Kinnitty Pyramid was built between 1830 and 1834 at the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, by Richard Wellesley-Bernard; it is an exact replica of the Egyptian pyramid of Giza. The Kinnitty Pyramid is the burial tomb of six members of the Bernard family, once the wealthy landowners of nearby Kinnitty Castle (sometimes called Castle Bernard). It’s thought that the master of the Castle, Lt. Col. Richard Wesley Bernard, did a tour of duty in Egypt in the early 19th century where he likely would have seen the architecture of the ancients.

The pyramid took four years to complete, finished off in 1834. The first Bernard entombed was young Margaret, who was laid to rest in 1842 at the age of only 24, after being bitten by a rabid dog. Over the next 65 years five more Bernards followed, the final member of the family, Ellen Georgina, sealing up the doors behind her in 1907.

By: Stair na hÉireann
Title: Kinnitty Pyramid | Birr, Co Offaly
Sourced From: stairnaheireann.net/2023/02/15/kinnitty-pyramid-birr-co-offaly-2/
Published Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2023 21:30:00 +0000