Where Queen Elizabeth II will stay in Dublin - Farmleigh House
Posted on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 10:35 AM
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Farmleigh house in the Phoenix Park was purchased from the Guinness family by the Irish government in 1999 for €29 million. A fantastic mansion on 78 acres, albeit in need of refurbishment the purpose was to provide a venue for state occasions and a place for visiting dignitaries to stay.It is next door to Aras an Uachtarain, home of the Irish president currently Dr Mary McAleese and her family which you can also visit for free if you are lucky.
A limited amount of tickets are issued each Saturday at the Pheonix Park Visitor Centre. However Farmleigh is open all year round unless it is hosting government functions and its also free If you visit around Christmas time the house is beautifully decorated but a pleasure year round nonetheless with beautiful staterooms, a magnificent galleried Jacobean wood panelled library and Victorian conservatory complete with potted palms.
Outside there are very well maintained formal gardens including a Dutch sunken garden which has three descending terraces to an oval pool with a carrara marble fountain as its centrepiece. There are regular free events for children including storytelling and puppet shows at Christmas. And for adults free ticketed musical events, artisan food markets, gallery exhibitions etc. Or if you fancy letting someone else do the cooking a contemporary restaurant in the Boathouse on the lake.
For more things to see and do in Dublin visit www.irelands-hidden-gems.com/dublin.html
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bunkerhill | May 18, 2011, 02:32 PM EDT
For Murphy 66 - I doubt if it is actually true that an Englishman John Locke was the only one ever to come up with the idea "That all men are created equal." In most history books, the English invented the world and no one else ever did a thing. I do know however that the Irish had a revolution to gain that ideal, while the English are still commoners. My wife also tells me that in ancient Ireland from Brehon laws on, the law actually was "All men AND WOMEN are created equal.
She is a stickler in that way. She also wonders about the Irish trait of self defacement. She tells me that an English writer Samuel Johnson wrote in the 1600's - "The Irish are a fair race, they never speak well of themselves." It is amazing to me that two islands side by side should be so different. One island claims "God is an Englishman," while the other gives every one else credit for their accomplishments. Maybe it is just egaletarism carried too far, but it is something to be looked into. My ancestors are English, but I have always loved the Irish. They fought back like we did.
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antoman | May 18, 2011, 12:21 PM EDT
The old codger might have downed a box of viagra..and..well..Irish soil..done the deed like :)
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citizen69 | May 18, 2011, 11:27 AM EDT
Saemusmor: Which IRA do you speak of? There's probably about thirty of them, i've lost count!
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bunkerhill | May 18, 2011, 10:16 AM EDT
For blairdavid. If you get the book on President John Adams by David McCullough you will find that the great concept "All men are created equal," originated in Ireland. You might even be able to pull it up on the internet. By the way I mistakenly said my ancestor was buried on Bunker Hill. He is actually commemorated there as no one is buried there. I am getting too old for these posts.
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blairdavid | May 17, 2011, 10:27 AM EDT
TELL ME MORE ABOUT ....
"Did you know that the American concept that "All men are created equal" originated in Ireland".....I'D LOVE TO KNOW MORE
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WoundedKnee | May 07, 2011, 10:02 AM EDT
Farmleigh is such an ugly English name. Why hasn't the Irish government given it a pretty Gaelic name?
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bunkerhill | Apr 21, 2011, 01:27 PM EDT
I read in a newspaper that the royals prefer a luxuriously patterned four ply toilet paper preferrably with a lemon or lavender scent. The Australians apparently had an awful time finding the paper so I am giving the Irish plenty of warning. Don't bother to post thanks, I am always happy to help out. By the way Bunker Hill was an American revolutionary war battle site and I am so proud to have an ancestor buried there. We are always happy to help the royals out of the country.
Did you know that the American concept that "All men are created equal" originated in Ireland
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seanomelbourne | Apr 20, 2011, 06:43 PM EDT
Put her up in a house in ballyer that's all she deserves.
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ochshane | Apr 20, 2011, 11:27 AM EDT
She should feel right at home there then.
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SeamusMor | Apr 20, 2011, 11:24 AM EDT
"Uneasy rests the head that wears a crown."
Now that the IRA know where she is going to be sleeping, they just have to do the math for the trajectory of their mortars. If "Trealach" has it right,both the horse stables and the State Apartments will be targeted. Perhaps Her Majesty will be saved by sitting upon a porcelain throne, like Margaret Thatcher, when the walls come tumbling down.
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Trealach | Apr 20, 2011, 11:12 AM EDT
Someone forgot to mention that she's sleeping in the horse stables - not the house, which is a much more suitable accommodation for her.
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Porickseantuny | Apr 20, 2011, 10:56 AM EDT
just don't let her autograph the book of Kells like her ancestor Vicky.
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LinLinisme | Apr 20, 2011, 10:11 AM EDT
It is beautiful and a fitting place for the Queen.
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PolinDeB | Apr 20, 2011, 10:00 AM EDT
Ah lovely .. she's getting into the heart of Dublin.. Good ole Queen Vic never got past the ports..
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