Timeline of the Kylemore Estate, Ireland

Wednesday's itinerary included a 4-hour visit to this popular attraction in western Ireland.

1850.  Mitchell and Margaret Henry honeymoon in Connemara.  As Margaret is so enchanted with the area, Mitchell purchases a 15,000-acre estate.

1867.  Construction of the castle begins.

1874.  Margaret dies of dysentery in Egypt.  Survived by her husband and 9 children.

1877.  Construction of a Gothic church in Margaret's memory begins and is completed in 1881.

1893.  Electricity generated onsite. 

1903.  The estate becomes the home of the Duke and Duchess of Manchester.   Many interior changes are made.  The Duke's gambling debts result in their leaving in 1914. 

1910.  Mitchell Henry dies. 

1920. Estate taken over by a community of nuns from the Benedictine Community.

1923.  Boarding school opens.

1959.  Fire destroys part of Abbey.

1993.  Abbey partially opened.

1995. Gothic church reopened.

2000.  After four years of restoration work, the  Victorian walled garden is reopened.

2010.  Boarding school closes.