Page "Ballyfin" Paragraph 12

Having fallen into disrepair over the years, Ballyfin has been painstakingly restored over the course of the last decade.

The urgent need for repairs had become all too apparent when a part of the ceiling in the Gold Drawing Room collapsed having been undermined by wet rot.

Masonry was falling from the façade and the Conservatory, choked with overgrown vegetation, was in a dangerous state.

This attracted the attention of the Irish Georgian Society, who organized a fund-raising campaign.

Despite this, the future of one of Ireland ’ s finest houses was perilously uncertain, until Ballyfin ’ s acquisition by the Krehbiels.

The restoration project has taken nine years – significantly longer than it took to build the house in the first place.

Every single aspect of the house from the roof down required remedial attention.

Skilled craftsmen worked on the elaborate inlaid floors, repaired the gilding and the stuccowork or treated the stone work of the house which was disintegrating.

Overseen by Jim Reynolds, the restoration project combined the conservation expertise of Purcell, Miller, Tritton and John J. O ’ Connell, Architects, who had previously been in charge of the restoration of Fota, County Cork, another house designed by the Morrisons.

Woody Clark acted as Project Manager.

The project served to highlight the wealth of traditional building skills that are still available in Ireland.

The principal contractors were James Farrell Construction from Carlow while Cornerstone Construction of Cobh acted as the main interior contractors.

The Decoration was done by CF Quality Decorators LTD from Laois.