Overview
What sets Harristown apart from Kildare’s other big houses is the inside: a Georgian shell rebuilt after an 1891 fire and then filled, in the 1940s, with bold Soane-inspired colour schemes and a rare 17th-century Chinese wallpaper of bright birds. The house stands on 700 acres of demesne along the River Liffey, near Punchestown in County Kildare, in the western foothills of the Wicklow Mountains. It’s still family-run, doubling as a language school and a filming location, with a walled garden and riverside woodland walks where red deer and badgers turn up.
The one thing to plan around is access. Harristown isn’t a turn-up attraction: it opens only for a few fixed weeks across the year, mornings only, and the 30-minute house tour is the main event. Book ahead, and don’t arrive after the last tour at 12:15. Admission is €10, taken as a donation.
History and architecture
The La Touche family, Huguenot refugees who built a banking empire in 18th-century Ireland, bought the Harristown estate in 1768. John David La Touche commissioned a new Georgian neo-classical mansion designed by architect Whitmore Davis. The original three-storey house had a nine-bay façade, an Ionic portico and full-height bow windows over the river. To secure the demesne, La Touche also diverted the Naas-to-Dunlavin road and funded a new stone bridge in 1788, still known locally as the New Bridge.
The 1891 fire destroyed much of the interior. Diocesan architect James Franklin Fuller rebuilt the house to a smaller two-storey footprint, removing the third storey but keeping the grand external lines. Fuller also redesigned the adjacent St Patrick’s Church at Carnalway in a Hiberno-Romanesque style, later adding stained-glass windows by Harry Clarke. The La Touches held Harristown until 1921, and their tenure takes in one of Ireland’s better-known literary romances: the Victorian critic John Ruskin visited the house and fell in love with the family’s young daughter, Rose. It ended in tragedy, and it remains part of the estate’s story.
In 1946, Major Michael Beaumont and his wife Doreen bought the property and began a long restoration. They brought furniture, portraits and architectural elements from their former Buckinghamshire home, which had been designed by Sir John Soane. Doreen Beaumont applied Soanian ideas to Harristown’s interiors, introducing the bold colour schemes and eclectic finishes that cut against Georgian restraint. Highlights include 18-foot ceilings, mahogany doors, inlaid oak floors, a room panelled in Tudor oak, and the 17th-century Chinese wallpaper with its bright bird motifs. An underground tunnel, said to run some 80 metres, connects the former stable yard to the house’s basement.
What to see and do
Guided house tours
A 30-minute tour covers the double-height front hall, library, drawing-room and dining-room. Guides explain the architectural changes, the Beaumonts’ Soanian influences and the story behind the imported furnishings and the Chinese wallpaper.
The walled garden and cottage walk
Restored in the 1940s, the walled garden is a quiet stroll past mature fruit trees, herb borders and a historic staff cottage. Seasonal planting changes its character through the year.
River and woodland walks
The demesne’s riverside paths follow the Liffey, with views of the Wicklow foothills and the chance to spot red deer, badgers and native birds. The grounds are at their best in early morning light.
Carnalway Church
At the estate entrance, the church shows Fuller’s Hiberno-Romanesque work and Harry Clarke stained glass. The adjacent graveyard holds the La Touche mausoleum.
Film and television location
The 700 acres, from formal parkland to rough woodland, are regularly hired for productions. Filming schedules vary, and the house occasionally hosts open days tied to ongoing projects.
Practical Information
Harristown House runs on a seasonal schedule of fixed weekly blocks. Tours go daily during open periods, with the last tour leaving at 12:15.
2026 opening schedule
- February: 2–6 & 9–13 (Mon–Fri)
- March: 9–13 & 16–20 (Mon–Fri)
- May: 1–13 (Mon–Sun)
- July: 20–24 & 27–31 (Mon–Fri)
- August: 4–23 (Mon–Sun)
- Daily hours: 09:00–13:00
Admission & booking
- Entry: €10 donation per person
- Group visits and private hires require advance booking
- Phone: +353 45 483 614 or +353 87 741 4971
- Email: enquiries@harristownhouse.ie
- Website: harristownhouse.ie
Getting there The estate entrance is at Carnalway Cross on the R412, halfway between Two Mile House and Brannockstown. From Dublin, take the N7 to Junction 11, exit onto the M9 toward Kilcullen, and follow the R448 into Kilcullen. Turn right after the traffic lights and bridge, continuing roughly 4 km to the five-road junction at Carnalway Cross. Free parking is available on the estate grounds. Public transport is impractical: a bus to Kildare town centre followed by a taxi to the estate gates.
Nearby Attractions
Harristown House pairs well with Kildare’s other heritage houses. Within a 30-minute drive:
- Carton House – a grand Palladian estate now run as a hotel and golf resort.
- Castletown House – Ireland’s largest Palladian mansion, with formal gardens and a visitor centre.
- Donadea Forest Park – a 2 km woodland trail past medieval ruins and a lake.
- Great Connell Priory – 13th-century Augustinian ruins beside the River Liffey.
One detail worth pulling from the schedule: only the May (1–13) and August (4–23) blocks run at weekends; February, March and July are Monday to Friday. If you can’t take a weekday off, those two windows are effectively your only chance to get inside.