What is it that gives the Irish house such a distinctive character? Why should their personality—and that of their owners—be so often idiosyncratic and eccentric? And how is it that there remains plenty of houses where shabby chic has been the norm for generations?

In an amusing and informative Royal Oak Foundation online talk on April 6 at 2 pm, mixing history with anecdote, author Robert O’Byrne offers a tour of some of Ireland’s unusual houses.

These include the family home whose present occupant has rescued everything connected with his ancestors—including their tombstones. And a house where so much plaster had already fallen off the walls that its owner simply took a hammer to clear away the rest. Then there is the stately home where the maid reputedly fell through the ceiling—landing safely on the dining room table. Robert’s introduction to these houses’ history and unique characteristics will entertain and enlighten.

Robert O’Byrne is a writer and lecturer specialising in the fine and decorative arts. He is the author of more than a dozen books, among them Luggala Days: The Story of a Guinness House (Cico Books); Romantic Irish Homes, Romantic English Homes: A Tribute to Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin (Lilliput Press), and The Irish Aesthete: Ruins of Ireland (2019).

A former Vice-President of the Irish Georgian Society and trustee of the Alfred Beit Foundation, he is currently a trustee of the Apollo Foundation. Among other work he writes a monthly column for Apollo magazine, and also contributes to each issue of the quarterly Irish Arts Review.

$20. Register HERE