Ballinkeele
- Classification
- Manor
- Country
- Ireland
- Region
- County Wexford
- Address
- Ballinkeele, Ballymurn, Enniscorthy
- Period / style
- Classical, 19th century
In the first quarter of the 19th century the Maher family moved to County Wexford and purchased Ballinkeele near Enniscorthy from the Hay family. John Maher, MP for County Wexford, began work on a new house in 1840. Ballinkeele is one of Daniel Robertson's few houses in the classical taste, contrasting with his other notable work, the now-ruined Castleboro across the River Slaney. The house comprises a ground floor and single upper storey with a service wing. Facades feature cut-granite decoration including a central porch with six Tuscan columns and an elaborate balustrade forming a porte cochère. The garden front has a central breakfront with a shallow bow flanked by rusticated granite piers, repeated at the corners as coigns. The interior is classical with baroque overtones, largely unaltered and retaining its original contents. The hall features a screen of scagliola Corinthian columns and an elaborate cast-iron stove. The library and drawing room contain splendid marble chimneypieces in the manner of Pietro Bossi. Interconnecting rooms on the garden front open onto a raised terrace. The staircase hall features a cantilevered stone staircase with decorative metal balusters. The mahogany handrail wraps around a Tuscan column supporting a bronze Mercury statue, anticipating Art Nouveau by more than forty years. Two avenues approach the house, one providing a glimpse of a ruined keep reflected in an artificial lake, with both entrances built to Robertson's designs. Available as a film location and for whole-house rentals and short breaks.
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