Barneys Ruins

Barneys ruins is an old Irish Clachan located in the most tranquil corner of Patricks family farm, the very heart of the historic townland known as “Gortinure”.

The Clachan consists of a cottage, slowly extended over time with an adjacent small outbuilding. A horse and cart laneway runs through the middle of the clachan.

The original cottage dates back to 1830 and was last lived in by Patricks great-great uncle Bernard, who everyone locally named ‘Barney’.

Since the last time the cottage was lived in, over a century ago, it has deteriorated and fallen into ruins, and being the only physical evidence of who the original Barney is or was, Patrick and his father James, decided to take upon the ambitious challenge of bringing the clachan back to life to keep the legacy of great-great uncle Barney alive.

Patrick wanted to design an iconic piece of architecture, that fully respected the ruins and the legacy of the site. The concept was to construct a new cottage, a minimal piece of contemporary architecture, that floats elegantly over the old cottage ruins below and at night is illuminated like a dazzling nocturnal installation. Patrick’s vision for the adjacent barn, once the winter home of the resident farm bull named “Barney” called after great-great uncle Barney, was to restore and convert the barn with a modern twist, where both the old and new would seamlessly juxtapose, creating a small, yet unique barn conversion.