Estate buildings at Corkagh

Anybody visiting Corkagh will recognise the buildings that now serve as a depot for the Council and may wonder about their history.

Corkagh House prior to demolition in 1960.  On the right is the original 1650s farmhouse with a bell tower on its gable end.  This house connected with the larger 1703 house to the left.  The cottages and stables were at the rear of these buildings and hidden from sight.

This collection of functional buildings was constructed around 1820 by the Finlay family of Corkagh. Since there has been a house at this spot since at least 1690 it is probable that they replaced older buildings but of those no trace remains. 
In the early 19th century considerable changes were
made to the Corkagh Estate.  The surrounding land was now actively farmed to generate an income and
with advances in farming techniques new outbuildings were required.

Rear of 'laundry' cottages at sunset

The 5 cottages to the side of the complex were restored by the council in the 1990s. One of these housed the laundry for the ‘big’ house. A large stone circular water trough that held gallons of water was incorporated into the structure with a furnace underneath to keep the water hot. That cottage connected to the one next door where the laundry was put through a large mangle which squeezed out the excess water. The clothes and linen were then taken outside to a section of the yard called the ‘bleach yard’ to dry. Three days each week were set aside as laundry days which meant hard physical work for all the servants involved! Another cottage in this row was used as a leather workshop and with so many horses at Corkagh it would have been constantly busy. 

Used as visitor toilets, this cottage was once part of the kitchens/servants quarters and lay behind Corkagh House. There were 25 household staff employed at Corkagh in its heyday!  The roof of the stable building is in the background.
A narrow alley ran between this building and the main house allowing servants access between both and also the older farmhouse.  The building with the tin roof in the background is a modern addition and Corkagh House stood almost directly in front of it.  The door in the foreground is an original entrance and the 1650s farmhouse which adjoined Corkagh was located directly in front of the door here.

Cottage Window at Corkagh.

These cottages once housed the laundry and would have been a hive of activity on wash days.

Prior to 1960, what is now the council yard, was divided by a high stone wall. On one side (behind what is now used as a toilet block) was a 'work' area and on the other (opposite the cottages) a rose garden.


The two storey stable buildings were an important element of the Estate.  They provided shelter for the horses and storage for hay and grains. 

The upper level of the stables, seen from the back avenue was where animal feed and hay would have been stored.  The outer yard is in the foreground and at one time there was a large horse pond here.
Arched entrance into Stable yard.  The attractive brickwork can be seen beneath the plaster.
Inside the stable building.  The roof was repaired in recent decades.

Entrance to stable building with ruined cottages adjacent. These can be seen from the back avenue.  I understand that these houses were still lived in until the 1970s.
Unlike the cottages at the front these have been allow to fall in to ruin.  At one time they housed the dairy men who began milking at 5am each morning.

During the 1940s the Finlay-Colley family operated Clondalkin Dairies from these buildings.  It was a successful operation as Dudley Colley was an early adopter of milking machines which allowed
him to increase his herd and run 5 delivery vans supplying milk to the locality.  Some of the stable buildings were used to house and milk the Corkagh dairy herd.  The company logo was: Connie the Corkagh Cow!! The estate was particularly hard hit by the foot and mouth outbreak of the late 1940s.   Much of Corkaghs herd were slaughtered and buried within what is now the park. Dudley Colley died prematurely in 1959 and his widow sold the greater part of Corkagh retaining adjacent Kilmatead (known as Little Corkagh and formerly the site of the Gunpowder Mills) where she moved with her children.

On the other side of the path there was a shed where cattle were milked.  

All that remains is the entrance (across a small bridge) and a couple of steps.

This view of the stables from the field behind has changed little since the 19th century.

Corkagh was purchased by Sir John Galvin an Australian who had made millions from investments in a Malaysian Iron ore mine.  Galvin had a passion for horses and equestrian sports and he provided sponsorship for the U.S Olympic equestrian team in the early 1960s.  His daughter Eileen was a member of that team.  Corkagh was renamed as Treemare Stud and Captain Cyril Harty from the famous equestrian family was hired as manager and trainer. The Hartys trained both racehorses and showjumpers and many stars of the track and ring were trained or retired here.  One of the stable buildings was converted to an indoor training ring, another was expanded to ensure that the star horses had suitably salubrious accommodations!

