Monday, June 2 – Sunday, June 8, 2025 – Great Houses and Gardens of Ireland
Embark on a captivating journey with the Berkshire Botanical Garden through the lush landscapes and rich history of Ireland. For more information, contact Lani Summerville at 413-446-8728 or office@classicalexcursions.com. Tour participants to make their own travel arrangements to arrive at Dublin airport no later than June 2, 2025.
Day 1, June 2, 2025
8 a.m. — Departure from Dublin Airport
11 a.m. — Enjoy a morning visit to Ballysallagh House and Gardens, County Kilkenny. The charming mid-18th-century house and gardens were restored and decorated by the present owners.
1 p.m. — Lunch at Dangan Cottage. Originally a late 18th-century cottage orné built in the grounds of a larger, now lost, country house. With the river Nore flowing past at the bottom of its garden, the building was subsequently extended so that it is now a substantial property, perfectly suited to owner Christopher Moore who has a renowned collection of Irish furniture and pictures that fill all the rooms and act as a living museum of Georgian taste.
4:30 p.m. — Check-in at the Cliff House Hotel, County Waterford – staying three nights. OR Lismore Castle (pictured below)
6:30 p.m. — Dinner at The Cliff House Hotel
Overnight at the Cliff House Hotel
Day 2, June 3, 2025
Breakfast at the Cliff House Hotel
9 a.m. — Tour in House & Garden, situated on the banks of the river Blackwater, home to the famous Jameson Whiskey family. Enjoy fifteen acres of various types of gardens, including walled gardens, rock gardens, formal gardens, and a woodland walk.
12:30 p.m.— Lunch and a visit at Kilshannig House, County Cork. Considered to be one of the finest Palladian houses in Ireland with superlative plasterwork by the Lafranchini brothers, the house was built in 1760 and designed by architect Davis Ducart.
4 p.m. — Return to the Cliff House Hotel
Dinner on your own tonight
Overnight at the Cliff House Hotel
Day 3, June 4, 2025
Breakfast at the Cliff House Hotel.
10 a.m. — Departure for Dromana House & Garden for a tour and lunch with the owner Barbara Villiers-Stuart, whose family has lived on this site for more than 800 years. Perched high above the river Blackwater, Dromana was originally a castle, then a 17th-century house, and finally an 18th-century house. Parts of the house were demolished some 50 years ago, but the most important interiors and contents remain and were sensitively restored by Barbara. Her husband Nicholas Grubb, himself a descendent of a very old Quaker family, has rescued large portions of the gardens.
1:30 p.m. — Visit Cappoquin House & Gardens, County Waterford. The Keanes have lived at Cappoquin since the first of their number bought the estate in the 1770s and built a house above the river Blackwater. It survived until burnt in 1923 during the Irish Civil War. However, Sir John Keane — who had wisely removed all furniture and pictures before the fire — immediately embarked on a rebuilding program and today it is impossible to tell if Cappoquin had ever been damaged. Surrounded by exquisite gardens, the house today is home to Sir Charles Keane and his wife Corinne.
4 p.m. — Return to the hotel
Overnight at the Cliff House Hotel
Day 4, June 5, 2025
Breakfast at the Cliff House Hotel
10 a.m. — Departure for Curraghmore Estate for a visit and lunch with the owners. One of the great houses of Ireland and only recently accessible to the general public, Curraghmore has been home to the same family for the past 800 years. Now home to the ninth Marquess of Waterford and his wife, at the core of the building is a medieval tower, the first floor of which now contains spectacular plasterwork created by the Lafranchini brothers in the 1740s. Much of the rest of the house was designed some thirty years later by James Wyatt, and today these are the finest set of rooms by that architect in Ireland. Curraghmore is complete with treasures as would be expected of a property occupied by successive generations for so long. On the grounds is the only surviving 18th-century shell house, decorated in 1754 by Catherine, Countess of Tyrone. The vast surrounding gardens consist of 2,500 acres of formal gardens and woodlands.
2 p.m. — Possible visit to Mount Congreve Gardens or LafCadio Hearn Japanese Garden
5:45 p.m. — Departure for Lismore Castle, County Waterford, for a private tour and dinner. Used since the mid-18th century as the Irish residence of the Dukes of Devonshire, Lismore Castle itself is much older, its origins going back to the 13th century when commissioned by King John. Since then, it has passed through various guises, but much of the present building was commissioned by the 6th ‘Bachelor’ Duke of Devonshire who invited his architect Sir Joseph Paxton to renovate and extend the existing castle which perches dramatically above the river Blackwater. Little has changed since then, and the main rooms today contain the largest private collection of furniture designed by Augustus Welby Pugin. (Alternative Ballynaytray Estate)
Overnight at the Cliff House Hotel
Day 5, June 6, 2025
10 a.m. — Check out of the hotel and depart for Dublin. Enjoy a morning visit to Gloster House & Gardens, a well-preserved 18th-century house thought to have been designed by the period’s pre-eminent architect Sir Edward Lovette Pearce.
Noon — Lunch at Birr Castle, County Offaly, with the Earl and Countess of Rosse. The castle has been home to the Parsons family for 400 years and contains much of the original furniture and paintings collected throughout generations. Our private tour of the house and renowned gardens will be conducted by the Countess of Rosse.
Check-in at the hotel in Dublin
Day 6, June 7, 2025
Breakfast at the hotel
A morning private tour at Burtown House & Garden. Burtown House has always belonged to the same Quaker family since being built in the first half of the 18th century, and is now home to photographer James Fennell and his wife Joanna, who have built a barn on the grounds offering fresh food from the gardens. Burtown was home to Ireland’s finest botanical artist, Wendy Walsh (James’ grandmother), and is still home to her daughter, landscape artist Lesley Fennell. We will tour the house, which is not open to the public.
Lunch at the Green Barn at Burton following our tour of the house & extensive gardens.
Irish National Stud Gardens
Farewell Dinner in Dublin
Day 7, June 8, 2025
Departures
COST: $4,974 per person for six nights, including a tax-deductible $500 donation to BBG. (An additional $1,500 charge will be applied to a single traveler using a room that could sleep two or more.)
• Here is the tour brochure. • Here is registration information and terms and conditions.
