Farmleigh House & Gardens: Best things to do and see in Dublin

Karyn Farrell
May 30
6 min read

Farmleigh Gardens

It's fair to describe Farmleigh House and Gardens as one of Dublin's best kept secrets. While visitors flock to the Phoenix Park in their droves, many make it no further than the zoo or Áras an Uachtaráin, official residence of the President. But tucked away to the north-west of the park is one of the best daytrips in the capital.

Farmleigh House

Farmleigh Estate is full of treasures. In addition to a historic mansion offering guided tours, there are acres of parkland and beautiful gardens. You'll also find a fabulous art gallery, a sculpture trail, a lakeside walk and a restaurant, not to mention fields of horses, donkeys, cows and the occasional alpaca.

Signposting within the park for Farmleigh is minimal and the low-key entranceway gives nothing away. But follow the signs through the main gates, past the security lodge and down tree-lined Thuja Avenue and you'll find one of the nicest places in the park to hang out for a few hours.

Convergence, Brian King; Farmleigh Sculpture trail

Farmleigh House & Gardens: one of Dublin's treasures

It's an idyllic sunny day in May and I'm cycling through the park. The sky is a dreamy blue, without a hint of a cloud, and there's a light warm breeze in my hair. I really love Dublin on days like this and decide on the spur of the moment to head to Farmleigh. It's been years since I last visited and I'm quickly reminded how lovely it is. The sunlight filters through a canopy of trees with a lake on one side and acres of parkland on the other.

Lakeside Walk

Within minutes I've stopped to chat to the handsome horses in a field to the left, though they lose interest pretty quickly when they realise I don't have any food for them. I park my bike at the Boathouse restaurant, grab a coffee and set off on foot to explore the grounds.

Farmleigh House

Farmleigh House

The first point of interest is the elegant Farmleigh House, an Edwardian mansion which serves as a guesthouse for the Irish State, providing reception rooms and accommodation for visiting dignitaries and guests of the nation. Access to the house is by guided tour only from April to December. Click here for more info on opening hours and prices. It's worth noting that because Farmleigh is a working Government building, the house can sometimes close to the public at short notice. Booking in advance for tours is recommended - check the website and their social media pages for updates on closures before visiting.

On this occasion, the house was unfortunately closed to the public due to state business. However, I had taken a tour on a previous visit. As always, I was impressed by the knowledgeable OPW (Office of Public Works) guides, and enjoyed how they brought the house to life for us. Here's a quick overview. Built on the site of smaller Georgian house, it was purchased by the Guinness family in 1873. Over the next twenty years it was extended and refurbished to the Edwardian style mansion we see today.

The house is chock-full of significant artworks while lavishly decorated rooms showcase delicate examples of stuccowork. The ballroom opens out onto the conservatory, filled with exotic flowers and plants.

Walled garden

And now to explore the grounds... I'm a sucker for a walled garden and was delighted to find that Farmleigh has not one but two. Ornate wrought-iron gates mark the entrance to the main garden: a decorative stone temple stands as a focus point with all pathways radiating out from here. Tall yew hedges line its sides and at the back I find a Victorian fernery. It's also home to an orchard and a small rose and lavender garden.

There's something about this place that feels like a remnant of another time. As a child, I was utterly enchanted by the book The Secret Garden. To this day, I still love the sense of romance associated with these hidden pockets of nature; their entrances obscured by overhanging ivy and a silence interrupted only by birdsong.

Sunken Garden

Next stop is the Dutch-style sunken garden: beautifully manicured and in a symmetrical formal layout which was popular in the early 20th century. It's ridiculously picturesque, enclosed by a brick wall and tall yew hedges. The garden is long and rectangular with three descending brick terraces leading to a pond and fountain at the centre. Two pointed topiary trees at the entrance perfectly frame the view.

To get there I cross the Pleasure Grounds and follow the tree-lined path on Cherry Walk. The names sound like something from Pride and Prejudice and I feel under-dressed, like I should be sporting a bonnet and long flowing skirts. I sit on a bench on the upper terrace and take it all in. I'm the only visitor and it's incredibly peaceful. My only companions are two tiny birds who flit in and out of the bushes close by. Possibly wrens but they move so quickly, my camera is no match for them.

Farmleigh Sculpture Trail

Éan Mór, Breon O'Casey

Armed with an online map, I next set off on Farmleigh's sculpture trail, a selection of contemporary artworks dotted throughout the natural environment. Artists are a mix of Irish and international: works were purchased by the OPW as part of the state art collection. My favourite is Éan Mór by Breon O'Casey, a monumental bronze bird in prime position in the front garden of the house.

I've long had a soft spot for this artist, a gentle giant of a man who I had the pleasure of meeting in my former life as a gallery assistant. One of his bird prints has pride of place in our home. Son of the playwright Seán O'Casey, he spent the latter part of his life in Cornwall, a member of the St Ives School of Artists, and working for a time with renowned sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell. Like all of his artworks, Éan Mór has a quiet, dignified presence and I was privileged to attend its unveiling in-situ in 2006. Breon sadly died in 2011 but his legacy lives on in his art.

The spherical Convergence by Brian King is another favourite, hidden away in a grassy knoll on the way to the sunken garden. Other featured artists include John W. Wiedman, Mary Reynolds, Pilar Aldana Mendez, James Gannon and Turner Prize winner Tony Cragg,

Download the sculpture trail map here

Farmleigh Gallery

Farmleigh Gallery

My visit ends in Farmleigh Gallery, one of the most stunning exhibition spaces for art in Dublin. Occupying what was once the cowsheds of the estate, the buildings have been radically transformed while still retaining their original character. The outer facade is faced in stone while on the inside, huge picture windows look out onto an inner courtyard, flooding the space with light.

The gallery opened in 2005 and since then has hosted world-class exhibitions of Irish and international artists. Visitors to the gallery until late August 2025 can enjoy a fabulous exhibition of contemporary prints from Irish and Japanese artists. The show is an homage to the remarkable but relatively obscure Irish writer Lafcadio Hearn. Featured artists, including Yoko Akino, Stephen Lawlor and Alice Maher, have produced works in response to Kwaidan, his iconic collection of Japanese ghost stories published in 1904.

I'm ashamed to admit that I had never heard of this writer before my visit but left wanting to read everything there was to know about him. The first room in the gallery sets the scene, giving an overview of his utterly fascinating life, and his literary contributions to both Ireland and Japan. He spent much of his life travelling, carving out a career for himself in the US as a writer and journalist before emigrating to Japan in 1890. He immersed himself in its culture and it's here he spent the remainder of his life. In fact, he's far better known in Japan than in Ireland, and is highly regarded for his deep understanding and affection for Japanese culture.

It's unmissable. And I'm already planning a visit to the Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens in Tramore.

Kwaidan—Encounters with Lafcadio Hearn runs until 25th August 2025. Entrance is free. Opening times here