A Modern Woman: Eileen Gray at Enniscorthy Castle

What to Expect

Enniscorthy Castle holds a permanent room dedicated to Eileen Gray, the Wexford-born architect and furniture designer whose lacquer work, tubular steel furniture and the house E-1027 made her one of the most significant figures in twentieth-century modernism. She was born at Brownswood, just outside Enniscorthy, in 1878, and the castle’s display is the main public presentation of her work in the county.

This Heritage Week session takes the room as its starting point and works through Gray’s life and output, from the years in Paris learning lacquer technique through to the furniture and architecture that were largely forgotten in her lifetime and only fully re-evaluated after her death. It runs mid-morning on the Thursday of Heritage Week, one of a full programme of talks and tours the castle puts on across that week, and it pairs naturally with a visit to the castle’s other exhibitions on the same ticket.

Good to Know

• Thursday 20 August 2026, 11am, Enniscorthy Castle, Castle Hill, Enniscorthy
• Part of National Heritage Week 2026
• Admission was not stated on the listing, so contact the castle on 053 923 4699 or info@enniscorthycastle.ie
• Enniscorthy Castle houses a permanent Eileen Gray room
• Another Heritage Week talk, Last to Surrender: Enniscorthy during the Easter Rising 1916, runs at 3pm the same day
• The Waters of Wexford exhibition is also on at the castle through to October

Getting There

Enniscorthy Castle is on Castle Hill in the centre of Enniscorthy, a short walk from the main street and the Slaney bridge. The town sits on the M11 and N30, about 20 minutes north of Wexford town and roughly 90 minutes from south Dublin. Enniscorthy railway station is on the Dublin Connolly to Rosslare Europort line, a short walk across the river from the castle, and there are town centre car parks nearby.