Explore the lives and changing fortunes of the Irish aristocracy when you step inside Roscommon’s Strokestown Park House.
A richly layered and authentic picture of the past unfurls for visitors of all ages at Strokestown Park House, bringing some of Ireland’s most complex stories compellingly to life.
The Great House
Strokestown Park’s Georgian Palladian House is a kind of time capsule you can step inside to gain insights into very different Irish lives.
When Olive Pakenham-Mahon sold this striking Irish Palladian house in 1979, her family had owned it for over 300 years.
Each generation had left their mark on this great house, and each layer they left has a story to tell!
The faded grandeur and fascinating collections in this atmospheric mansion, give us unique insights into everyday life in the Irish country house.
And they offer intriguing clues about Irish experience in centuries past for people living vastly different parallel lives.
Take a Guided Strokestown Park House Tour
A guided one-hour tour will introduce you to the house, its characters, and its dramatic tales!
- Experience the atmosphere created by its untouched original features, furniture, and many, many treasured objects.
- Explore the charming nursery and the (less charming!) school room.
- Visit the galleried kitchen at Strokestown Park House – the last of its type in Ireland – to sense what life was like for the staff ‘below stairs’ including our new interpretation “Food, Feasts and Footmen”.
Unlocking a Time Capsule
The objects you’ll encounter as you wander through its rooms offer important insights into what life was like within the Strokestown Park household, across the estate, and in the lands beyond, where a person’s life – as well as their livelihood – often depended on decisions made within the ‘Big House’.
An Enlightening and Empowering Experience
A visit to Strokestown Park House, combined with a trip to the National Famine Museum, allows you to explore vastly different lives lived in parallel.
- The affluent lives of the house’s owners contrast with the poverty and destitution their tenants faced in the mid-1800s.
- The tragedy of famine and the beauty of the estate create a conversation that weaves in very different strands of life in Ireland.
- Local and national narratives play their part in illuminating the past.
There can be few places in Ireland where it’s possible to gain such a rich set of perspectives on Irish heritage.
Caring for Strokestown Park House and The National Famine Museum
Since 2015, The National Famine Museum | Strokestown Park has been managed by the Irish Heritage Trust. Its team, together with the wonderful volunteers and supportive partners who contribute to its projects, work tirelessly to conserve and preserve the fabric of the house and the history held within its walls. Together with the wonderful community around Strokestown Park House, we offer a warm welcome to visitors and scholars from across the world who are keen to learn about Strokestown Park and its remarkable stories.
