History of Rockhill House
Letterkenny, County Donegal
Three Centuries
of Rockhill House
Rockhill House can documentarily trace its origins to the 17th-century Plantation of Ulster. In the three centuries since, it has passed through the hands of planters, ornithologists, the Irish Defence Forces, and a family who found it open to the sky and chose to bring it back.
This is only a snippet of the story. The stories within the stories are for another time.
1600s
The Cooch Family
1699
The Chambers Era
1832
John Vandeleur Stewart
1936
Public Works & Defence Forces
2009
Vacancy & Decay
2014
The Molloy Restoration
17th Century — 1832
The Cooch & Chambers Years
From the Plantation of Ulster to a Donegal Seat
Rockhill House can trace its roots to the 17th-century Plantation of Ulster. Sir Thomas Cooch was the first of his family to have the benefit of the lands of Rockhill. The estate passed in turn to Captain Cooch and then to Colonel Thomas Cooch, who also inherited lands in Co. Cavan through the family line. Via marriage, both the Cavan and Donegal holdings eventually came to the Pratt family.
Shortly before his death in 1699, Colonel Cooch sold approximately 240 acres at Rockhill to Mr John Chambers. The Chambers family would make Rockhill their seat for the next 140 years — a quiet, unbroken tenure that ended when the property was acquired in 1832 by one of its most consequential owners.
1832 — The Defining Chapter
John Vandeleur Stewart
In 1832 the property was acquired by John Vandeleur Stewart — aristocratic ornithologist, improver, and the man who shaped Rockhill House into the Georgian country house that survives today. Stewart engaged the distinguished Dublin architect John Hargrave to design a radical extension and remodelling of the house.
Beyond the architecture, Stewart carried out comprehensive draining, planting, and cultivation of the surrounding lands — creating the lush, Georgian idyll of formal gardens, planted avenues, and managed woodland that remained in his family for over a century.
The Stewart family held Rockhill until the break-up of the Estate in 1936, when the property and 100 acres were sold to the Commissioner of Public Works. The great halls, galleries, and gardens they had made were about to enter a very different chapter.
1936 — 2009
The Defence Forces Years
A Headquarters on the Donegal Hills
Following the sale to the Commissioner of Public Works, Rockhill House became a headquarters of the Irish Defence Forces — a role it held for the better part of seven decades, well into the 21st century.
The Army’s exit in early 2009 began a period of vacancy that allowed the house to slip into disrepair and decay. Without the constant occupation and maintenance that a building of this age and scale demands, Rockhill began to deteriorate. The estate, too, became a shadow of the Georgian idyll the Stewarts had created — the walled garden lost, the woodland walks overgrown, the grounds untended.
For five years, through bracing winters, one of the most significant country houses in Donegal stood empty, unheated, boarded up and forgotten except to members of the local community and service people who wished for her return.
2014 — Present
The Molloy Restoration
A Labour of Love. Three Years. One Family.
When the Molloy family got the keys in 2014, a vast task met them. When they first stepped into the house, it was possible to stand in the basement and see the roof, three storeys above.
What followed was a three-year labour of love — a sensitive restoration that was true to Rockhill’s rich past while bringing it into a great new chapter. Original features were salvaged where possible: cornices, ceiling roses, and spiral staircase; picture rails, ironwork, and fireplaces. Where the original had been lost to time, it was historically replicated.
Once again, the great halls and galleries of the house were filled with light and the colours and textures of its Georgian makers.
The Estate Today
What the Restoration Gave Back
The estate has been springing back to life ever since 2014. Each of the spaces below was either restored, reimagined, or built entirely anew from what was found on the grounds.
The Coach house Suites
The original coachhouse given a new lease of life as elegant suites with mini larders — ideal for families or longer stays, with the privacy of a separate building and the full amenity of the estate.
The Church Restaurant & Bar
The former Irish Defence Forces recreation hall, reimagined as The Church restaurant and bar — now serving an ever-changing array of award-winning seasonal dishes and named for its distinctive architecture.
The Wellhouse Spa
The historic grain store converted and extended into The Wellhouse thermotherapy spa and wellness centre, including a stunning wellness garden carved into the very stone of Rockhill.
The Walled Garden
The restoration and re-imagining of the lost walled garden — now supplying the kitchen with vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers grown within the estate walls, as it was in the time of the Stewarts.
The Temple & Fountain
The formal gardens, adorned with temple and fountain, now well matured.
The Woodland Walks
Forgotten woodland walks and avenues uncovered and restored for new exploration — along with beehives, wild buzzards, and the natural life that returned when the estate did.
Where We Are Now
“It is here that you find us — at the start of an exciting new chapter for this special place. A chapter that will be written by you in Rockhill’s Era of Warmth and Welcome.”
The Molloy Family · Rockhill House Estate · Letterkenny, County Donegal
Come and See It
Stay at Rockhill House
The best way to understand what three centuries and one restoration have produced is to spend a night here. The house is open and waiting.
