Belcamp House (sometimes Belcamp Hall) is a Georgian house and former school, situated within a substantial estate off the Malahide Road in

Balgriffin Balgriffin ( ga, Baile Ghrífín, meaning "Griffin's town") is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It lies within southern Fingal in the traditional County Dublin and it is partly in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council and partly that of Fingal C ...

in the northern suburbs of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland. The house was designed by the noted architect

James Hoban James Hoban (1755 – December 8, 1831) was an Irish-American architect, best known for designing the White House. Life James Hoban was a Roman Catholic raised on Desart Court estate belonging to the Earl of Desart near Callan, County Kilkenny ...

, who also designed the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

with a similar Oval Office utilising the bow back of the building.

History

Establishment

The house was built in 1785 by

(who later designed the

in Washington, D.C.), for the Burton family and Sir Edward Newenham, a member of the Irish parliament, and an ardent supporter of the Republican Party in the United States, who corresponded with

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

.Buildings at rish Belcamp House Dublin
Irish Times

Belcamp College

The college was established in 1893 as a juniorate for the Oblate Fathers, and became a boarding school for boys. School facilities were built onto the original house but the original house still stands intact today. St Mary's Chapel was added to the complex in the early 1900s, and a two-storey red-brick accommodation wing. The chapel was adorned by 12 stained glass windows by

Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau an ...

. In 1972 the historic Belcamp Hall was placed on the protected structures list.

Alumni

The actor

Brendan Gleeson Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two British Independent Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award and four times fo ...

worked as an English and Irish teacher in Belcamp. The golfer

Philip Walton Philip Joseph Walton (born 28 March 1962) is an Irish professional golfer. Walton attended Oklahoma State University in the United States and played for Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup in 1981 and 1983. According to Ronan Rafferty, W ...

, the actor Tony Doyle and the theologian and writer Thomas Groome were pupils at the school. Another former student at Belcamp was Fr Stewart Joseph Phelan OMI, who served as Navy chaplain in the Great War on HMS ''Black Prince''; he was lost at sea at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Winner of eight All Ireland Senior Hurling medals with Killkenny, Frank Cummins was a student at the college (he also helped Belcamp win the Leinster Colleges football final in 1965.).

Sport

The school produced some successful Gaelic football sides, winning the GAA Secondary Schools,

Leinster Colleges Senior Football Championship The Leinster colleges senior football "A" championship, is the top level Gaelic football competition for secondary schools in Leinster. The winners receive the Brother Bosco (Mulhare) Cup and advance to the All-Ireland colleges "A" senior footba ...

in 1921, 1965, 1967 and 1968, and twice runners-up in the All-Ireland Schools final (for the

Hogan Cup The Hogan Cup ( ga, Corn Uí Ógáin), also known as the All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A Football Championship, is the top level Gaelic football championship for secondary schools (sometimes referred to as colleges) in Ireland. The com ...

). Father Tom Scully, who taught mathematics, trained Belcamp's team to the three 1960s Leinster Schools' Football Championships.

After the school

The house was much damaged by vandals and fire following the closure of the school in 2004, when it was sold to property developer

Gerry Gannon Gerry Gannon is an Irish builder and property developer since the 1980s. Gannon played a significant role in the Irish construction industry in the lead up the bursting of the Irish property bubble. Gannon was one of the key figures involved in ...

.Gannon embarks on plan for historic dublin site
by John Mulligan, Irish Independent, 5 January 2016. Eventually the property fell under the control of NAMA. After 2011, the developer and the local authority did work to secure the premises more actively, but much loss had already occurred. Planning permission was granted for the conversion of the main house into apartments, with a restaurant and childcare facility in one wing, and for 165 homes on the surrounding 15 hectares. Further housing proposals, including for five blocks of apartments, were to follow.

An Taisce An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established in June 1948, is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) active in the areas of the environment and built heritage in Ireland. It considers itself t ...

was supportive of the plans, while 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 some local residents had concerns about the historic building and public rights of way on parts of the land. As of summer 2018, the lands were in development. Gannon Homes at one time planned up to 2,000 residential units, but only a few hundred have yet been considered for planning permission.

Elements

Belcamp Hall

The house was based on a similar model to the White House in Washington, and it included an "oval office." It is a three-storey over basement, seven-bay structure.

The Walled Garden

Northwest of and behind the Hall is a walled garden. Now in poor repair, it once supplied the house with fruit and vegetables.

The Washington Monument

A castellate monument was erected to George Washington, possibly the first such in the world.

River, ponds and woods

The estate features woodland and rolling grounds, and the at-times steep-sided valley of the Turnapin or Mayne. The Turnapin Stream, one of the two main branches of the Mayne River, and often referred to by the river's name, runs through the property south of the house and other buildings, and is dammed to form two ponds, simply called the Upper and Lower Pond, and with weirs to regulate the water flow.

References

External Links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belcamp House Balgriffin James Hoban buildings Buildings and structures in Fingal Houses in the Republic of Ireland Buildings listed on the Fingal Record of Protected Structures