Drumcar House is a manor house in the historical parish of Drumcar

Drumcar

Drumcar is a small village and a historical parish, in the barony of Ardee, County Louth, Leinster, northeastern Ireland.-Geography:...

 in the barony of Ardee

Ardee

Ardee is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. Ardee is on the banks of the River Dee and is approximately 20 km from Dundalk, Drogheda, Slane and Carrickmacross...

, 1 miles (1.6 km) northeast of Dunleer

Dunleer

Dunleer is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland.Dunleer town is situated midway between Dundalk and Drogheda. It is the principal Town Borough in the Barony of Ferrard. It has a Charter dating back to 1252...

, County Louth

County Louth

County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Leinster

Leinster

Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. The house was built in 1777. It was home to the M'Clintock family from then to the 1940s, stemming from Alexander M'Clintock (1692-1775), formerly of Seskinore Lodge. One of its best known owners was John M'Clintock (1770-1855), a magistrate for County Louth, and formerly Serjeant at Arms in the Irish House of Commons

Irish House of Commons

The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...

, who was known to be occupying the estate in 1805 and until his death. The house was sold in about 1903 by the 2nd Baron Rathdonnell to his cousin, Frank McClintock (1853-1924), Rector of Drumcar and Dean of Armagh.

In 1948, it became St. Mary's Hospital, a colony for the mentally ill. Still later, it was converted to Saint John of God Residence, a hospital/infirmary.

The building is now registered with the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (Reg. No. 13901503).

Architecture and fittings

The elegant white Georgian mansion was originally large and rectangular, three storeys over a basement. It was two rooms deep split by a large central hall. A shallow hipped roof was hidden behind a cornice. There was a blocking course that included chimneystacks. The entrance front had five bay windows. The original building had a simple triparite doorcase that was set in a shallow relieving arch, as well as single-storey walls with built in niches and sunken panels. These joined the main block and included a pedimented carriage arch on each side. The 1837 Topographical Dictionary of Ireland described it as "the seat of J. McClintock, Esq., an elegant mansion, beautifully situated in an extensive and richly wooded demesne, commanding a fine view of the Carlingford

Carlingford

Carlingford may refer to:*Carlingford, County Louth, a medieval village in the Republic of Ireland* Carlingford Lough, the sea loch where the village is located* Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, Australia...

 and Mourne

Mourne

-Places:*Mourne Abbey, a small parish just south of Mallow, County Cork, Ireland*Mourne , a barony in County Down, Northern Ireland*Mourne Mountains, a granite mountain range located in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland...

 mountains and the sea." The view extends to Dundalk Bay

Dundalk Bay

Dundalk Bay is a large , exposed estuary on the east coast of Ireland.The inner bay is shallow, sandy and intertidal, though it slopes into a deeper area 2km from the transitional water boundary. It is predominantly influenced by the sea, though several rivers drain into the bay from the west...

.

A mid-19th century expansion included a four-columned Doric

Doric order

The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...

 porch and balcony. Also moulded window surrounds and changes to the ground-floor windows occurred at this time. A later expansion added two-storey, three-bay wings. Another renovation added Mansard roof

Mansard roof

A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...

s.

The interior was entirely remodeled by Kelly & Jones when Drumcar House became St. Mary's Hospital, a colony for the mentally ill, in 1948. The conversion and extension cost approximately £360,000.

A plaque on the portico commemorates 50 years of residence by Saint John of God brothers

Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God

The Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God are a Roman Catholic order founded in 1572. They are also known commonly as the Fatebenefratelli, meaning "Do-Good Brothers" in Italian.-History:...

.

The grounds are large and there are a number of single-storey buildings for accommodation and clinics.