THIS MOTHERING Sunday, and in the same week as International Women’s Day, the team at Florence Court are bringing to life the stories of the women who made the house what it is.
This Sunday, March 11th, National Trust Fermanagh will be launching their ‘Women and Power: Hidden Graces of Florence Court’ alternative guided tour, which celebrates the women involved with the estate.
“What we really wanted to do was bring forward the stories of the women who would’ve been connected with Florence Court,” said National Trust Fermanagh general manager Kate McGrath. “We tell a lot of stories about the earls and the men and what they did, and how they came to be here, but we don’t focus so much on the ladies. So the wives and where they came from and their background, and what their interests were.”
For example, take Nancy, Lady Enniskillen, who lived at Florence Court. A journalist from Washington who worked at the New York Times, she lived at the house until the 1970s, and wrote the book “Florence Court, My Irish Home.” Or Florence Bourchier Wrey, wife of Sir John Cole who built a hunting lodge in the 18th century, for whom the house is named after.
With the National Trust as a whole taking great interest in the tour, which launches this Sunday, Kate thanked the local staff for their hard work bringing it together, including Heather Hamilton.
“Heather, who has worked with Florence Court for around 30 years now, has been instrumental in bringing those stories to us,” she said.
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