Homeowners Kevin and Lindsay bought an 1800s stone cottage and 1900s stone barn on a large site near Craughwell, Co. Galway and embarked on a three year project to dramatically restore the two buildings, connecting them with a modern link. The result, a 3 bedroom home for their family, honours the unique features of the old buildings, with stone exposed, original hearths featured and all openings retained. This cottage restoration and barn conversion was seen on RTE Great House Revival, and made extensive use of natural building materials.

Guides:
Lindsay Deely, Home Owner
Architect Patti O'Neill https://oneillarchitecture.com/
Laurik Mathieu, Mathieu & Mitchell Ltd

FREE but prebook is essential

This walk explores the past, present and future of Nuns’ Island. Situated in the heart of Galway, the former industrial district is undergoing significant change. Participants are invited to explore spaces of reuse and repair in an area that combines the historic and the contemporary as well as the urban and the natural. Taking in points of interest that include Persse’s Distillery, Nuns’ Island Theatre and the many waterways that surround and intersect the area, the walk also includes a site visit to The Mill. Also known at the McLaughlin Building, The Mill is a former industrial space spanning the Gaol River and will soon be redeveloped by the University of Galway. Participants will be invited to step inside and see the building as it is now and plans for its future.

Guides: Mark Rainey / Dr.Patrick Collins / Denis O’Connor

FREE, Pre-booking available

Note* The Mill (The McLaughlin Building) is not universally accessible and includes steps. The walk will follow a path that includes uneven pavement and possible steps.

St Patricks Redemptorist Monastery is an impressive multi-phase religious complex, completed in 1903 which retains much of its original form and character. The monastery, together with the former seminary and chapel, creates a significant architectural group that continues to contribute to the community. The chapel has been undergoing sensitive conservation work in phases to repair former interventions and ensure it maintains its character and utility into the future.

Guides: ​Sinéad Hughes, Head of Conservation, Carrig Conservation International Ltd 

Drop in / on a first come basis

Ballygar Tidy Town Committee have been very active in repairing , maintaining and enhancing their place. The historic masonry and metal work of Killeroran graveyard with its iconic round tower forming part of Kelly’s mausoleum has been repaired. The former court house was purchased from the Credit Union in 2014 and refurbished as a meeting place. The bandstand was erected in 2019 to commemorate  local man Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore who found fame in the United States. 

 Guides: Tomas Kenny and Tidy Town Committee

Meet at bandstand, Opposite St.Marys Roman Catholic Church, Ballygar, F42 YD83

Drop in / on a first come basis  

Presentation of the conservation repair and consolidation works carried out at Menlough, Tirellan and Merlin castles by Fergal Mc Namara, 7L Architects, followed by walking tour to Tirellan Castle (Terryland) led by Dr. Jim Higgins, Heritage and Conservation Officer, Galway City Council.

The first stage of the Conservation repair of Menlough, Tirellan and Merlin castles was carried out in 2021 and continues in 2022. While the conservation works have partially stabilised the ruins, it is anticipated that a a programme of landscaping and access works will allow them to be safely opened up in the future for the enjoyment of Galwegians and visitors to the city.  Tirellan is a fortified house of the seventeenth century which enjoys a riverine setting with views towards the University of Galway. Merlin, a tower house of the sixteenth century is an essential element of Merlin Woods and now forms the centrepiece of a large residential scheme. Both castles are located in established amenity areas that share their names; Terryland Forest Park and Merlin Park Woods. Their potential to animate and enrich the use of these parks will be explored with proposals for the public realm of the city, where these landmark structures would play an enhanced role.

Please note; Rough Terrain at Tirellan castle will be encountered, please wear suitable boots and clothing.

This walled garden, laid out c. 1820 with its  forge, are physical remainders of Mountbellew demesne, once a thriving estate . The enclosure was designed to grow cucumbers, melons and flowers, amongst other plants, and the remains of a greenhouse, grapery and peach house can be seen. In addition, a gardener’s house was built into the very walls of the garden. The estate was taken over in 1937 by the Land Commission and the house destroyed in 1939 to provide stones to fix roads, despite protests from the locals who tried to have the house converted into a district hospital. An enthusiastic local group have driven the repair and capping of  the masonry walls , removal of ivy and repair of wrought iron gates . They are carefully uncovering the paths and following best conservation practice in their endeavours.

Guides:
Jimmy Noone, John Walsh & members Mountbellew Heritage and Tourism Network

Tour of ongoing works at the complex site of The Walks in Loughrea. 18 bridges span the water course which follows the line of the medieval defenses, leading to burgage plots lining the main street of the town. In 1796 a cruciform promenade was laid out alongside which has been a place of recreation and contemplation for the residents of Loughrea for over two hundred years. Diverse groups and owners in the town have come together to fund the conservation works which protect the brown trout habitat in the watercourse, its historic masonry fabric, and sylvan setting.

Guides: Ursula Marmion

Drop in / but pre-booking available

Historian Fintan O Gorman will guide a walk around the outside of the Ashford Castle building, including a guided tour of the estate gardens. This is followed by an interior tour offering an opportunity to view the castle’s exquisitely restored interiors, including the vaults and the magnificent Oak Hall.  Then settle into the cinema room with fresh popcorn, and watch a programme of short touristic films made in and about Galway and environs, restored by Irish Film Institute and learn about the recent restoration works at Ashford Castle with a short video.

