This marble statue of Arthur Edward Guinness, Lord Ardilaun, is by the Dublin-born sculptor Thomas Farrell (c. 1827-1900).
Measuring 68 cm (H) x 62 cm (W) x 38 cm (D), the statue dates to 1892. It is said to be a copy of the large bronze statue of Lord Ardilaun, which is located on the west side of St Stephen’s Green, Dublin. The latter is also by Farrell.
Lord Ardilaun purchased Muckross House and its Estate in November 1899. He was related by marriage to the Herbert family of Muckross.
Ardilaun’s wife Olivia was a daughter of Jane, Countess of Bantry. Jane was the youngest sister of Colonel Henry Arthur Herbert, the man responsible for building the present Muckross House.
The Ardilauns spent very little time at Muckross and it was let out on an annual basis as a shooting and fishing lodge. In 1911 Lord Ardilaun sold Muckross House and its Estate to the wealthy American William Bowers Bourn.