Our Story
save • share • sustain
Who Are We?
Irish Landmark Trust was founded in 1992 and is a non-profit charitable trust and limited company.
As an educational charity, our mission is to save, share and sustain Ireland’s built heritage. Over the past thirty years, we have conserved and taken care of 33 quirky, eccentric, and distinctive buildings across Ireland. Our properties range from lighthouses and schoolhouses, to castles and gate lodges.
Save.
Irish Landmark subscribes to best practice in our conservation principles, and we employ conservation architects who do the same. Real survival involves a balance of conservation and adaptation, so we aim to find that balance of modern convenience without compromise to the original internal spaces of a building.
We use only the best artisans, builders and craftspeople, and we give them scope to revive traditional skills that might otherwise be lost. Throughout the restoration process the history and architectural integrity of the structures we conserve is always respected, but we also ensure they have all the contemporary comforts you want in a holiday home.
Share.
A holiday at an Irish Landmark Trust Property is a truly immersive experience. Guests have the opportunity to go beyond the velvet rope and experience what life was like in times past. The properties are not museums, they are living, breathing pieces of history conserved by us, for future generations to enjoy.
When you stay in an Irish Landmark property, you’re becoming part of a community that is helping to keep heritage alive. Each guest that visits, becomes part of the fabric and social history of the building.
Sustain.
Everything Irish Landmark Trust does is underpinned by the idea of sustainability. We recycle old buildings using materials that already exist and give them new life. The income generated is put back into the property to maintain it, thereby giving the building a sustainable future.
By booking an Irish Landmark Trust property, guests are helping to ensure that these buildings have a sustainable future. As an added bonus, conservation projects like ours can lift the morale of communities, and the tourist revenue from Irish Landmark guests brings cash infusions and new energy to these areas, thereby sustaining the local economy.
What is an Irish Landmark Trust Experience?
It is an opportunity to reconnect with family and friends in a traditionally restored property. It is a personal, bespoke, out of the ordinary experience that leaves people feeling refreshed, energised and sometimes nostalgic for an old way of life. Our properties offer a sustainable way to holiday, with a warm welcome from our local house manager, a chance to step back in time to enjoy a piece of living history.
What do we offer?
Irish Landmark properties are often in unique locations off the beaten track where you can experience peace and quiet and a sense of calm. You don’t need good weather to enjoy an Irish Landmark. In fact some of our properties are at their best in wild weather! ( Lighthouse Keepers’ Houses’ for example!).
Most of our properties don’t have wifi but are stocked with board games and a deck of cards giving you the chance to experience a digital detox. Experiencing a past way of life can often bring fresh perspective to life and learning about these buildings is helping to keep heritage alive.
Our properties are authentic, rustic, full of character, genuine, and honest. Booking an Irish Landmark Trust holiday is helping us in our mission to Save, Share and Sustain built heritage in Ireland.