In one’s travels, we sometimes come across a building or structure that makes you wonder about its purpose. Today is definitely one of those. During our trip to Ireland in 2019, my wife and I stayed outside Dublin in the town of Leixlip. In this town, the first of Arthur Guinness’s breweries was started in 1756.
This is the structure that we came across during one of our walks…
This barn was built in 1743 and it is not entirely certain what its purpose was. Whether this was built by the Conolly family as a folly, a dovecote or a granary, each theory holds some merit. As this was built shortly after the famine of 1740-41, the granary theory might be the most plausible.
No matter its purpose, just seeing this interesting building makes us wonder. At least we know, it’s not built by ancient aliens… If you come through Leixlip, look up the Wonderful Barn!