In terms of conception and achievement, historic demesnes as designed landscapes constitute the most inventive, monumental, and certainly the most complex of all artistic creations. The break up of estates through the concerted campaigns of the Land Commission, the commercially driven monocultural policies of the state forestry and latterly the incompatible demands of industrialized agriculture and stealthy spread of sterile golfing resorts means that these fragile and beautiful landscapes have come to represent the rarest and most endangered art forms. The 20th-century decline of the Dartrey demesne on the Monaghan – Cavan border might stand as one of the most egregious examples of the impacts of dispassionate and poorly conceived polices that conspired, wittingly or otherwise, to erase these creations, either in a heartbeat or with a slow and painful demise. It seems unlikely therefore that the same landscape should in recent years have become the focus of two major building restoration projects by a voluntary local community group working with state bodies, which has not only achieved the physical redemption of two exceptional works of classical architecture, but has also brought about greater awareness of the historical and cultural significance of Dartrey as a designed landscape of exceptional quality, and one worth preserving in spite of its degradation.
Kevin V Mulligan salutes the restoration of two exceptional architectural monuments in County Monaghan that embody a moral message about the transience of life.
Mark Ewart visits the studio of Allihies-based artist Rachel Parry who transforms natural matter into mesmerizing art.
Kim Haughton’s portraits, on view now at the National Museum Collins Barracks, reflect on Ireland’s multi-layered society at the end of the first century of this nation state, writes Stephanie McBride
