Castletown House

Ireland''s largest Palladian mansion, built in 1722 for William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, now open to visitors.

Castletown House in Celbridge, County Kildare, is the largest Palladian mansion in Ireland, built in 1722 for William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and the wealthiest man in Ireland at the time. The building follows a classic Palladian layout with a central block flanked by curved colonnades and wings. Among its notable outbuildings are The Wonderful Barn and Conolly''s Folly – a decorative baroque ruin Conolly had built during a famine to provide employment for local workers. Now owned by the Irish Georgian Society, the house is open to the public.