Overview of House

Here you will find brief descriptions and images of the rooms of Fota House. If you wish to skip to a particular room you can click on the relevant room on the map below or choose from the links on the right. The 'Top' button will bring you back to the top of the page.

The Long Gallery

This room was originally a conservatory, its function having been changed at the turn of the last century. Of particular note here are the weighted wooden shutters, which fold away so neatly that their very existence had been missed by the staff in the 20th century!

The handsomely carved fireplace provides a fine centrepiece and above it are the family crest and motto "boutez en avant".

Here the visitor begins the tour of the house. There is a short introductory film welcoming you to the house and giving you an overview of the history of Fota and of the Smith Barry family who lived here until 1975.

Dining Room

This magnificent room is dominated by the tall Scagliola (Italian- hollow cast) pillars. The ceiling is decorated with a motif relating to the Bacchanal, with its skulls and garlands of flowers and fruit. We have recently unearthed the original colours and it appears that the room was a mixture of greens, soft pinks and gilding.

In the corners of the room are to be found the concealed doorway leading to the butler's pantry and a cupboard where the butler would keep items relating to service. There is a fine Carrera marble fireplace, which picks up the motif of the room.

The touch screen in the Dining room offers anecdotes from the retired staff of the house, including Patty Butler, Mrs. Bells housekeeper and companion, together with two of the gardeners giving the visitor a taste of life at the Big House in days gone by.

The Long Hall

This is a famous work of the Morrisons, executed in classic Regency Style. The space is perfectly proportioned and comprises a colonnade of golden yellow Ionic scagliola columns with a decorative niche at either end housing a simple white urn. The decorative floor grilles heated the entire ground floor. Overhead there is fine plaster work with the Barry family crests as its motif. The Urns are on permanent loan from the National Trust in Northern Ireland.

Ante-room

Guests arriving at Fota House would have been invited to wait in the Ante-room before being received. It is more modest in size but nonetheless is elegant in its decoration, with a delicately painted ceiling.

Drawing Room

With its turquoise walls and finely gilded mirrors and mouldings, the drawing room is both opulent and refined. Its function was as the principal entertaining space, where dances and parties would be held. It also served as the "withdrawing room" (from whence the name is derived) whereby the ladies would have withdrawn to play cards or listen to music at the end of the evening, when the men had retired to the library. As a reminder of this, there is a fine pianoforte in the Drawing room today, which has been very kindly, donated to us by the family of the late professor Brian Boydell.

The room has undergone substantial restoration, having been badly affected by both damp and dry rot. The magnificent ceiling, hand painted by Sibthorpe of Dublin in the 1890's, had partially collapsed.

The touch screen in the Drawing Room features John Cahill and Susan Seager of the Office of Public Works describing the restoration and conservation process. The touch screen in the Ante-room features a highly informative account of the work of the Morrisons.

Library

With its handpainted wall paper the library is a very elegant and understated room. The ceiling is decorated with intertwining doves and with musical instruments. The wallpaper in this room has been badly affected by moisture and has been carefully repaired. As with all other rooms, there is now a device monitoring temperature and humidity which is then relayed back to the central control panel. This is part of the ongoing work overseen by John Cahill and the OPW.

The touch screen in the Library gives a more detailed history of the members of the Smith Barry line.

The Flower Room

The name derives from the fact that this room offered both a wonderful view of the gardens and it also served as a place to arrange flowers for the house. To this end, there are no timbers on the floor, as these would have been damaged by water spillages. The kissing chair in the centre of the room today was designed to facilitate marriage. Apparently the couple would sit together with a priest or chaperone in attendance!

The touch screen appropriately relates to the arboretum and the various walled gardens.

Study

Before reaching the Study, the visitor passes the family safe, where valuables and important documents were stored. A hot air vent to the upper floor passes by the safe to keep documents dry.

The Study itself is an unusually shaped room and was used for attending to the affairs of the estate. Above the fireplace hangs a picture of John the Magnificent, so-called because of his hospitable nature and generosity of spirit. It was he who commissioned the great building project at Fota and it is his singular vision, which is still giving pleasure to those who visit the island today.

The film in the Study is a highly informative account of how the house functioned behind the green baize door, presented by the kitchen historian, Peter Brears.

Game Larder

The first thing that one notices on entering the game larder is the coldness of the space. It is situated on the North side of the house and as a consequence receives little sunlight. It was the ideal place to hang game over the winter months and the lead lined vats were filled with brine to cure meats. The carousel on which the animals were hung is both ornate and functional and aromas could escape by means of ventilation holes in the ceiling. Hygiene was ensured by means of fly screens on the windows and easily cleaned marble work surfaces.

Kitchen and Scullery

The Kitchen is for many, one of the highlights of the tour as it contains many interesting and curious objects. From the cook's serving hatch to the spit (which was turned quite ingeniously by the heat from the fire) there is much to interest the visitor. Also the unusual large elliptical air vents also known as 'l'oeuil de boeuf' acted as the main ventilation system for this part of the house. The large ovens and the charcoal stove allowed for cooking on a grand scale. As many of us incorporate more traditional methods into our kitchens today, there is a wealth of ideas to be found here. The attractive lights are reproductions of the gas lights, which originally lit the space.

The Scullery was where the vegetables were brought to be washed and prepared and there are hooks for hanging herbs, onions and other produce from the kitchen garden. The scullery maids would have spent a large part of their working life in this room scrubbing and cleaning. Hanging beneath the vaulted ceiling are the fire buckets, which would have been left filled in readiness.

The Film in the Scullery is presented by Peter Brears who demonstrates with great enthusiasm, how one would prepare an early Edwardian menu using the utensils in the Kitchen.

Billiard Room

At the end of the tour is the Billiard Room, which was built in 1872. It is top lit with exposed wooden trusses and in the style of a traditional men's gaming room, has wood panelling throughout. There is a fine marble fireplace and a large floor grille over a radiator, which kept the room warm.

Arthur Hugh Smith Barry who commissioned the space, was a keen sportsman and he had very close links with the Royal Cork Yacht Club and meetings were regularly held here. It was at one of these often boisterous evenings when it is reputed that the phrase 'blackballing' originated, the idea being that in order to voice dissent or displeasure towards an application for membership, one would simply place the black billiard ball on the table to make one's point.

Another interesting, if perhaps indelicate point of interest are the Gentlemen's cloakrooms. These feature remarkable mosaic flooring and the original Victorian toilet bowls with the rather undignified inscription "Deluge" inside. Clearly these were not designed to be viewed by the delicate ladies of the house!