Mariga Guinness was an architectural conservationist and socialite, and co-founder of the Irish Georgian Society.
Life
Early life and family
Mariga Guinness was born Hermione Maria-Gabrielle von Urach in London on 21 September 1932. Known until the age of 18 as Gabrielle, she was the only child of Albrecht von Urach, a German from Schloss-Liechtenstein, and a member of the royal house of Wurtemberg, and Rosemary Blackadder, from Berwick-upon-Tweed in England. For the first few months of her life she was very ill. In 1934 her parents, working as journalists, moved the family to Venice. They later moved again, to Japan. Her mother developed depression, and in 1937 tried to gain uninvited access to Emperor Hirohito's palace with her daughter. This resulted in her mother being arrested, sedated, and deported, which was the beginning of a decline in her mental health which culminated in a lobotomy in 1941 and spending the rest of her life in private mental institutions. von Urach was returned to Europe, where she was raised by her godmother, Hermione Ramsden, in Surrey and Norway, with a brief spell in boarding schools and otherwise education by as many as 17 governesses. She met Desmond Guinness in 1951, with the couple marrying in Oxford in 1954. They had two children, Patrick and Marina.
Life in Ireland
The couple moved to Ireland in 1955 where they rented Carton House, County Kildare. They shared a love of Georgian architecture which resulted in them buying Leixlip Castle in 1958, and establishing the Irish Georgian Society on 21 February the same year. Through the society they campaigned for the restoration and protection of architectural sites such as Mountjoy Square, the gateway to the Dromana estate in County Waterford, the Tailors' Hall in Dublin, and Conolly's Folly in County Kildare. In 1967 they bought Castletown House, also in County Kildare, with a plan to restore it, and make it a base for the Irish Georgian Society. During the 1960s Leixlip Castle was a hub for those interested in architecture and conservation, and the Guinnesses worked hands-on on a range of projects. By 1969, their marriage was in difficulties and Mariga moved to London. She later moved to Glenarm, County Antrimto live with Hugh O'Neill, and when that relationship ended, she returned to Leixlip Castle, but a divorce was finalised in 1981. Having lived in Dublin for a time, she rented Tullynisk House, the dower house of Birr Castle in County Offaly in 1983. Guinness became isolated and developed a problem with alcohol. While returning to Ireland from Wales on a car ferry on 8 May 1989 she had a massive heart attack which was compounded by a reaction to an injection of penicillin. She was buried at Conolly's Folly.
