OPW awarded seven Green Flag Awards for OPW National Historic Parks.

OPW awarded seven Green Flag Awards for OPW National Historic Parks.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) welcomed the news of seven OPW parks being awarded the Green Flag Award for 2017.

Castletown Demesne is the designed landscape that surrounds Castletown House.  It is an area of approximately 90 hectares consisting largely of a mixture of grassland and woodland on the outskirts of Celbridge, Co. Kildare.

Castletown House was built for the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, William Conolly, between 1722 and 1729.  Castletown House was Ireland’s first house built in the Palladian style.

The eighteenth century Castletown landscape has survived remarkably well and it is still possible to stroll along Lady Louisa’s river Liffey walks and see the Temple and the remains of the Bathing House.  The Meadow in front of the house is a semi-natural meadow and flowers from February – October, which hosts many wild flowers including pyramidal orchid and lady's bedstraw and provides an important habitat for butterflies and bees from very early spring to autumn.  The parklands and river walks are open every day throughout the year.

Many events take place in Castletown Demesne every year, including National Dawn Chorus Day, National Drawing Day, Farmers’ Market and the host of cultural and musical events which are held in Castletown House.

List of the rest 6 OPW parks:

St. Stephen's Green Park

Derrynane Historic Park

Garinish Island

Grangegorman Military Cemetery

Irish National War Memorial Gardens

Phoenix Park

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