The grandson of Doctor Noël Browne has said the house depicted in Robert Ballagh's acclaimed portrait of his grandfather has sustained "significant damage" in Storm Éowyn.
Cormac O'Scanaill said the roof of the thatched cottage was blown off leaving the top exposed.
"The top portion of the roof, basically, it's all gone," he said, adding the thatch "completely disappeared".
The cottage, he said, is "very special" as Doctor Browne "loved to live there", adding the area is place "he adored".
In the portrait, which is in the collection of the National Gallery, Dr Browne stands on a beach in Conamara.
The gallery states that: "The cruciform format of the portrait is appropriate to both the sitter's battle with the Catholic Church and to the professional sacrifice it entailed.
"Ballagh creates a trompe l’oeil effect by placing real pebbles at the base of the painting as if they have spilled out of the picture."
During the storm, Mr O'Scanaill said he could "hear the house shaking and creaking", adding this is "something that we weren't used to".
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime he said: "A lot of the thatch that was there on the top part of the roof has all been blown away.
"Leaving the wooden boards or the structure underneath the roof exposed."
He added "I'm sure there's more damage now".
Mr O'Scanaill was forced to leave, what was once his grandfather's house, as the damage means there's "no way to heat the place, the thatch is almost covering the chimney, so I couldn't even light a fire".
He said he is now staying at friend's house in Bray, adding "there's not much point in going back down" as the house has no power.
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