Fota House in Co Cork is the former home of the Smith-Barry family. It was the first major historic house to be put in the care of the Irish Heritage Trust along with an important collection of 18th Century art.

It is run by a dedicated team and local volunteers who are passionate about the house and its history and will entertain you with stories of the people who lived at Fota and the people who worked there.

We worked with them to enable visitors to discover fascinating insights into the contrasting lives of the masters of a former time and their servants in the original surroundings that shaped their worlds. 

Visitors are welcomed to the Walled Garden by the first head gardener William Beswick and can learn about the garden’s history and its future via a series of interpretive panels. They can also learn about forgotten tools and practices in the Bothy house and children are catered for with a discovery table with Lino-cut prints and puzzles.