Castles in Ireland

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_c ... and#Antrim

List of Castles in Clare
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlki ... astl-Clare.

Irish Castles

htmhttp://www.castles.ancientireland.org/

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Antrim Castle

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Antrim Castle or Massereene Castle was a castle in Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was erected in stages between 1610 and 1666. It was destroyed in 1922 and finally demolished in the 1970s.


According to the Illustrated Dublin Journal of 1861, the castle was built by Sir John Clotworthy, later created Viscount Massereene. It was through his daughter and heiress, Mary, and her marriage to Sir John Skeffington, 4th Baronet (by special remainder he would become the 2nd Viscount Massereene), that the estate and title came to the latter family. A parterre supplied the castle with herbs for cooking and medicinal uses and its long canal was divided into two sections by a limestone cascade

The castle was raided by Jacobite General Richard Hamilton and his men who looted Viscount Massereene's silver plate and other silverware and furniture up to a value of £3000, a considerable loss at the time.] For sometime the castle was used for political conferences; in 1906 Right Hon. John Foster, the last Speaker of the Irish House was reported to have spoken in the Oak Room of the castle at a meeting. During a grand ball on 28 October 1922, the castle caught fire and was destroyed. The castle remained as a ruin until its demolition in 1970.The only evidence of the castle is a slightly raised grassed platform as well as a freestanding Italian tower which was built in 1887 and a gatehouse.

The gardens are a popular tourist attraction, open yearly, located on the Randalstown Road, Antrim, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Reputed hauntings

One servant, a young local named Ethel Gilligan, although rescued from the flames, later died as a result of her injuries.] Her ghost has been seen walking in Castle Gardens, and amidst the ruins of the castle before its demolition. The locals refer to her as the 'White Lady'. Antrim has its very own paranormal research group called C.A.P.R.A. (County Antrim Paranormal Research Association). Founded in 2007, they are a voluntary group set up to investigate alleged paranormal activity.[9] They are also members of the I.P.A (Irish Paranormal Alliance).

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Ballycastle Castle

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Ballycastle Castle was a castle located at Ballycastle in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. The castle existed during the time of John Mór Tanister and was rebuilt by Sorley Boy MacDonnell in 1564. In 1565, the castle was occupied by Shane O'Neill. The castle was removed by Sir Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim in the 17th century. Another castle was erected in 1625 by Sir Randal McDonnell, Earl of Antrim. During the Irish Confederate Wars, the castle was seized by Scottish troops in 1642 and later occupied by Cromwellian forces. The castle was returned to Alexander MacDonnell, 3rd Earl of Antrim in 1665. The castle fell into ruins and were removed in 1856 by Charles Kirkpatrick, of Whitehall.

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Ballygally Castle

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Ballygally Castle is in the village of Ballygally, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located approximately three miles north of Larne. The castle overlooks the sea at the head of Ballygally Bay. Now run as a hotel, it is the only 17th century building still used as a residence in Northern Ireland, and is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in all of Ulster.

The castle is described as "a living postcard—a charming, almost teal-colored Scottish baronial castle overlooking the sea in Northern Ireland."[2] It was strongly Scots influenced in style featuring corbelled cylindrical tourelles with conical roofs on top.[3] It was built with high walls, steep roof, dormer windows and corner turrets. The walls are five feet thick with loopholes for muskets. An open stream ran through the outer hall to provide water in case of siege.[4]

History
The castle was built in 1625 by James Shaw, of Scotland, who had come to the area and rented the land from the Earl of Antrim for £24 a year.[5] Over the main entrance door to the castle, leading to the tower, is the Middle Scots inscription "Godis Providens is my Inheritans".[4] The castle did come under attack, from the Irish garrison at Glenarm, several times during the rebellion of 1641 but each assault was unsuccessful. The castle was owned by the Shaw family until it passed into the hands of William Shaw in 1799. He sold the estate for £15,400.[4] In the 1950s the castle was bought by the carpet tycoon Cyril Lord and was extended and renovated. It is now owned and run by the Hastings Hotels Group.

