On Wednesday 28 July at 7pm the Follies Trust invites you to come and see work in progress on the Waddell Cunningham mausoleum at Knockbreda graveyard. The Follies Trust conserved the Greg and Rainey mausolea in Knockbreda in 2008-2009 and is now working on the third of these amazing structures. The Trust's professional adviser, the building conservation surveyor Chris McCollum will be present to explain the project. Follies Trustee Dr Finbar McCormick will discuss the history of the graveyard. Everyone is welcome.

The Follies Trust was launched in Dublin Castle and Knockbreda Church, Belfast, in November 2006. The Dublin launch was courtesy of the Office of Public Works and the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Lectures given by Professor Emeritus James Stevens Curl in Dublin and Dr Finbar McCormick in Belfast followed the launches.

After launching the Follies Trust late in 2006 the Follies Trust had a lecture series early in 2007. Hugh Dixon, James Howley and John Redmill delighted and enthralled their audiences in Dublin and Belfast with topics such as Irish garden buildings and follies:’closer to fantasy than to common sense’ and Architectural folly – a good career move?.

Following the success of the first lecture series, the Follies Trust embarked on a second lecture series in December 2007. They were held in Dublin and Belfast and covered such diverse topics as Transatlantic crosscurrents in trade, art and building 1750-1800 (Dr Frederick O’Dwyer) and The Lion and the Peacock: British architecture in India (Dr Colin Cunningham). The enigmatic title for Dr Edward McParland’s lecture was Fun, follies and freaks: the darker side of classicism and it did not disappoint!

Late in 2008 the third lecture series started with a flourish in Lisburn Museum when Professor Alistair Rowan delivered a lecture on ‘Neo-Classical Death – the case of Robert Adam’s mausolea’. This was followed by Dr Anthony Malcomson who spoke on ‘Folly or misfortune: the career of Thomas Conolly (1738-1803)’ in Dublin Castle. In February we returned to Lisburn for Professor Keith Jeffery’s lecture on ‘Monuments, memory and meaning’. Andrew Cowser concluded the lecture series by bringing us right up to date with ‘Follies in the Twentieth Century’. In April 2009, on a lovely sunny evening, Dr Finbar McCormick led a walk around Knockbreda graveyard when we were able to admire the recently completed project to conserve the mausolea.

Follies Trust lectures 2010

John Fidler's lecture in St Stephens Church, Dublin was a well attended event and an excellent lecture:

From left to right: David Slattery, Grellan Rourke & Harold Clarke

Ed Burn, John Fidler, Ivor McIlveen, Grellan Rourke & Primrose Wilson

Ana Dolan, John Fidler, Mark Leslie