Thirty acres of historic gardens dating from the 18th century have reopened to the public in Co Cork, following a €2 million restoration programme by the Office of Public Works.
Annes Grove House and Gardens, which sit in a 190-acre estate, were gifted to the State by Jane and Patrick Annesley.
Six generations of the Annesley family have lived at Annes Grove, near Doneraile in north Co Cork. It was their ancestral home for about 400 years.
Several gardens were laid out at Annes Grove from the 18th century onwards. These are significant today, both historically and horticulturally.
Some of the earliest rhododendrons introduced to Ireland from the Himalayas are planted in the Woodlands Garden at Annes Grove. There is also a walled garden and an exotic, sub-tropical Riverside Garden.
Jane and Patrick Annesley met while studying at Oxford, and were married in London but, following the sudden death of Patrick's father, they relocated to Annes Grove with their two daughters in 1976.
They built their lives and income around it, opening the gardens to the public and charging a fee for entry to pay for the up-keep.
The couple ran the estate for more than 30 years, with a sense that it was there to benefit the wider community rather than solely for them and their family.
On that basis, they began negotiating with the Office of Public Works in 2009 in relation to the takeover of the estate by State.
The OPW designated Annes Grove as a heritage property in 2011 and Annes Grove House, the gardens and 190 acres of the estate were gifted to the State in December, 2015.
"We felt that was the way we wanted to go," Patrick Annesley told RTÉ News. "Given that we didn't see it remaining directly in the family, it was a sad decision, but not a difficult one."
Patrick Annesley and other members of his family were at Annes Grove today for a ceremony to mark the reopening of the gardens to the public.
He commented: "I've seen how much hard work the gardening team have been putting into preparing for this.
"There is further work to be done. It's going to take a few years for anything resembling the spirit of the gardens to come back, but they (the OPW) have got expert direction and an excellent garden team on the ground.
"We would always have things to talk about but I think the general direction is good."
He said the challenge facing the OPW is to manage the tension between maintaining what is unique about the gardens at Annes Grove, while at the same time allowing the public to visit in numbers.
Head of Heritage at the Office of Public Works, Rosemary Collier, can also see the work that remains to be done at Annes Grove, but is happy with the progress to date.
She described Annes Grove as unique and "the product of the singular vision of Richard Grove Annesley, who inherited the estate in 1892 and put so much work into developing the different gardens".
"There is a very particular and unique collection of plants there, and that was driven by his vision," she added.
The OPW has spent more than €2 million clearing and restoring the gardens over the past five years and preparing them to reopen to the public.
Rosemary described the work as being almost archaeological and forensic at times, as old pathways were re-discovered and cleared, and plants from the original gardens were identified, sourced and re-planted.
"There is still a huge amount to do," she said.
Her hopes now are to attract many visitors to enjoy Annes Grove. "Our main ambition at the moment is to share it," Rosemary said.
Work at the Annes Grove estate will continue into the future.
A planning application is expected to be lodged later this year for the restoration of Annes Grove House, to develop it as a visitor attraction and interpretive centre for the gardens.
Today's opening was performed by the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Patrick O’Donovan.
He thanked the Annesley family for their work in maintaining the gardens across several generations, and for their generosity in donating the estate to the State.
"Ireland’s gardens enjoy huge popularity both with domestic and international visitors and we are very privileged in the OPW to care for an entire network of rare and fine plant collections spanning the country, from the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin and Kilmacurragh, to Altamont, the JFK Arboretum, Fota, Garinish Island, Derrynane and Annes Grove," Minister O'Donovan said.
The gardens will be accessible by paid guided tour only from tomorrow until 22 September.
Visitors will be told about the history of the estate and the Grove Annesley family and also learn about the gardens and the philosophy behind their design.