Tickets €10. Pre-booking required

Working with Kylemore Abbey and led by Architect Michael Horan, AATE has created a programme of activity focussing on the Conservation works at Kylemore’s Gothic Church.  This will include a classroom-based introduction to the Gothic Church building and its heritage; followed by a tour of the site, detailing the conservation works underway.  Attendees will have an opportunity to see the impact of these conservation works to the Gothic Church, led by architect and experts Michael Horan & Neil Crimmins, and practical demonstrations with Michael McHale.

Itinerary

10.30am: Registered participants arrive to Visitor Centre, Kylemore Abbey and directed to Training Room in main Abbey Building.  Tea/coffee on arrival in Training Room (provided  gratis by Mitchell's Café).

11.00am: Welcome by Conor Coyne, Exec Director, Kylemore Abbey

• 11.15 – 12.00: Michael Horan – Project Description: The Gothic Church at Kylemore Abbey

• 12.00 – 12.40: Neil Crimmins – Conservation Plan and Scope of Works

• 12.40 – 13.00: Q&A – panel: Mairin Doddy, Michael Horan, Neil Crimmins

1.00pm: Lunch in The Kylemore Café – participants can purchase lunch in café (adjacent) and tour Abbey.

2.00pm: Site Visit:  Participants walk to The Gothic Church, tour led by architects and on site talks and practical demonstrations with Michael McHale.

4.00pm: Return to Kylemore Abbey Training Room – summary/wrap up. Tea/coffee. Participants depart.

Tickets FREE. Pre-booking required

RIAI CPD points applicable

Abbeyknockmoy possesses one of the best surviving examples of medieval wall painting in Ireland, protected under the vault of the presbytery.   Paintings feature the popular medieval tale of the Three Living and Three Dead Kings, intended to remind viewers of the inevitability of death, and an image of the martyrdom of St. Sebastian, the saint invoked for protection from plague. The east end of the abbey is the work of the so-called ‘School of the West’, a group of masons renowned for their fine stone carvings and idiosyncratic sculptural detailing. Good examples of their work can be seen on the east windows and the carved head of a king – possibly Cathal Croibhdhearg, located in the nave. 

Guides:
Colm Murray, Architecture Officer, The Heritage Council
Dr Karena Morton, Head of Conservation, National Museum of Ireland

Free / Meet at Abbeyknockmoy graveyard carpark

Accessibility The abbey is located down a short walk from the graveyard carpark to the north of Abbeyknockmoy town. There is a stile (a passage over a fence via steps and a narrow gap) that might prove difficult to those with mobility issues.

Dr Karena Morton has been Head of Conservation at the National Museum of Ireland, based at the Museum of Country Life, Mayo, since March 2017. Karena’s PhD. thesis was on Irish Medieval Wall Painting. She worked for fifteen years as a freelance conservator of archaeological finds and wall paintings, particularly ones of late medieval date.

This eclectic style of this church, with its Romanesque revival elements, is owed to William A. Scott, one of the leading Arts and Crafts designers of his time. Built in 1904 it has been repaired over several years recently under the direction of architect Michael Walsh . Michael will lead a tour of the church and discuss the issues involved in its maintenance. 

Guide: ​ Architect Michael Walsh

Drop in / on a first come basis

Gemma Ginty Architects

An architect and engineer owned project, creating a family home adaptable over time, in a rugged landscape. Using offsite construction of timber frame, clad with a ventilated façade of Cedral boards and Baumit render. The 270mm walls and roof are pumped with Cellulose (recycled newspaper) to provide excellent insulation, acoustics and a low carbon home. Concealed gutters and a limited palate of materials create a strong architectural form. The house makes the most of light, landscape and volume, connecting to framed views and outside spaces.

Guides:
Building Owners – Gemma Ginty & Cian O’Donnchadha

Project Credits:
Timber frame Builder – Irish Eco homes, Adrian Gallagher
Vertex Roofing – (roof and cladding) Martin Lee
Groundworks – Máirtín ÓFlatharta Teo
Membranes/Wufi Analysis – Partel – Hugh Whiriskey

FREE but prebook is essential

Architecture at the Edge(AATE) in association with Architecture Association Ireland (AAI) present;
House at Sky Road

Architect Peter Carroll, A2 Architects led tours at 11:30 and 12:30pm (max 15 per tour). 

With a desire to draw its own emphatic datum line panning from the contoured hills either side this house registers and faces the force seaward winds while creating the opportunity for a sheltered microclimate within. A forty-two-metre long cast-in-situ concrete beam spans a dip in a local ridge to enable a clear-spanning living, dining and kitchen space at the core of this house. Two lower perpendicular flanking wings lie on either side – one of the bedrooms and another of ancillary spaces. The resultant primary apertures made by the beam are in contrast to the remaining smaller window openings with their own expressed lintels.

The layout and landscaping of the sheltered courtyard garden make this another room of the house. Large, lichen-covered boulders found onsite, granite patios and local stone walls provide focal points for approaching the house and encourage the use of this space. This garden is anchored by trees and hedging saved when the site was cleared and contrasts with the nature of the far larger landscape beyond.

Pre-booking required. Prebook essential via the AAI website *

*ticket holders are requested to meet at Clifden Boat Club, Castle Demesne, 20min in advance of the timed tour.  The house is located a short walk from the boat club carpark in Clifden