room were quite magnificent.

In the evening dinner was at the Harbourmaster Restaurant in the business centre of Dublin.

Day two dawned fine and bright and members of the second group led by David made their way to Lambay, while the first group visited the Municipal Gallery to see Sir Edwin Lutyens’s unexecuted proposals for the Hugh Lane Gallery. Later we all met up to travel to the Irish Memorial Gardens at Islandbridge. These were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens to commemorate the 49,400 Irish soldiers who died in the First World War, and are most successful in terms of not only design but also of scale and location. The atmosphere created was one of tranquillity and simple dignity.

The final dinner at Mahaffy House, the home of Ms. Desiree Short, provided a quite super climax to an excellent programme.

The whole two-day event was an enormous success and a great credit to David Averill who had planned and led it. This was warmly acknowledged by Martin Lutyens in his closing speech. No one wanted the evening to end and happy reminiscences of the visit continued until a late hour!

BS