Townley Hall : Francis Johnson`s Neo Classical Masterpiece

In May 2018 Robert O’Byrne, one of Ireland’s best-known writers on architecture, art and design was commissioned to write the history of Townley Hall and the Townley Balfour family. Given that the narrative on such historical buildings typically ends at the time of construction Robert was asked to write an additional chapter on the house from the time of its completion in the 1790’s up to its acquisition by Trinity College in the 1957. The background to Trinity’s involvement captures the zeitgeist that was Ireland in the 1950’s.