A 200 year old farmhouse which can be considered one of the cradles of the Irish literary revival in the last century is falling into ruin as a result of neglect and vandalism.
White Hall, one of the few surviving historic houses in Dublin's Tallaght area, stands on a 90 acre farm which was bought in 1994 by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) for possible development as a sports stadium to replace Lansdowne Road.
It was the home of Katharine Tynan, author of 18 books of poetry, five plays, 12 collections of short stories and 105 popular novels. The writer AE (George Russell) described her as "the earliest singer in that awakening of our imagination which has been spoken of as the Irish renaissance". She was a close friend of W.B. Yeats.
Her father, Andrew Cullen Tynan, played host to emerging writers, poets and Home Rule advocates in the last decades of the 19th century. Among the regular visitors to White Hall were Parnell, Michael Davitt, Isaac Butt, Douglas Hyde, J.M. Synge and Russell.
In 1995, when the IRFU sought planning permission to demolish the house - it is not listed for preservation - both the Tynan Society and the local Kingswood Residents' Association opposed it. The application to South Dublin County Council was subsequently withdrawn.
Since then, White Hall has continued to deteriorate. Mr Peter Tynan O'Mahony, secretary of the Tynan Society and grandson of Andrew Cullen Tynan, was shocked by its condition on a recent visit. "Slates are missing, leaving gaping holes in the roof, and the windows and doors are boarded up."
Inside, he found a "scene of devastation". The ceilings of the ground floor rooms - including Katharine Tynan's study - were torn down and the floors ripped up. "The marble fireplaces are gone. Missing too are the panelled doors which my grandmother as a child decorated with floral designs."
Ms Therese McGarry, of the Kingswood Residents' Association, noted that White Hall was located in the middle of the green belt between Tallaght and Clondalkin. Despite its deteriorating condition, she said it should be listed for preservation on literary and historical grounds.
"All of our heritage is being pulled down around us. Only last year, Old Bawn House was demolished," Ms McGarry said. "But when I telephoned the IRFU on four separate occasions about the continuing vandalism to White Hall, they didn't even have the courtesy to ring me back."
Mr Philip Browne, the IRFU's secretary, said the house had been acquired as "a long term investment in Irish rugby. It was in a desperate state of repair when we got it and we've done our best to secure it". However, no final decision had been made on what to do with the property.
One of the possibilities was that it would become the site for a new national stadium. But he said no decision could be made on this "until some other parts of the jigsaw fall into place" - notably, whether an alternative stadium proposed for the Phoenix Park racecourse would go ahead.
Since this scheme was contingent on a casino licence, which the Government has refused, Mr Browne said a final decision would have to be deferred until after this year's general election. Either way, however, White Hall would be used for rugby, if only to provide much needed pitches for the area.
Mr Browne said he was aware of White Hall's historical connotations but could not say if it was of any historical value. "It is a derelict building which we have made safe."
