Kennels at Leitrim Lodge, 121 Leitrim Rd, Hilltown, Newry, Co Down, BT34 5XS

Kennels at Leitrim Lodge are an unusual building form, and their unaltered state represents a rare survival. These kennels are part of a larger complex, including a farmhouse, hunting lodge, and outbuildings, situated on the west side of the Leitrim Road. The kennels themselves are located to the west of the outbuildings and at the northwest side of the complex.

The building has a cruciform pitched roof covered in natural slate, with the east-west ridge significantly longer than the north-south one. It features decorative clay ridge tiles and plain painted timber bargeboards. The walls are constructed of granite rubble and are whitewashed. The south elevation, which serves as the entrance, is divided into two pens. Central to the gable are two metal-sheeted doors with Gothic heads, each leading into a pen. A small, fixed four-paned window is located centrally on the west gable, while the rear (north) wall has two small, shuttered ventilation openings within the central gable, one for each pen. The east gable is identical to the west gable. The pens are enclosed by a dwarf wall with pitched copings and tall, thin wrought-iron railings and matching gates on the south side.

The kennels likely date from around 1900, coinciding with the appearance of the nearby hunting lodge on maps and valuation records. The farmhouse was first documented on the 1859 Ordnance Survey map and belonged to Owen Fitzpatrick around 1861. The hunting lodge, belonging to the Trustees of Robert Batt, appeared on the 1901 map and was described as "improved" at that time, suggesting a possible period of construction or alteration then. The architectural interest lies in their style, proportion, ornamentation, plan form, spatial organization, and rarity as a surviving example. They hold local historical interest.