In 1973 A New York Times article reveals that ‘Snowbound and San Lucas, two of the greatest horses ever to compete for the United States Equestrian Team, have been retired and are grazing on the estate of their former owner, Sir John Galvin, outside Dublin.‘ Another article online mentions Corkagh: ‘We retired Snowbound, now 14, after Munich, especially as his rider was scheduled to retire at the end of the year too. He returned to John Galvin’s beautiful farm outside of Dublin and enjoyed a well-earned life of ease until he died.‘

upper storey of 19th century stable building clondalkin
Second storey of stable building which once housed some of best known show jumping horses of the time.  In the foreground is an old boundary wall and bricked up arched entrance.

Sir John Galvin sold Corkagh to Dublin County Council in 1983.

Corkagh Snapshots

Popular posts from this blog

Fishing Lakes at Corkagh

Image
  Contrary to appearances the fishing lakes   were only created in 2001 as part of flood prevention works on the Camac in what was  formerly a large meadow area filled with wildflowers .  The coffee shop at the lakes now replaced by a cafe near the rose garden. The lakes are fed by the waters of the River Camac and its tributary streams.  In extended periods of dry weather the water level can drop significantly while during wetter  periods lake levels quickly rise leading to flooding.  Pier under water November 2020 Pretty wooden piers at the lakes The lakes were initially stocked with Rainbow Trout   in the eastern lake and Carp  in the western lake near the Grange Castle car park.   Fish stocks are no longer maintained and the lakes are not actively managed.  Officially fishing is prohibited by the council however this is never enforced and visitors continue to fish here. SDCC have been asked to re-establish the fis...
Read more

The Old House at Corkagh

Image
Corkagh House in the early 20th century (courtesy SDCC) For many centuries Corkagh  was part of the lands under the control of the monastery founded by St Cronan Mochua at  Clondalkin  in the 7th century.   A burial enclosure and corn drying kiln dating from as early as the  8th century were discovered when the lower lakes (behind the playground) were being created in 2001. Originally the council had planned for two lakes however once the skeletons were discovered archaeological investigations commenced and the second lake was never completed.  Twenty burials were removed before the area was covered in geotextile to preserve any remaining burials for investigation in the future. The Round Tower at Clondalkin is over 1200 years old.    Some of the finds associated with these burials indicated a Viking influence and indeed the Vikings under King Amhlaith (Olaf) built a fort somewhere near the present to...
Read more

Sir John Galvin

Image
Sir John Galvin purchased Corkagh House and Demesne  from the Colley family in 1959. But aside from the fact that he was an Australian millionaire who was interested in training horses for equestrian sports and raising specimen cattle not much else had been written about him in any literature pertaining to Corkagh. It was he who had the charming and historic Corkagh House demolished! I was curious about the man and set about investigating further. It turns out that there is plenty of information to be found but a bit of digging through Google is required! Treemare Stud now Corkagh Park John Galvin was born one of seven children in Tasmania in 1908. His family was of Irish Catholic and Spanish descent and his father worked as an odd job man at a theatre. He received his education from the Christian Brothers. As a teenager his family moved to Sydney and he started work as a messenger boy. The young John was a fast talking opportunist, always looking for a way to make a buck and deter...
Read more

Corkagh Park

Image
Corkagh Park spans  over 150 acres   between the Naas Road  and historic Clondalkin Village.  The park incorporates the lands  of Corkagh House which was demolished in  the early 1960s leaving only the stables and outbuildings visible today.  The estate was  bought by  Dublin County Council in 1983  and opened as a public park in 1986.   Corkagh has a long and interesting history with  much  to discover  as you wander its paths and tracks.  The name Corkagh comes from the Irish word for marshy land and indeed areas of the park  near the Camac have a tendency to become waterlogged during wet periods.   The river Camac which rises SE of Saggart flows through the park towards Clondalkin village, then on through Inchicore and Kilmainham before entering  the Liffey near Heuston  Station.  The Camac at Corkagh While the Camac seems little more  than a stream most of the ...
Read more

The Gunpowder mills.

