Fota House & Gardens, Cork

Located in the sheltered harbour of Cork, Fota Arboretum and Gardens are of international importance, containing one of the finest collections of rare and tender trees and shrubs grown outdoors in Ireland and Britain.

The name "Fota" is derived from the Irish "Fód te" meaning warm soil and it is this very quality which enables the cultivation of tender and exotic plants which might not otherwise be grown in this country. Many of these specimens were introduced from Asia, Australia and the Americas during the 19th century. By the early 19th century, James Hugh Smith-Barry had already started on the layout of the gardens at Fota, building the terraces and high walls and "beginning to convert field, wood and swamp into Arboretum, water, gardens and semi-tropical jungle." His son, Arthur Hugh Smith-Barry and in turn his daughter Dorothy Bell continued this tradition of planting rare and exotic trees. Following the death of Mrs. Bell in 1975, University College Cork, having purchased Fota Estate, carried out extensive work to the Arboretum and woodlands. In 1990, 47 hectares of parkland including Fota House, Gardens and Arboretum were leased to Fota Trust Company. Fota Arboretum and Gardens were transferred to the State in 1996. They are now in the care of the Office of Public Works.