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This was the first example of Palladianism to be constructed in Ireland (1722–32) and remains the largest and most significant of its kind in the country. Architects Alessandro Galilei and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce built the house for William Conolly, the Speaker of the Irish Parliament. The fine interiors were commissioned in the second half of the 18th century by Lady Louisa Lennox, the wife of Conolly’s great-nephew Tom, who took up residence here in 1758. The house remained in the family until 1965 and, after a period of ownership by the Georgian Society, is now run by the state.

A large part of the charm of this important monastic site is its location. The name translates as the “valley of the two lakes”: the Upper Lake provides some of the most splendid scenery, with wooded slopes and a plunging waterfall, while the Lower Lake has a feeling of spirituality with the monastic ruins all around. St Kevin, a member of the Leinster royal family, founded the monastery during the 6th century and it became a renowned centre of Celtic learning.

Upper Lake, Glendalough

At the far west of the city, these two institutions could not be more different. The forbidding Kilmainham Gaol, with its grim history, was restored and opened as a museum in the 1960s; in contrast, the former hospital is a fine and beautiful building, restored in the 1980s and now home to the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

A must for architecture fans, this attractive house lies north of Dublin at the seaside village of Donabate. The house was designed for Archbishop Charles Cobbe in 1737 by George Semple – the Cobbe family still live in the upper half of the house although the council bought it from them in the 1980s. Rooms include the beautifully preserved Red Drawing Room, the huge kitchen and the Museum of Curiosities.

There is enough to see within this vast park to keep the visitor busy for a whole day. The zoo is one of the main attractions, and Áras an Uachtaráin provides the official home to the President of Ireland.

Five minutes from the pretty village of Enniskerry, Powerscourt Estate is a magnificent spot. The visitor approaches the house down a long beech-lined avenue with beautiful views across the valley. The house, designed by Richard Cassels in the 1730s, was gutted by fire in 1974, but a small exhibition gives the “before and after” story of its reconstruction. The main part of the house is now given over to an up-market shop (see Greater Dublin) and large restaurant. The gardens are spread over a steep slope looking across to Sugar Loaf Mountain; steps lead down to a lake, where a Triton fountain hurls water high into the air.

Powerscourt

Another fine Palladian mansion, claiming the longest frontage in Ireland, Russborough was designed by Richard Cassels in the mid-18th century. Standing on raised ground it faces a stretch of water backed by the Wicklow Mountains and is kept in immaculate condition. One of the main reasons to visit is for the outstanding Beit Art Collection, put together in the 19th century by Sir Alfred Beit (1853– 1906). His nephew bought Russborough in 1952 to house the collection.