Treasure Ireland: Mornington House — Reflections of Irish History

By Anne O’Hara

It had all seemed so straightforward. Our first house was finished and we planned to build a new house nearer to my husband Warwick’s work. We were living the Canadian dream.

We worked hard and played hard. Skiing in winter; swimming and sailing at the beach in summer and autumn. The children could skate and ski almost as soon as they could walk. Friends, many immigrants like ourselves, became family as our own families were so far away. The longer we lived in Canada the less likely a return to Ireland seemed.

Since inheriting Mornington in 1935, Owen O’Hara had run the estate in the same way as his father. Cattle and sheep grazed the 500 or so acres. Just as King Canute had tried in vain to order back the onrushing tide, so Owen had resisted the advances of the 20th Century. Yet, whilst many large estates had resorted to selling land to keep the roof on and to pay death duties, Owen was still here at Mornington.

The suggestion that we take over the house was unexpected. Yes, I knew my husband as the only son would eventually inherit the place. Mornington for holidays was fun: croquet and tea parties, lunch parties, flower shows, the Dublin Horse Show; but Mornington as home was a different proposal.

It took 18 months to plan our return. An initial trip home for my husband to walk the land, to meet with lawyers, farm consultants, advisors and bankers. A farm consultancy firm was retained, land cleared, crop sown. We sold our house easily and travelled back across Canada by train so we could see more of the vast country which we had made home. Toronto, Niagara Falls, Quebec City, a side trip to New York and the statue of Liberty.

The history of the estate had followed the ebbs and flows of Irish history.

From Norman times the lands had been held by the Nugent family. Losing the lands under Cromwell, the family regained it at the Restoration. Ownership of the lands changed hands as rulers came and went. The map of the Down Survey 1655 shows a tower-house and a long house on the site. Part of the original castle is incorporated in the old part of the existing house.

Our own plans changed with the death of Warwick’s mother shortly after our return. Rather than building a new house for ourselves, we were then faced with the task of making the house a warm family home. There were no longer parlour maids to carry jugs of hot water to the bedrooms twice a day or to light fires. So a new heating system, new bathrooms and a new kitchen were installed, loose slates secured and the place rewired and painted. Instead of teaching in a high school in Canada, I was looking after the children, feeding calves and cooking meals for the workmen.

Most of the land was sold in 1986 and we decided that if we were to stay in the house it would need to generate additional income. We welcomed our first guests in 1987 and joined Hidden Ireland the following year. We have welcomed guests from all over the world and many have become friends. Old friends from Canada and Australia stay with us whenever they travel to Ireland.

Mornington was a wonderful place to bring up our children. No skiing but dogs, ponies and hunting. Their friends would come for a day and stay a week. Today, as young adults they love Mornington and the outside life — walking and gardening. Both are now forging their own career paths, our daughter in England and our son in Dublin. They come home whenever they can, usually bringing a host of friends.

Today, the walled garden takes up much of our spare time and energy, as we no longer have two fulltime gardeners. Box hedges and yew arches give shape to the garden. Warwick grows vegetables for the table and soft fruit is picked and preserved in season, to be used for meals, jams and chutneys.

Ringed by the hills of north Westmeath, a quarter of a mile from the shores of Lough Derravaragh, we are an hour from Dublin and yet it seems many miles away. In an increasingly busy world we value the peace and tranquillity.

Do I regret leaving Canada? Canada was very good to a young Yorkshire woman. Of course I regret leaving; but I can never regret making Mornington and Ireland our home.

To find out more about Mornington House, visit mornington.ie

Treasure Ireland is a Hibernia Times series on the great houses of Ireland.