Doneraile Court, Country house in Doneraile, County Cork, Ireland

Doneraile Court is a 1700s country house surrounded by 160 hectares of walled parkland, with formal gardens and open fields that stretch down to the Awbeg River. The landscaping creates distinct zones where you walk between manicured garden areas and wilder natural spaces.

Sir William St Leger bought the estate in 1629 and moved into the 13th-century Doneraile Castle, which was abandoned after being burned by 1645. Construction of the present house began in the 1640s using stone from the old castle, and its current facade was added around 1730, likely by John and Isaac Rothery. The St Leger family remained until the house was sold to the Land Commission in 1956, and the OPW took over management in 1994.

The house takes its name from the St Leger family, who held it from the 1640s until the mid-20th century. They bred and raced horses on the estate, and the grounds still keep a herd of Kerry cattle and a deer park with Killarney Red, Sika and Fallow deer.

Doneraile Park, the 160-hectare walled estate around the house, is managed by the Office of Public Works and open all year with free admission. The grounds near the house follow a Capability Brown-style layout, so allow time to walk between the deer park and the meadows.

The deer park holds Killarney Red, Sika and Fallow deer, while the meadows are grazed by a herd of Kerry cattle. The grounds around the house were laid out in the style of Capability Brown, so the pasture and woodland you cross were designed as a landscape, not left wild.