The proposed development of a 140-bedroom hotel, with 78 houses, a conference centre and two 18-hole championship golf courses, in Carton Demesne, Co Kildare, was described last night as "a national scandal".
Delivering a lecture to mark the 40th anniversary of the Irish Georgian Society, its first president, the Hon Desmond Guinness, said it would be even worse if - as the developers, Carton Sheraton Ltd, hope - the scheme received £6 million in EU aid.
He said that Carton - birthplace of Lord Edward FitzGerald - not only had a magnificent house but also probably the most important and best-documented landscaped parkland in Ireland and was one of the very few great demesnes to survive intact.
"Such a national treasure, one of the finest in Europe, should not be left in the hands of commercial developers; it deserves State care and attention of the highest order," Mr Guinness said, urging that the 1,000-acre estate should be acquired by the Government.
"One would have thought that sensitivity to the built heritage has progressed, yet here is the finest estate and house in Ireland, laid out and built superbly by Irish craftsmen, about to be commercially exploited - the exploitation aided and abetted by the State."
Once developed, he warned, the historic setting of Carton would be "irretrievably lost", as had happened at Castletown, in Celbridge, many years ago. This was "totally against the Venice Charter, which defines the setting as an integral part of any historic building". Apart from the hotel and leisure uses - for which a 10-year planning permission was granted in 1992 despite opposition from the Irish Georgian Society - Mr Guinness said Carton's landscape would be scarred by new roads and car-parks.
He recalled the many battles the society had fought since it was founded at Carton in 1958. These included its struggles to save Castletown as well as Fitzwilliam Street and Hume Street in Dublin, and Tailors' Hall, where last night's meeting was held. Mr Guinness noted that the IGS had carried out rescue and repair work to save Doneraile Court, in Co Cork, and the Damer House in Roscrea, Co Tipperary. Currently, it is aiding the restoration of three Georgian houses on the northside of Dublin.
The society's current president, Desmond FitzGerald, Knight of Glin, told the gathering that in his view "too much European money is despoiling our great estates, towns and cities". He asked whether "we are slowly killing the goose that lays the golden egg".
"Vast amounts of money have been given to Bord Failte but little has come the way of historic properties, one of the main tourist attractions," the Knight said, adding that it would be "tragic if our visitors came to a country evolving into one large theme park."
He complained that the core of medieval Kilkenny had been "despoiled by insensitive development". The countryside was being "raped by ill-conceived and greedy planning" and the future of surviving great houses and collections was still in jeopardy.
Grants from the Government and the National Lottery "appear to have dried up", the Knight said. "When will the Government fulfil its promises?" he asked, referring to a 1996 report which recommended an annual allocation of £5 million for historic buildings.
A spokesman for Bord Failte said its independent management board for tourism product development had approved the Carton project for grant-aid of £6 million and it had also received Government approval. However, it was still being considered by the European Commission.
A special edition of the society's annual Bulletin - the only journal devoted to Ireland's architectural history - is being published to mark its 40th anniversary, as well as a register of professionals and craftspeople with skills in conservation.
The amount of money available for the 1998 Desmond Guinness scholarship is being increased to £2,000. The scholarship is awarded each year for research on the visual arts in Ireland or on the work of Irish architects, artists and crafstpeople at home or abroad.
Last year, the scholarship was awarded to Ms Sarah Foster to assist her research into the commissioning of Irish goods in the 18th century. A subsidiary prize was awarded to Ms Mildred Dunne for research into the career of the noted Victorian architect, George Ashlin.