Image
There have been many mills established along the Camac river  at  Clondalkin over the centuries but one of the largest was the   Gunpowder Mills at Corkagh.   This section of the Corkagh estate is known as Kilmatead but   officially the townland name is Corkagh and the  townland name of the adjacent park is Corkagh Demesne!   Most of the 'powder mills' complex lies outside of the park boundary,  however a mill pond, mill race, and mill building are located  at the south western side of the fishing lakes. 1 8th century millpond near the fishing lakes In 1703, Lewis Chaigneau a successful merchant from a French Huguenot   family purchased a large parcel of land near Clondalkin which went on  to form the basis of the Corkagh estate.  Lewis had links to another  successful Huguenot family, the Gruebers , who operated  g unpowder mills in England.   He parcelled off the southwest...
Read more

Nature at Corkagh: Flowers

Image
Corkagh Snapshots Corkagh   is home to a wide variety of  wildflowers.   In addition there are some garden flowers  which have become naturalised in parts of the park . During 2020/21, as much out of curiosity as anything, I decided to log all the wildflowers I found growing at Corkagh. I also included flowers that appear to  be garden escapes and those on shrubs and trees.    Below are most of the  flowers  that can be found in the park with a little information on each.  How many can you spot on your walks? Flowering in late Winter/Spring Winter Heliotrope  is one of the few plants that flower throughout winter.  You can find it growing along the back avenue.  It has a strong  almond scent.   Reminds me of marzipan!  Apparently the flowers move in response to the sun, gradually turning from East to West over the course of the day. Be aware that this plant is poisonous if ingest...
Read more

The Walled Garden and Stewarts House at Corkagh

Image
Opposite the baseball pitch, on the north side of the Camac,  lie the  ruins of a house  that was once home to the  Stewart of Corkagh .  The Stewart was responsible for the day to day running of Corkagh Demesne.  This house was built in the early 19th century and had  a kitchen, sitting room and office downstairs with  three bedrooms upstairs. It was lived in until 1975! The ruins of the Stewarts house. The area is closed off by an outer wall and hedgerow.  This ' outer' garden is now used as something of a dump by the council but was formerly an orchard.  The inner garden is surrounded by a high wall.   This garden was designed by the Finlays of Corkagh   around 1820 and replaced an earlier walled garden which may have been located on the southern side of the main house.   High walls along with Yew and Beech hedges sheltered the garden and  created a microclimate where fruit and  vegetables  could...
Read more

The Camac River at Corkagh.

Image
The Camac river  runs through Corkagh and  as you walk around the park you will cross it or one of its streams  via several pretty 19th century bridges.    19th century bridge over the Camac The Camac rises in the Dublin Mountains southeast of Saggart   and runs through Clondalkin, then on to Bluebell and Kilmainham before flowing  into the Liffey near Heuston Station .  Many mills were built alongside the river including flour,  gunpowder and oil mills. The four Corkagh lakes are also fed by the river and its streams.   The Camac had a tendency to overflow its banks during wet periods.   The Watery Lane near Clondalkin village was particularly prone to flooding.   The lakes at Corkagh were created in 2000 as  part of measures to prevent this flooding. Carved stone on bridge near Baseball Fields/Walled Garden.  This was added to the bridge in the 1960s. Here are some excerpts fr...
Read more

Nature at Corkagh: Birds

Image
Throughout the year the melodious song of our native birds echo across Corkagh.  Some of these birds will be familiar as regular visitors to nearby gardens but there are several species that are rarely seen in suburban settings. Here are some of the birds you can expect to find at Corkagh together with images I have captured over recent years. Before I go on I have to acknowledge a wonderful app without which I would never have been able to identify some of Corkaghs birds.  Free and Highly recommended.  Merlin Bird ID from Cornell Lab Wren Irelands second smallest bird the Wren is easily identified by its upright tail which bobs as it flies.  They make their nests in hedgerows.    St Stephens Day used to be called Wren Day as the young fellas would kill a wren, mount it on a stick, blacken their faces with coal or soil and cover themselves in straw or whatever might make them look scary after which they would proceed around local houses shouting and demandi...
Read more

Woodland at Corkagh

Image
Corkagh Park  is home to many wonderful  mature trees  planted by the Finlay family when they were the owners of Corkagh House and Demesne in the 18th and 19th centuries. One of a pair of Copper Beeches, in all its autumn glory.  These trees are at least 200 years old. Some of the original oaks, now over 200 years old, that lined the main avenue from the Naas Road survive still,  as do the  Copper Beeches that once overlooked the old house. Oaks in winter Young Oaks were planted along Oak Avenue in the 1990s.   Majestic horse-chestnuts are now decorated with the soothers and bottles left as gifts for the fairies who live in their branches. Horse Chestnuts are in flower during the month of May.  These trees once lined a path here that led from Corkagh House to the Gunpowder Mills complex.    Horse Chestnut flowers .   The Horse Chestnut is not native to Ireland and was imported to Europe from Turkey during the 17th ...
Read more