Welcome to the website of the Castletown Foundation.
Who we are: The Castletown Foundation was established in 1979 as a charitable educational trust to manage and conserve for future generations Castletown, Ireland’s most significant Palladian house, and its important collections of Irish Georgian paintings and furniture. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s the Foundation was responsible for all aspects of the house and its collections. In 1994 the Foundation successfully negotiated the transition of the house and its surviving parkland into state ownership, marking a significant moment not just in the history of Castletown but in the history of Irish country houses more generally. The Foundation, however, retains to this day ownership of much of the nationally and internationally significant decorative arts collections at Castletown.
The front cover of the Castletown Decorative Arts catalogue published in 2011 as a joint project involving the Foundation and the OPW, a project that demonstrated our excellent working relationship.
Maintaining its identity as an independent entity the Foundation continues to play an important advisory role at Castletown, working closely with the Office of Public Works. The Foundation in partnership with the OPW contributes to the shaping of the presentation of the house open to the public, it’s upgrade, the repatriation of its historic contents, the commissioning of research into the material culture, political and social life of the 18th &19th centuries.
The Foundation also retains a remit into the presentation of the broader demesne and to protect the integrity of the demesne landscape and estate.
Our Mission:
- To promote and further the advancement of education, knowledge and engagement in the fine arts and heritage in Ireland.
- To advocate for and assist in the care and sustainable conservation of Castletown House, Celbridge, County Kildare and its contents and collections.
- To stimulate public interest in the fine arts and heritage and to that end to promote the knowledge, appreciation and practice of the fine arts.
Funding: The Foundation is a charitable trust and receives no public funding. In 2012, the Foundation was the recipient of a generous legacy from the estate of Prof K.B. Nowlan, a former chairman, enabling the setting up of the Kevin B Nowlan bursary, providing bi annual scholarships in the study of material culture of 18th century Ireland and pertaining to Castletown.
The Foundation has retained ownership of the majority of the contents of the house. In recent years, it has built on this and in certain cases joined with the Office of Public Works in purchasing important items directly connected to the house.
Meetings: The Foundation meets four times per annum with the OPW to discuss policy and current issues arising with the collections, the conservation of the house and demesne, planning issues, and joint research projects.
Our Legal Status: The Castletown Foundation is an educational charity and is subject to the provisions of the 2009 Charities Act. Further details can be found under the Memorandum header on this website.
Our members: The membership of the Foundation is representative of its aims and interests. Details on the current directors, all of whom serve in a voluntary unpaid capacity, can be found in the Directors section of this website.
