The physical property and buildings of Richmond House are home to The Richmond Revival. Guided by the vision, ambition and experience of Fiachra and Debbie Ó Cinnéde, The Richmond Revival is a multi-faceted creative space offering events and performances primarily to local communities to participate in and engage with in the Fermoy and North Cork region. Accommodation and private functions/event hire of the spaces are also available.
The Richmond Revival is the umbrella, independent entity through which year-round activities are planned and implemented that support the ongoing restoration of the listed period and historical Richmond House and grounds while also servicing the needs/wants of the local community and broader region.
The overarching objective of The Richmond Revival is to establish Richmond House and grounds as a sustainable entity that helps Fermoy to become known as a creative place where the local community and people from further afield can expect accessible and meaningful, cultural and performance art experiences. We wanted to create a space where people could come to and basically enjoy their time here whether they’re audience members, performers, artisans, or makers. Somewhere people can expect a high quality, valuable experience and good vibes, that’s affordable and that they don’t have to go to the city for. A local place that serves our local people (though not in the vein of The League of Gentlemen of course!!). While the approach is a fairly informal, grassroots approach to creativity and arts engagement, the ambition is to become known as:
- A place where artistic and creative endeavours are supported, nurtured and developed.
- A destination that showcases high quality, original works and product that demonstrate the skill, craft, knowledge and passion of Irish people in particular and inspires others in pursuit of the same.
- A creative and culturally vibrant hub that facilitates ambition, collaboration and experimentation and provides a route for participants to connect and engage with audiences in accessible, inclusive and meaningful ways.
The original name for Richmond House is ‘Richmond, An Gáirdín Rúndach’ — an acknowledgement of the history of occupation and the landlord class that blighted Ireland for too long — whilst also paying tribute (and perhaps giving a little nod to the spirit of defiance and independence) to our indigenous language and what it meant, which was and still is central to our culture and identity. Bear in mind, there were multiple laws throughout a time which sought to ban the use of the Irish language in various ways following the 1367 Article iii of The Statute of Kilkenny. In 1541, legislation was passed which banned the use of Irish in areas of Ireland that were under English rule. For our international readers, An Gáirdín Rúndach simply means ‘The Secret Garden’.
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