Dunboy Castle Hotel

Dunboy Castle is situated in a beautiful inlet from the sea on the Beara peninsula near Castletownbere. The estate consists of the ruins of Dunboy Castle, a stronghold of the O’Sullivan Bere built to guard and defend the harbour of Berehaven in the 15th century. The spectacular ruins of Puxley mansion stand nearby, built by Henry and John Puxley in 1739, the family having been granted the lands previously belonging to the O’Sullivans. The Puxley family prospered (despite being cursed by the ousted O’Sullivans) thanks to copper mining and supporting smugglers who frequented the wild West Cork coastline.

However, Henry Puxley’s wife died in 1872 and he was so devastated by her death that he left Ireland, never to return.

The house was burnt to the ground by the IRA in June of 1921 in reprisal for the burnings of local houses suspected of harbouring IRA members and weaponry, leaving behind one of Irelands most spectacular ruins.

Puxley mansion has undergone one of the biggest renovations in Irish history and Cornerstone Construction played an integral role as specialised subcontractors to the development.

Information

Client: CAP Partners
Architect: RKD Architects
Main Contractor: PJ Hegarty & Sons
Conservation Consultants: Christopher Southgate & Assoc.
Specialist Sub Contractor: Cornerstone Construction

Cornerstone Construction was subcontracted to carry out specialist stone work and mouldings to the ruin of the Puxley mansion both internally and externally.

The scope of work included repair and rebuilding of the Main Atrium and surrounding rooms. This work included major repairs to blockwork, plastering and windows.

A major part of Cornerstone Construction’s work was the moulding of the chimney pots, in total, using a specific mix of limestone sand, gravel, granite sand, white cement and white gravel and dye. Cornerstone also carried out lead work to ensure the weather resistance of the chimneys. All work was carried out to the highest conservation standards and practices.