Doneraile Court is a late-17th century country house ear the town of

Doneraile Doneraile (), historically Dunerayl, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is on the R581 regional road east of the N20 road, which runs from Limerick to Cork. It is about north of Mallow town. It is on the River Awbeg, a branch of the ...

in County Cork which stands in of walled parkland. It remained the seat of the St Leger family from the time of construction until the mid-20th century. The park is open all year with free admission.

History

The estate, together with other lands, was purchased in 1629 by Sir

William St. Leger Sir William St Leger PC (Ire) (1586–1642) was an Anglo-Irish landowner, administrator and soldier, who began his military career in the Eighty Years' War against Habsburg Spain. He settled in Ireland in 1624, where he was MP for Cork Count ...

Lord President of Munster The post of Lord President of Munster was the most important office in the English government of the Irish province of Munster from its introduction in the Elizabethan era for a century, to 1672, a period including the Desmond Rebellions in Munste ...

, who moved into the 13th-century Doneraile Castle. By 1645 the castle had been attacked and burned several times and was so badly damaged that it had to be abandoned. The present house was constructed in its place in the late 1600s, utilising some of the stonework of the old castle. It was extensively remodelled and the current facade added in 1725 by architect Isaac Rothery. Over the years various extensions were added such as an octagonal kitchen and game store built in 1869. A dining room built at the same time and a nine bay Gothic Revival style conservatory built in 1825 have since been demolished. Other improvements within the estate included cottages, lodges, farm buildings and stables. The St. Leger family owned and bred horses for hunting and racing on the estate. In 1870 the Doneraile demesne covered some in and around Doneraile, but was gradually reduced in size by the sale of land to tenants under the various Land Acts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The remaining demesne land, which now comprises Doneraile Wildlife Park, was sold to the government in 1943, followed by the house itself in 1969 when the last St Leger occupier left. When Doneraile Court was the residence of Lord Castletown, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who had been a soldier in the American Civil War, and became a lawyer and United States Supreme Court justice, carried on an extensive correspondence with Clare, Lady Castletown. He visited Doneraile on several occasions, and may have had an affair with her. The grounds in the vicinity of the house is laid out in the style of

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English lan ...

whilst the deer park contains Killarney Red, Sika and

Fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...

and the meadows a herd of

Kerry cattle Kerry cattle ( ga, Bó Chiarraí or ''Bollatach'' or ''Buinín'') are a rare breed of dairy cattle, native to Ireland. They are believed to be one of the oldest breeds in Europe, probably derived from small black cattle brought to Ireland by Neoli ...

References

{{Historic Irish houses Buildings and structures in County Cork Houses in the Republic of Ireland Gardens in County Cork