Kevin Sweeney

Almost there with Ormond Castle. Two chimney caps and ground cover on the base board and it's done. The real thing has the ruins of the original medieval castle behind it but I'm not modelling that. My next build will be Myrtle Grove in Youghal. Also a Tudor house, dating from the 1550s. Its most famous resident was Walter Raleigh who lived there from 1588 to 1589. Legend has it that the first potatoes in Ireland were planted in the garden. It is privately owned and still a family home. A remarkable survivor, 475 years old and still standing.

As master modeller Kathy Millat once said if your not making mistakes your not learning. I like to keep pushing the limits in all aspects of life, you only live once.

After my summer break, the new model making season has begun. I spent the last few months doing a lot of research into Irish architectural heritage. My plan for this season is to work on another exhibition, which I hope to have ready by April. The working title is "The Irish House", so a range of buildings from a ring fort, to a modern mansion. My first build of the season is Ormond Castle in Carrick on Suir. A unique Irish building, the only Tudor manor house ever built in Ireland. Dating from the 1560s, it says something about the power and confidence of the Butlers of Ormond, that they built an unfortified manor house at a time when every body else was still building castles and forts. It's been as tricky model to build so far. The main part left to build is the ruined tower at the rear, which will be a new model making challenge for me. Also planned for this modelling season, is to get a double loop of track and some sidings laid, and get some trains running. I have a base board done so it would not take a lot of work to get trains running. The problem as always is getting distracted by buildings.

I've taken a break from making models until September, but I'm doing a lot of research on our architectural heritage. I have come across many sad cases of beautiful buildings abandoned and allowed to crumble, and others modified beyond recognition. This one pictured take the prize for least sensitive reuse of a historically important building, I've come across so far. Built in the 1820s, this is the gate lodge of Baronstown House, Co Westmeath, converted into a very grand cow house. It's so awful and ugly I'm nearly tempted to make a model of it.

My great fear about this project is that it may turn into a Children's Hospital on steroids. According to the Irish Times we had spent 300 million back in 2023, on this project. Presumably more has been spent since. Given that Belfast Grand Central Station was done and dusted for 340 million pounds, I have major doubts that an administration like ours that can spend 300 million and have nothing built for that, is well placed to deliver the metro project on time and on budget.

Conjectural model of medieval Cavan Abbey, based on a late 1500s map of Cavan Town. The tower I posted on May 7th is all that remains of the abbey. This model will be joining my other models on display in the County Museum, until November 1st. I'm hunting for a commission from a glamping site, so I've made a glamping pod as a sample. I also have a new website, which is still a work in progress but is now live at breffnimodels.ie

Another iconic Cavan building, Killykeen Cottage built in 1819 by Lady Farnham, on the shore of Lough Oughter. Anyone who has visited Killykeen Forest Park will recognise it.

A wonderful TV presenter, the personification of old school charm, a real action hero and a perfect gentleman. I have wonderful memories of watching him on BBC in my childhood, I think it was him who first stirred my interest in model making. Quite the contrast to the kind of zany morons that dominate todays media landscape.

A quick, simple project, started this morning and just finished. The Abbeyland Tower in Cavan Town is an iconic Cavan structure. It was the belfry of medieval Cavan abbey, and is the sole surviving fragment of medieval Cavan town.

Some photos from the opening of my exhibition in the County Museum on Saturday. I sold two models.

Well done Patrick. It is a great feeling to see your work on public display in a glass case. I had that feeling last Saturday when the exhibition of my models opened in the County Museum.

The Courthouse is finished.

The museum's poster for my exhibition.

Making good progress with the Courthouse. The date for the opening of my exhibition in the County Museum has been moved to Saturday 26th of April at 2 pm. The title of the exhibition is "Breffni in Miniature: A Scale Model Tribute to Cavan".

Thankfully the only time I was ever summoned to the Courthouse was for jury duty.