Papers Today

// Call for Coillte to hand over mausoleum

THE Irish Georgian Society has launched a campaign to make Coillte, the state-owned forestry company, hand over a ruined mausoleum in a Co Monaghan pine forest. Decades of neglect and vandalism has resulted in the 18th-century Dartrey funeral memorial, designed by the British architect James Wyatt, falling into disrepair.

Coillte, which owns the protected structure, has been accused of failing to look after the monument and conservations have asked it to place the the site in the care of Monaghan county council. John Redmill, a British conservation architect, said: "Coillte is in the business of looking after trees, not historical monuments. It must be persuaded to hand over this land. The sculpture is one of the finest pieces ever produced in the British Isles, designed by one of Britain's most significant architects and it is time to repair this beautiful structure." Built in 1770, the 30ft red-brick mausoleum was built on a hill on Black Island in the Dartrey forest between Cootehill and Rockcurry, Co Monaghan. Access to the building was by a cast-iron bridge, which has also fallen into disrepair. Coillte has a duty to protect listed buildings in its care. But it denies that it has failed to do this and says it will talk with anybody interested in preserving the building. "We protect these buildings as best we can, try to preserve the area around them, and avoid working near them." said PJ Fitzgerald, a Coillte district manager. Known as "The Temple", the mausoleum was commissioned by Baron Dartrey, Thomas Dawson, a British lord and then owner of the Dartrey estate. A team of architects and historians estimate restoration will cost more than €0.5m. Siobhan Maguire © Sunday Times Back to Index