A CORK villa dating from 1784, which is in a state of significant disrepair, has been included on a list of the world's 100 most endangered sites, with the Hill of Tara.
Vernon Mount, in the southside suburb of Douglas in Cork city, was proposed for the 2008 world monuments watchlist, which is compiled by the New York-based World Monuments Fund (WMF). Thirty protesters, including members of the Irish Georgian Society (IGS), held a demonstration last month, calling for the immediate restoration of Vernon Mount.
Vernon Mount is owned by multimillionaire businessman Jonathan Moss, who has an address in La Jolla, California, in the US. Mr Moss has extensive business interests in Ireland, including property and technology companies.
The deputy director of the Georgian Society, Donough Cahill, says the villa has largely been left to the elements since planning permission for a major hotel was refused for the site in 1997. Water had been entering through holes in the roof since late 2005 and in spite of pressure from the local authority stop-gap repairs were only made in recent months.
"The purpose of the demonstration was to highlight the continued decline of Vernon Mount. What is needed is very significant investment," said Mr Cahill.
Desmond Fitz-Gerald, the Knight of Glin, has expressed concern about ceiling and wall paintings by leading 19th-Century Cork artist Nathaniel Grogan which remain inside the house. Mr Fitz-Gerald said that Vernon Mount stands in a desperate state of neglect.
VM Restoration Ltd, which represents the owner of the villa, said earlier this year that the company was doing a huge amount of work behind the scenes and there had been ongoing maintenance work at the villa in recent times.
Irish Independent
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