Desmond Guinness
Diana Mitford | |
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| Relatives | Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne (brother) Max Mosley (maternal half-brother) |
Desmond Walter Guinness (8 September 1931 – 20 August 2020) was an
In 1958, he bought Leixlip Castle, Leixlip, County Kildare, Ireland, where he lived with both his first wife, Princess Henriette Marie-Gabrielle von Urach, generally known as Mariga, and later his second wife, the former Penelope Cuthbertson, whom he married in 1984.[1]
Life
Early life and marriage
Born on 8 September 1931, Guinness was the second son of the author
He was educated at
Guinness was married at
Mariga Guinness moved to London alone in 1969, later lived in County Antrim, and later still returned to Leixlip Castle. The Guinnesses divorced in 1980, and Mariga died some years later.[3]
Irish Georgian Society
Desmond and Mariga founded the Irish Georgian Society in April 1958 to help to preserve Irish architecture of all periods. This was timely as the Irish planning laws were enacted only from 1963.[4]
The IGS became involved in numerous projects and started publishing quarterly bulletins. Some early preservations or campaigns were at: Damer House (County Tipperary), The Conolly Folly (County Kildare), Mountjoy Square, Tailors' Hall and Hume Street (Dublin) and the Dromana Gateway in County Waterford.
The IGS also held Georgian cricket matches played to the rules of 1744.
Between 1967 and 1979 the Guinnesses bought and started to preserve Castletown House, in Celbridge, Kildare, said to be the finest Palladian house in Ireland.[5][6]
Other philanthropic and social activities
He was a member of Irish groups such as the Iveagh Trust, the CKAS,[7] the RIAC[8] and the Kildare Street & University Club.
Later life
In 1984, Guinness married Penelope Cuthbertson, daughter of the socialite
In more recent years, Guinness founded a scholarship for students of architecture.[10][11]
He was
Guinness died on 20 August 2020, at the age of 88.[12]
Family
The Guinnesses had a son, Patrick Desmond Carl-Alexander, and a daughter, Marina.[13] Through Patrick he was a grandfather of the fashion model Jasmine Guinness.[14] His daughter Marina is a patron of the arts and of Irish musicians including Glen Hansard, Damien Rice, and the band Kíla. Marina has three children of her own: Patrick (by Stewart Copeland of The Police), Violet (by photographer Perry Ogden), and Finbar (by record producer Denny Cordell).[15]
There are no children from his second marriage.[9][16]
His brother is
Recognition
His conservation work has been recognised by many American and English cultural groups, and
Publications
Books
Guinness wrote the following books:
- Portrait of Dublin (New York: Viking Press, 1967)
- Georgian Dublin (Batsford, B.T., Ltd. 1979) ISBN 978-0-7134-1908-5
three further books with Julius Trousdale Sadler:
- Mr Jefferson, architect (New York: Viking, 1973) ISBN 978-0-670-49261-9
- Palladio: A Western Progress (New York: 1976) ISBN 978-0-670-53732-7
- Newport preserv'd : architecture of the 18th century (New York: Viking Press, 1982) ISBN 978-0-670-50938-6
two with William Ryan:
- Irish Houses and Castles; with William Ryan. (London: Thames & Hudson, 1973).
- The White House: An Architectural History (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980). ISBN 978-0-07-054352-2
and two with Jacqueline O'Brien, wife of the famous racehorse trainer Vincent O'Brien:
- Dublin – A Grand Tour (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1994)
- Great Irish Houses and Castles (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.) ISBN 978-0-297-83236-2.
Articles
Guinness wrote numerous articles, including Thomas Jefferson: Visionary Architect. Horizon, 22 (1979): 51–55.
References
- ^ "Desmond Guinness: Socialite on a mission to save Ireland's Georgian heritage". The Irish Times. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ a b c Byre, Ciaran (23 November 2003). "Ireland: Interview: Ciaran Byre meets Desmond Guinness". The Times. London. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ Murphy, William (May 2012). "Guinness, Mariga". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ Archiseek.com 404 Error Archived 6 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Castletown House, Co Kildare (Alessandro Galilei & Edward Lovett Pearce) – Irish Architecture Archived 27 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Heritage Ireland – Castletown (Kildare)". www.heritageireland.ie. Archived from the original on 23 November 2007.
- ^ CKAS homepage
- ^ Motorsport Ireland :: RIAC Archive Archived 6 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b [1] Archived 8 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Contemporary and Historical Irish Architecture and Architects – Archeire – Irish Architecture Online
- ^ http://www.igs/publications/2005_spring.pdf [dead link]
- ^ Pollak, Sorcha (20 August 2020). "Irish Georgian Society co-founder Desmond Guinness dies". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Lichtenstein".
- ^ Jasmine Guinness, Fashion model
- ^ Bohemian rhapsody: Marina Guinness and Kila | 2008
- ^ Obituary: Zita Jungman | News | The Guardian
- ^ "The Gold Medal Awards". Eire Society of Boston. Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ^ Parade Grand Marshals Archived 4 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Irish Times, 27 June 2014
Further reading
- Address on the award to Desmond Guinness of the European Union Prize for Dedicated Service to Heritage Conservation Irish govt. 2007.
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