The Conolly Folly ( ga, Baois Uí Chongaile), a.k.a. The Obelisk, is an obelisk structure located between

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

Leixlip Leixlip ( or ; , IPA: �lʲeːmʲənˠˈwɾˠad̪ˠaːnʲ is a town in north-east County Kildare, Ireland. Its location on the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water has marked it as a frontier town historically: on the border between ...

and

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It was built in the mid-18th century by the Conolly family, then owners of the Castletown Estate. It was restored in the mid-20th century by the

Irish Georgian Society The Irish Georgian Society is an architectural heritage and preservation organisation which promotes and aims to encourage an interest in the conservation of distinguished examples of architecture and the allied arts of all periods across Ire ...

, and is now a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

in state care.

History

The

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

was built just outside Castletown Estate (containing

Castletown House Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, is a Palladian country house built in 1722 for William Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. It formed the centrepiece of an estate. Sold to developers in 1965, the estate i ...

), which contains two follies, both commissioned by

Katherine Conolly Katherine Conolly (''c.''1662 – 1752) was an Irish political hostess, landowner, and philanthropist. Life Katherine Conolly was born Katherine Conyngham around 1662. Her parents were Sir Albert Conyngham and Margaret (née Leslie). She was ...

, the philanthropic widow of Speaker

William Conolly William Conolly (9 April 1662 – 30 October 1729), also known as Speaker Conolly, was an Irish politician, Commissioner of Revenue, lawyer and landowner. Career William Conolly was born the son of an inn-keeper, Patrick Conolly, in Ballysha ...

. It was built at a cost of £400 to provide employment for the poor of Celbridge when the famine of 1740–41 was at its worst. The

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

was built in 1740 after a particularly severe winter. As a folly, it could be seen from the back of Castletown some away and it is built exactly perpendicular to the centre of the house. It was intended to mark the rear entrance gateway to Castletown house in conjunction with an avenue leading to the house. The folly was built on land that was near to, but not on, the Conolly estate. It therefore belonged to neighbouring

Carton A carton is a box or container usually made of liquid packaging board, paperboard and sometimes of corrugated fiberboard. Many types of cartons are used in packaging. Sometimes a carton is also called a box. Types of cartons Folding carton ...

, the home of the Fitzgerald family,

Dukes of Leinster Duke of Leinster (; ) is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier dukedom in that peerage. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, ...

. Designed by

Richard Castle Richard Edgar "Rick" Castle (born Richard Alexander Rodgers) is a fictional character on the ABC crime series '' Castle''. He is portrayed by Nathan Fillion. The name Richard Castle is also used as a pseudonym under which a set of real books a ...

, it is 42 metres (140 feet) high and is composed of several

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

es, adorned by stone pineapples and eagles, topped by a massive obelisk pillar. It was restored between 1962 and 1965 by the

(IGS), in what was the society's first major restoration project. The organisation now uses an image of the folly on its emblem. The folly, on its 5 acres of woodland, was acquired by the IGS in 1968 thanks to American donor Rose Saul Zalles. The grave of the co-founder of the society,

Mariga Guinness Mariga Guinness (born Hermione Maria-Gabrielle von Urach; 21 September 1932 – 8 May 1989) was an architectural conservationist and socialite, and co-founder of the Irish Georgian Society. Life Early life and family Mariga Guinness was born He ...

(1932–1989), is located at the folly. The site, which is designated as a "

in state ownership", is now in the care of the

Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) ( ga, Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí) (legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of ow ...

(OPW). The OPW has erected modern fencing to protect the structure by preventing direct public access. Tea towel of The Conolly Folly, Kildare

Spelling

The name ''Conolly'' is used, rather than the more common spelling

Connolly Connolly may refer to: People * Connolly (surname) Places * Connolly, Western Australia, a suburb in Perth, Western Australia * Connolly, County Clare, Ireland * Connolly Park in Collooney, County Sligo, Ireland * Dublin Connolly railway statio ...

, as it was the spelling used by William Conolly and by all his descendants. It derived from the Irish 'Ui Conghaile'.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Conolly Folly - on OPW's Castletown.ie site
Celbridge Maynooth Buildings and structures in County Kildare Folly buildings in the Republic of Ireland Obelisks in the Republic of Ireland National Monuments in County Kildare Richard Cassels buildings

History

Spelling

See also

References

External links