John Mulcahy recalls the history of Burtown House, Kildare and its Quaker associations most notably those of the writer Mary Leadbetter
Although the original Burtown estate covered almost 2,000 acres not far from where the Barrow flows through the market town of Athy, the house built early in the 18th century was a modest enough construction. As Mark Bence-Jones put it ‘The entrance front of two storeys and three bays now has the appearance of a circa 19th-century villa with the centre bay breaking forward and the fan-lighted entrance door recessed in an arch. The roof is eaved on a bracket cornice and the house was joined by screen walls to small wings of which only the fa√ßade of one remains.’
‘Culture is about sharing; Nationalism is about ownership.’ Hughie O’Donoghue encapsulates the chasm between the two concepts, in conversation with Brian McAvera
The study of fragments is second nature to Jason Ellis, writes Paula Murphy of the sculptor’s collection from last year.
As Irish Design 2015 is launched worldwide, we republish here Jennifer Goff’s assessment of the legacy of internationally acclaimed arch Modernist Eileen Gray