Lord & Lady Kinfauns
Lord & Lady Kinfauns

Lord Kinfauns Foundation

A refuge
for the rare

EST. 1650 NEWHALL
Co Clare Ireland
Explore the estate

Newhall is a refuge for what cannot be replaced

Beneath the estate lie fossil limestone caves — a protected roost for the lesser horseshoe bat, one of Ireland’s rarest mammals, of international importance.

What is rare needs darkness, water and quiet

We keep the caves, the woodland and the undisturbed dark these creatures need — the conditions on which rare and ancient life depends.

A wild estate kept whole, and freely shared

With care, Newhall stays whole — its wildlife, its waters and its ruins protected, so that what is rare and ancient is freely shared with those who come after.

Wild, ancient and enduring

The Lord Kinfauns Foundation keeps the wild of Newhall — its rare bats, its caves, its woodland and its lakes.

KIN
F   AUN
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One estate, many living things

Newhall is bigger than any single species. The Foundation cares for the whole — its bats, its woodland, its waters and its ruins — so the place stays whole.

Coat of arms of the Lord Kinfauns Foundation: the mermaid of Newhall Lake playing an Irish harp, ringed with shamrocks

The name we carry · Founded by Lord & Lady Kinfauns

A name held in trust

The Foundation takes its name from its founders, Lord and Lady Kinfauns. The name is not a matter of rank — it is a promise: to act as custodian, and to turn what is in custodianship into something held in trust for all.

The arms it carries show the mermaid of Newhall Lake at her harp, ringed with shamrocks for the Holy Trinity, beneath the motto Caithfidh an stair a bheith i réim — “History must prevail.”

The Estate Explained

Endangered Bats & Caves

A protected roost of international importance

The fossil limestone caves shelter the lesser horseshoe bat, one of Ireland’s rarest mammals. We keep the dark and quiet they need.

Ancient Woodland & Lakes

Undisturbed habitat, kept whole

Newhall’s woodland and lake are kept undisturbed — the living conditions that rare and ancient life depends upon.

The Ruins & Estate

Heritage held in trust

Newhall House, Killone Abbey and the estate’s ruins are cared for, and freely shared with those who come after.

On the estate

What Newhall holds

Wild, ancient and various — explore the life, water and stone the Foundation keeps. Tap each to read.

Also kept across the estate: peacocks on the lawns, limestone cliffs, the old stables, and the fairy rings the stories keep.

How we care

Protect

We keep the caves, woodland and lake undisturbed, safeguarding the habitat that rare species depend on.

Restore

We tend the estate’s ruins and waters, repairing what time has worn while keeping its wild character intact.

Share

What is rare and ancient is freely shared with those who come after — opened in trust, not held apart.

In development

What we’re opening

Plans in progress at Killone — a place of rest, welcome and pilgrimage, opened with care, alongside a visitor centre telling the story of Newhall.

In the press · Irish Independent“Wellness retreat to be built within historic Clare estate as plans approved”Read the article →
A Mermaid, by J. W. Waterhouse, 1900

Folklore of Newhall · recorded by T. J. Westropp, 1900

The Mermaid of Killone

Legend tells of a mermaid who swam the brook from Killone Lake to take wine from Newhall’s cellars — until a butler’s blade turned the water red. To this day the lake runs rust-red after a dry summer, and the old people say it foretells a change at the house.

Wild, ancient,
enduring

The Lord Kinfauns Foundation keeps the wild of Newhall, so that what is rare and ancient is protected and freely shared with those who come after.

Contact the Foundation