A few kilometres from the Wonderful Barn there's another folly, a bizarre building composed of 8 arches, an obelisk that tops them all, and a series of stone pineapples and eagles that adorne the upper part. It is 42 metres tall and is situated in the Castletown House estate.
Just like the Wonderful Barn, this folly was commissioned by the philantropic Katherine Conolly and designed in order to provide employment for hundreds of the poor of Celbridge during the worst moments of the Famine of 1740-1741.
During our visit, the monument was undergoing extensive repairs and restorations by the OPW. The building was fenced for safety and was only visible from a distance. Workers were on the scaffoldings while I was taking photos of the obelisk.
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