Calling out for attention

Three houses in need of repair

Vernon Mount, Douglas, Co Cork

The Irish Georgian Society has called Vernon Mount "one of Cork's most important heritage buildings". It is arguably the finest example surviving in Ireland of a Georgian classical villa, standing in its own "pocket demesne" on the outskirts of a major city. Its significance is enhanced by the presence of exceptional neo-classical paintings of mythological subjects by Nathaniel Grogan. In the late 1990s, a re-development proposal for Vernon Mount was refused permission by the planning authorities due to the adverse impact it would have on the house. Since that time, the Munster Motorcycle Club has used the building occasionally.

Following several years in which Vernon Mount had little or no maintenance, some limited efforts have been made in recent months to prevent water seeping into the building, with temporary repairs to its roof. The building recently made it onto the World Monuments Fund 2008 Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.

Hazelwood, Co Sligo

Built in 1731, Hazelwood was designed by the leading Irish Palladian architect Richard Castle for Lieut Gen Owen Wynne, a wealthy merchant and landowner. It stands on a magnificent site, a peninsula projecting into Lough Gill, and was once surrounded by baroque parkland in a Franco-Dutch style.

The house comprises a three-storey-over-basement centre block flanked by curved quadrants leading to side pavilions. Its exterior is finished with exceptionally fine window and door surrounds of carved limestone while the interior has imposing rooms with excellent decorative plasterwork and timber panelling. Though the main block of the house is now generally secured against the elements, many years of limited maintenance previously allowed for significant water damage to the interiors. Of further concern is the parlous state of the wings, which are slowly falling into ruin.

Hazelwood was sold by the Wynne family in the 1930s and until recently was owned by the Korean firm Saehan Media which operated a major industrial unit on the site to the rear of the house. In 2006, a local consortium acquired the house and the factory site.

Kilmacurragh, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow

Kilmacurragh is an important but regrettably ruined two-storey pedimented house built by the Acton family in the 1690s. It once contained panelled rooms and a fine staircase with barley-sugar balustrades, but the roof has now largely collapsed, leaving the house in a derelict condition.

The house is surrounded by an outstanding arboretum, which is well regarded for its conifers and calcifuges. This was planted in the 19th century with the assistance of the Botanical Gardens at Glasnevin and is currently undergoing extensive restoration works.

These are three buildings that the Irish Georgian Society suggests should be restored