11/17/02

Arthur Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun

Baron Ardilaun. Educated at Eton and Trinity College Dublin. He was head of the family brewing business 1868-77 and MP for Dublin 1868-69 and 1874-80. Dublin remembers him for his generosity. He restored Marsh's Library, extended the Coombe Hospital, and bought, laid out and presented to the city the public park of twenty-two acres now known as St Stephen's Green. In 1899 he bought the Muckross estate, beside the Lakes of Killarney, to save the area from commercial exploitation.

Around the turn of the century, Arthur and his wife, the glamorous Lady Ardilaun, sister of the last Earl of Bantry, owned wellknown Macroom castle. It is thought that the castle was built in the reign of King John, on the site of an earlier stronghold. When Macroom Castle was burnt (for the fourth time) during the War of Independence Lady Ardilaun sold the remains to the Irish people. The structure dominated the skyline of Macroom until the 1960s when, in a dangerous condition, it had to be demolished. Some parts of the castle are still to be seen in the grounds of the castle demesne, which is a public park, with beautiful riverway walks, situated in the heart of the town.

President RDS 1892-13 and sponsored the publication of its history. Died at St Anne's, 20 January 1915.

(1840 - 1915) philanthropist
Born 1^st Nov 1840, St Anne's, Clontarf, Dublin