Once the home of the Smith-Barry family, Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens has been welcoming visitors for more than 200 years.
When the Trust began caring for Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens on Cork’s Fota Island in 2007, unique original features were at risk, including its impressive glasshouses and Victorian Walled Garden.
The Irish Heritage Trust immediately undertook an extensive programme of restoration, made possible thanks to the support of the Irish government and other agencies including local authorities and the Office of Public Works, as well as heritage experts and our wonderful volunteers.
We were able to open up previously derelict Regency rooms to the public, restored to their former splendour, and Fota House is now one of the key visitor attractions in Ireland’s Ancient East. The quality of our restoration work, as well as our education and interpretation initiatives, is recognised under the terms of Ireland’s rigorous museum accreditation scheme, which renewed Fota’s museum status in 2020.
A Generous Donation
In its first year of managing Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens, the Irish Heritage Trust was fortunate to receive a generous donation of 18th and 19th-century Irish art and furniture from the McCarthy family in Cork.
This kind donation returned to the house many items that had been sold from Fota House as its fortunes wavered, and so it greatly helped us in our room restoration work.
A Generous Donation
In its first year of managing Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens, the Irish Heritage Trust was fortunate to receive a generous donation of 18th and 19th-century Irish art and furniture from the McCarthy family in Cork.
This kind donation returned to the house many items that had been sold from Fota House as its fortunes wavered, and so it greatly helped us in our room restoration work.
Strokestown’s Palladian House
A tour of Strokestown Park’s Georgian Palladian House offers intriguing clues about the Irish experience in centuries past for people living vastly different parallel lives.
Soak in the atmosphere of a house where generations of gentryfolk left their influence. Visit the galleried kitchen to sense what life was like for the staff ‘below stairs’, and explore the charming nursery and the school room, before heading outdoors to enjoy our gardens and explore Strokestown Park’s lovely woodlands.
In the corridor that connects the formal dining room with the galleried kitchen at Strokestown Park, you’ll find a telephone, which was – in the 1920s – a thoroughly modern piece of technology.
The Irish Heritage Trust funds the archivist role at the Strokestown Park Famine Archive, which cares for and supports research into more than 55,000 original famine-era documents.
The Strokestown Park Famine Archive
The Strokestown Park Famine Archive is one of the largest and most important collections of documents about the Great Irish famine in the world.
It contains over 55,000 documents, found within Strokestown Park House. Their stories, explored in the National Famine Museum, shed light on the power structures, and the social and political relationships, that shaped 19th-century Irish society and its response to the famine crisis.
Walled Gardens and Woodlands
Refresh your senses and exercise your imagination in Strokestown Park’s 6-acre walled gardens and its lush mature woodlands.
Take time to wander at a relaxed pace and soak in the serenity of rural Roscommon. A rich variety of outdoor spaces await you, from colourful pleasure gardens and abundant fruit and vegetable gardens, to Strokestown Park’s woods where there’s space for contemplation, as well as opportunities for adventure on our family-friendly woodland trails.
Fota’s
Gardens and Arboretum
Fota’s renowned gardens are home to one of the finest collections of rare and tender trees and shrubs grown outdoors in Ireland and Britain, and – thanks to the work of our committed staff and volunteers – Fota’s beautiful glasshouses and pleasure gardens, as well as its award-winning restored Victorian Walled Garden are bustling with energy once again.
Visitors of all ages enjoy exploring its family-friendly nature trails to learn about bees, trees, and biodiversity. Keen gardeners will take especial pleasure in Fota’s exceptional conifer collection, in a place where many conifer species were planted in Europe for the first time.
Join Us
Book Your Visit Now
Fota House is one of Ireland’s great houses, home to a nationally significant collection of paintings, a beautifully restored arboretum and gardens.
Once the home of the Smith-Barry family, Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens has been welcoming visitors for more than 200 years.
We’d love to have you involved!
Choose the right volunteer role for you
Are you keen to get your hands dirty in our kitchen gardens and formal flowerbeds? Or would you prefer to help us share amazing stories with our visitors from Ireland and beyond?
Whether you’re more at home chatting about the past, fixing a piece of furniture, or marshalling guests at our varied events, we can match you to a role that suits you.
Meeting people, sharing stories
Conserving and
growing
Working with us behind the scenes
Properties in our care
We care for and bring to life a variety of historic houses, museums, gardens and parklands, while also developing innovative visitor experiences at these beautiful places:
Membership Options
The Irish Heritage Trust is delighted to offer the following membership options:
Note: All memberships are non-transferrable and the membership card can only be used by the person/family named on the card.
Please check our Terms & Conditions for further details on proof of dependent children.
Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens
Cork
| Adults | Child | Concessions | *Family | **Groups | |
| Guided Tour – House | €10 | €3.50 | €8 | €25 | €8 |
| Victorian Working Garden Tour | €10 | €3 | €8 | €25 | €8 |
| Combo Tour (House & Victorian Working Garden) | €15 | €6 | €12 | €35 | €12 |
| Tree Trails for Children (age 3 – 6 and 7 – 12) | Maps from €1 | Tree Trail Booklets from €3 |
| Arboretum Map and Trail (Adults) – Self-Guided | €3 |
| Irish Heritage Trust Members | Free of Charge |
*Family: Up to 2 adults & 3 children (under 16).
**Groups (15+) must be booked in advance by calling us + 353 (0) 21 481 5543
Johnstown Castle Estate, Museum & Gardens
Wexford
| Adults | Child (5-16) | Concessions | *Family | |
| **Full Day Entry | €9 | €4 | €7 | €24 |
| ***Guided Tour of the Castle | €4 | €2 | €3 | €11 |
| Irish Heritage Trust Members | Free of Charge |
*Family: Up to 2 adults & 3 children (under 16).
**Full Day Entry – to the Irish Agricultural Museum, the Gardens, Lake Walks and Woodland Play Area
***Guided Tour of the Castle – in addition to Full Day Entry Ticket
