Country house

The National Monuments Service's description

In woodland near N shore of Derrynane Bay. Derrynane House was the home of Daniel O'Connell. The oldest part of the house, built in 1702, was demolished in 1967 for safety reasons during the restoration work. Daniel O'Connell built the two-storey south wing facing the sea and the crenellated library wing to the east in 1825, the oldest surviving part of the house. The chapel was added in 1844 and was modelled on the ruined monastery chapel of Ahamore Abbey on nearby Abbey Island (KE106-077----). From then on Derrynane House was also known as Derrynane Abbey. It is not an abbey in the true sense of the word. By 1964 the two-storey building was in a poor structural condition and was transferred to the Commissioners of Public Works. Restoration work was completed in 1967, when the house was officially opened to the public as a museum by President De Valera. Derrynane House and 300 acres of adjoining land now make up Derynane National Historic Park, under the management of the national Monuments and Historic Properties Service of Dúchas.

Compiled by: Elizabeth Byrne, Ursula Egan and Sheila Ronan, Archaeological Survey Unit, University College, Cork.

Date of upload: 30 May 2011