merrion street

The Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) and Flood Relief, Seán Canney, today (15th December 2016) accepted the donation of a collection of historic legal papers to the State.

The papers are associated with the history of Castletown House, Celbridge, Co. Kildare and the Conolly family of that house.

The Minister thanked the three finders of the papers, who have preserved them for forty years and who donated them to the State when their significance became clear.  The Minister said “I would like to thank Richard Gorman, Robert Maharry and Ruary Ó’Síocháin for their very generous donation to the State.  The papers will be conserved and returned to their home in Castletown House adding to our knowledge of that wonderful place.”

The Minister referred to the importance of Castletown House, to the architectural heritage of the State and to the local economy and amenities of North Kildare.  He detailed the new initiatives currently being undertaken to add to the facilities of the Castletown Estate to enhance the visitor experience.  He outlined the importance of these papers in the ongoing work of research being carried out by the OPW on the history of the Estate and the Conolly family.

After conservation, it is the intention of the OPW to house the collection in Castletown for the benefit of historians and also to exhibit some of the documents to the public.