The farm at Tully, Kildare, which today is the home of the Irish National Stud, was purchased in 1900 from a local farmer James Fay by Colonel William Hall Walker, a member of a wealthy Scottish brewery family. He decided, much against the wishes of his father, to bred thoroughbred horses at Tully.
In 1945, the Irish National Stud Ltd. was formed and it officially took over the running of the Stud on 31st of August 1946. Since then it has continued to expand and develop and is now a source of national pride and an international tourist attraction. Its primary aim was to promote the interest of the bloodstock industry in Ireland by providing the services of the high class stallions on the farm. The stud consists of 958 acres of land and there are 288 boxes on the farm for mares, foals and stallions.
The Black Abbey which lies in ruins since its storming during the reformation in the 16th century is carefully preserved on its own grounds on the Tully Farm. There are rumours of underground passages connecting the Black Abbey to the other monastic sites of the White Abbey and the Grey Abbey in Kildare town. The stallion paddocks run the length of the Oak Walk, whilst the mares' and foals' paddocks are to be found along the Tully Walk.
Opening Hours:
12th Feb - 12th Nov 9.30am to 6.30pm 7 days
'One Visit.....three different worlds"
World Famous Japanese Gardens
Guided Tours of the Irish National Stud
Falabellas, perfectly proportioned little horses, bred in Argentina.
Vintage Crop winner of the prestigious Melbourne Cup in 1993.
Japanese Gardens
The Japanese Gardens of Tully were created between the years 1906 and 1910. Devised by Colonel William Hall-Walker, who later became known as Lord Wavertree, the gardens were laid out in their paths of beauty by the Japanese gardener preserved as one of the gems of Ireland's heritage.
The significance of the Japanese Gardens is not only artistic and horticultural but also philosophical, religious and historical. Now of international renown and acclaimed as the finest Japanese Gardens in Europe, they are a living monument to the meeting of Eastern and Western cultures in a Western setting.
There is no doubt that the Japanese Gardens at Tully are on a very short list of most loved gardens in Ireland and the tremendous appreciation from almost 150,000 or so visitors each year tells its own story.
The gardens at Tully are a living monument to the meeting of Eastern and Western cultures in a Western setting. The symbolism of life the garden portrays traces the journey of a soul from Oblivion to Eternity and the human experience of its embodiment as it journeys by paths of its own choice through life. Typical ambitions toward education, marriage, or a contemplative or carefree life, achievement, happy old age and a gateway to Eternity are portrayed. Furthermore as an example of Japanese Gardening of its period, it is perfect - a Japanese Garden with a hint of Anglicisation about it, was precisely the type of garden being made in Japan at that time.
St. Fiachra's Commemorative Garden
In 1999 the Irish National Stud created a commemorative garden to St. Fiachra, Patron Saint of Gardeners, to celebrate the Millennium. It was designed by Professor Martin Hallinan, award winning landscape Architect.
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