Avondale House re-opens with guided tours of the refurbished ground floor rooms including the imposing double storey entrance hall, morning room, dining room, living room, library and the forestry schoolroom.  Avondale House refurbishment follows on from the hugely popular launch last year of Beyond the Trees Avondale treetop walk and viewing tower.

Guided tours take visitors on a historic journey through much of the home of Samuel Hayes, it’s first owner, the Parnell family who inhabited the house for much of the 1800s, and the forestry school which was subsequently set up in the house once it was acquired by the state in 1904.

The Avondale House tour takes in the Main Hall, Morning Room, Dining Room, Living Room, Parnell’s Library, and the Forestry School Classroom. Coillte consulted with experts in period furniture and design refurbishment to ensure an experience for visitors that is true to the period. A number of the key pieces of furniture and artefacts on display are fully authentic and original to the house. These include an original Bossi fireplace, paintings and sculptures, Parnell’s wooten desk, numerous documents and books, and much more. Items on display which are not original have been carefully researched to ensure they are historically accurate.

Avondale House tours are available from 10am to 4pm daily. Entry to the Seed Café, Walled Garden and Coillte Pavilion in Avondale is free of charge.

Bookings and more info at https://www.beyondthetreesavondale.com/