Eoin leaves lasting legacy at Heywood Gardens

HEAD gardener at Heywood Gardens, Eoin Long, left his beloved post in mid-January, where he had spent four-and-a-half years undertaking huge projects to enhance, restore and replant the captivating 50-acre 18th-century woodlands, gardens and lakes while conserving several wonderful architectural follies and rescuing local wildlife when required.

On the morning of the first day of spring on St Brigid’s day, the passionate and modest Office of Public Works (OPW) head gardener from Ballyhale in Co Kilkenny drove back to Heywood Gardens to point out some of his projects for the Laois Nationalist. Eoin said that during his time in Heywood that he “never worked a day” because his passion for history and horticulture is not work to him, However, locals say that he breathed fresh air back into the landscape and enhanced the forest’s wonderful features.

This story came about when local lady Niav Reilly, who owns the art and crafts shop in Ballinakill called Market Square Studios, asked if this newspaper could highlight through a feature article some of the wonderful works that Eoin, who is very well respected in the community, has completed at Heywood Gardens.

The gardens form the grounds of a now-vanished house in Ballinakill. The estate was developed in the late 18th century by Michael Frederick Trench, a politician, landowner and architect. He built a substantial house and laid out an extensive park, under the direction of James Gandon. In the early 20th century, Heywood was owned by sir Hutcheson Poe, who commissioned Edwin Lutyens to develop the gardens which surrounded the house and Lutyens engaged his long-time collaborator Gertrude Jekyll to undertake the planting.

The house was purchased in 1941 by the Salesian Order of priests who established a school in it. However, on the night of 31 January 1950 during the feast of St John Bosco (which is now also St Brigid’s day eve), an accidental fire broke out causing extensive damage, which subsequently led to the demolition of the house. While the house was destroyed, the gardens designed by Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll around c1906 were saved and are now in the care of the OPW. The Salesians used the site of the old house to build a new school.

The morning began with coffee in Market Square Studios, then a short spin to Heywood Gardens, where Eoin, accompanied by his wife Aoife who is expecting the couple’s first child in June, pointed out some of the amazing restoration projects that have happened during his time as head gardener.

Before walking the site, Eoin emphasised that the projects were the result of not only him but of his dedicated team members and contractors who worked with him over the years.

First to view was Lutyens Garden. At the end of a long path on the elevated terrace garden is a wonderful circular garden complete with a breathtaking water feature where several ornamental turtles spit water from the pond, set by a timer. In the pond, Eoin found a hedgehog in the water and he took him out on the end of a shovel and nursed him back to health before releasing him back to his habitat. This area is surrounded by a high wall, which was completely covered in Ivy and moss but is now restored and the original brickwork is revealed again.

Steps which lead from the upper lake to Lutyens terrace gardens were in disrepair and Eoin said that they were unsafe for elderly walkers who spend lots of time in Heywood Gardens, so he had them redone to the point that they are not only a great feature blending in with the landscape and the gardens above but are also safe for people to walk on.

The Salesians’ cemetery area was also brought back to life with the use of over 200 tonnes of topsoil and the gravestones were sanded and re-inked, while a lovely lawn was reinstated between the cemetery’s four ewe trees.

The amazing follies at Heywood Gardens include the Sham castle, which features four corner towers and is home to barn owls. Eoin once rescued two fledglings that had fallen from their nest and, with the help of Kildare Wildlife Rescue, they were cared for before he collected them to bring them back to their home. Opposite the Sham castle is another folly of a gothic ruin built to look like a ruined church and incorporates a 15th century window, believed to be from the nearby Aghaboe abbey. Other follies include Claude’s seat, the rusticated bridge, the obelisk, the pergola and an amazing grotto. All of these follies have had many months of work spent on them to restore them to their former glory as awesome ornamental garden structures.

Speaking to the Laois Nationalist on behalf of the community, Niav Reilly said that Eoin settled into the community very quickly and has made many friends in Ballinakill during his time there.

She said: “We had a gathering in the shop a few weeks ago to say goodbye to Eoin and the amount of people who turned up was a testament to his popularity within the community. Eoin always had a clear plan in his management of the woodlands and gardens.’’ Speaking about Eoin’s achievements, Niav continued: “The gardens were replanted in colour themes of pinks and purples to reflect the style of Gertrude Jekyll, the original garden planner, and large areas around the top lake were cleared of scrub and invasive plants and trees, making it a safer place for people to walk. Many new native trees have been planted along the lakes' edge.’’ Many features of the gardens, which had become overgrown over the years, were rediscovered and cleared, to the delight of the regular walkers and visitors.

“At the top of Gills pond, a stone arched bridge was cleared and can now be admired for its stone work and shortly after that a gushing waterfall was repaired, bringing life and water back into the second lake.

New gates reflecting the ironmongery style of the time were installed for safety and in keeping with the original style. Hardwood benches have been dotted around the lake so people can admire different viewpoints. “Three adjoined pools beside the humpback bridge had their stonework repaired. Now they fill up and flow into each other and over stone walls, creating a beautiful place to stop, listen and reflect.

‘‘A large fern forest was rediscovered, cleared and replanted behind the grotto area. The cobbled edging around the grotto was cleaned and cleared so that we can now see the beautiful cobble work. Across the way, up a secret little path, the priests' graveyard, as it's known, has been replanted and paths gravelled, creating another off-grid area to discover. But the most noticeable achievement in the area is the entire redesign of the steps from the upper lake to the gardens. They have a new handrail and have been designed to make it an easier and safer walk, while still blending in with the area.

“Eoin and his team were an incredible support to the Twin Trees Festival over the years by assisting artists with their heavy equipment and bringing tanks of water to out of the way areas for their plein air painting. Many people have reached out to Eoin over the years when there has been a wildlife emergency, such as owls trapped in one of the follies, hedgehogs falling into the fountain and swans getting caught in wire or unwell. Under Eoin's management, varying birdhouses, bat houses, natural bee hives and owl houses have been installed throughout the forest to attract and retain many different species in the area. Eoin has done amazing work for the local people and for visitors who come from afar.” Reflecting on his time at Heywood Gardens Eoin said: “For me, coming here every day was never like going to work. I loved every minute of it and the people were so nice. I have made heaps of friends up here. The people take time out of their day to come here to Heywood gardens to go for a walk and I was getting paid to be here. The OPW is a great organisation to work for and I’m big into history and I’m a landscaper by trade, so the two of them marry very well and go part and parcel.

“I have a huge interest in all of this and for me it is easy to come in and do it every day. I would have been doing different jobs because I knew they needed to be done and the locals are so appreciative of every little job that you did. There was a great team here. I had the vision to do different projects and we worked together as a team to get them done.” Eoin has now moved on as head gardener at Heywood Gardens to take up the post of head gardener at Kilkenny castle. No doubt, his work there will also be very noticeable.