demesne walls/gates/railings

Demesne wall to west and northwest of the Ardagh House estate, erected c. 1845. Composed of random rubble stone masonry, with rounded roughly dressed stone coping over. Roughly dressed limestone gate piers (on square-plan) having wrought-iron flat bar gates at various intervals along length of wall. Located to the northwest of Ardagh and situated outside the current grounds of the estate.

This section of wall forms part of a series of boundary walls associated with the former Ardagh House demesne. Its regular form and rounded coping are consistent and visually pleasing. Good craftsmanship is evident in the piers and in the simple but well-crafted wrought-iron gates that occur at various intervals along the length of the walls. According to local tradition, these estate walls were erected during the Great Famine (1845 - c. 1849); where they provided relief work for the local population during this traumatic event in Irish history. These walls and gateways are pleasing features along the roadscape to the northwest of Ardagh and form part of an important collection of related structures.