Drumcar House (later: St. Mary's Hospital; currently: Saint John of God Residence) is a manor house in the historical parish of Drumcar in the barony of

Ardee Ardee (; , ) is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. The town shows evidence of development from the thirteenth century onward but as a result of the continued devel ...

, northeast of

Dunleer Dunleer () is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. Dunleer is situated midway between Dundalk and Drogheda and is located on the junction of the R132, R169 and R170 regional roads that intersect the town. Dunleer used to be the p ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

, Ireland. The house was built in 1777. It was home to the McClintock family from then to the 1940s, stemming from Alexander McClintock (1692–1775). One of its best known owners was John McClintock (1770–1855), a magistrate for County Louth, and formerly Serjeant at Arms in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

, who was known to be occupying the estate in 1805 and until his death. The house was sold in about 1903 by The 2nd Baron Rathdonnell to his cousin, Frank McClintock (1853–1924), Rector of Drumcar and Dean of Armagh. In 1948, it became St. Mary's Hospital, a colony for the mentally ill. Still later, it was converted to Saint John of God Residence, a hospital/infirmary. The building is now registered with the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (Reg. No. 13901503).

Architecture and fittings

The elegant white Georgian mansion was originally large and rectangular, three storeys over a basement. It was two rooms deep split by a large central hall. A shallow hipped roof was hidden behind a cornice. There was a blocking course that included chimneystacks. The entrance front had five bay windows. The original building had a simple tripartite doorcase that was set in a shallow relieving arch, as well as single-storey walls with built-in niches and sunken panels. These joined the main block and included a pedimented carriage arch on each side. The 1837

Topographical Dictionary of Ireland Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

described it as "the seat of J. McClintock, Esq., an elegant mansion, beautifully situated in an extensive and richly wooded demesne, commanding a fine view of the Carlingford and Mourne mountains and the sea." The view extends to

Dundalk Bay Dundalk Bay ( ga, Cuan Dhún Dealgan) is a large (33 km2), exposed estuary on the east coast of Ireland. The inner bay is shallow, sandy and intertidal, though it slopes into a deeper area 2 km from the transitional water boundary.< ...

. A mid-19th century expansion included a four-columned

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

porch and balcony. Also moulded window surrounds and changes to the ground-floor windows occurred at this time. A later expansion added two-storey, three-bay wings. Another renovation added

Mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

s. The interior was entirely remodelled by Kelly & Jones when Drumcar House became St. Mary's Hospital, a colony for the mentally ill, in 1948. The conversion and extension cost approximately £360,000. A plaque on the portico commemorates 50 years of residence by Saint John of God brothers. The grounds are large and there are a number of single-storey buildings for accommodation and clinics.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Image of the house
Houses in the Republic of Ireland County Louth Georgian architecture in Ireland Houses completed in 1777 Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God Order 1777 establishments in Ireland