Reputed hauntings
The castle is reputed to host a number of ghosts, the most active of which is the former resident, Lady Isobel Shaw, who has a habit of knocking the doors of the rooms and disappearing.[1] She had reportedly fallen to her death from the window after her husband had locked her in her room and starved her. Madame Nixon is another ghost who lived in the hotel in the 19th century and can be heard walking around the hotel in her silk dress.[1] The small room in the corner turret of the castle is known as "The Ghost Room" and is not used as a room in the hotel.[2]

In 2003, manager Olga Henry had said after spending some time in the hotel, "I'm sort of very skeptical about the whole supernatural thing and ghosts. But the more I stay here and work here, the more I think there's definitely something in this hotel."[2] According to Henry, one guest was staying in one of the rooms in the tower beneath the "Ghost Room" and in the middle of the night he awoke and thought he was at home and one of his children had laid a hand on his back. He woke up and said that he could a hear a child running about the room and laughing but nothing could be seen so he ran into the lobby in his boxers shorts in fright.[2] In December 2003, Henry had set up the "Dungeon Room" in the tower as they were expecting guests and ordered the table neatly in preparation for meal. She locked the room and later checked up on it and the table was now a mess with unfolded napkins and glasses with an unusual scum around them were now arranged in a circle on the table.[2] Mediums spending the night at the castle have often reported that they've detected more ghosts than there were guests actually staying at the hotel.

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Ballylough Castle

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Ballylough Castle is a ruined castle in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, that was a stronghold of the MacQuillans and the MacDonnells in former times.

Geography
Historically, it was situated in the parish of Billy.[1] The area was divided into the townlands of Ballylough, Ballyloughmore and Ballyloughbeg.[2] An 1847 publication described Ballylough as "a townland in that part of the parish which is in the barony of Dunluce Lower, now subdivided into Ballylough, Ballyloughmore, and Ballyloughbeg."[3] Part of the old structure is still visible in the rear of Ballylough House, but the lake (lough) has disappeared. The Giant's Causeway is located nearby.[4] At the Belfast Field Naturalists' Club of 1882, there was a discussion of a recent review of a crannóg at Ballylough.[5]

Castle
Ballylough Castle was once a stronghold of the MacQuillans and the MacDonnells.[6] This castleis mentioned by the Four Masters in 1544, as Baile-an-locha.[4] The castle was taken by the O'Donnells, who took arms, armour, brass, iron, butter, and provisions.[1] In 1624, the Earl of Antrim reportedly "granted the 120 acres of Ballylough with the 120 acres of Ballintoy to Archibald Stewart and in 1625 the Earl granted 100 acres at Ballylough Beg to Walter Kennedy".[2] Two chests from a Spanish ship of the Armada were kept by the Antrim family at Ballylough before being moving to Glenarm castle around 1740.

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Belfast Castle

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Belfast Castle is set on the slopes of Cavehill Country Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland in a prominent position 400 feet (120 m) above sea level. Its location provides unobstructed views of the city of Belfast and Belfast Lough.

History
The original Belfast Castle, built in the late 12th century by the Normans,[1] was located in the town itself, flanked by the modern day High Street, Castle Place and Donegall Place in what is now Belfast city centre. This was the home of Sir Arthur Chichester, baron of Belfast, but was burned down in 1708, leaving only street names to mark the site. Rather than rebuild on the original site, the Chichesters decided to build a new residence in the city's suburbs, today's Belfast Castle emerging as a result. The building that stands today was built from 1811–70 by the 3rd Marquess of Donegall. It was designed in the Scottish baronial style by Charles Lanyon and his son, of the architectural firm Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon. After Donegall's death and the family's financial demise, the 8th Earl of Shaftesbury completed the house.

It was his son, the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, who presented the castle to the City of Belfast in 1934. In 1978, Belfast City Council began a major refurbishment over a period of ten years at a cost of over two million pounds. The architect was the Hewitt and Haslam Partnership. The building officially re-opened to the public on 11 November 1988.

The castle boasts an antiques shop, a restaurant and visitors centre and it is a popular venue for conferences, private dining and wedding receptions.

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Carra Castle

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Carra Castle or Castle Carra (Irish: Caisleán Carrach) is a ruined castle, just north of Cushendun, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It dates to around the early 14th century. The castle lies in a field near the coast and the harbour of Cushendun, known as Murloch Bay.The site had once been used during medieval times as a children's cemetery.
Carra may be a corruption of "Carey".] It may have been known as Goban Saer's Castle.

History
The castle was once occupied by Irish king Shane O'Neill, and Sorley Boy McDonnell was held as a prisoner here in 1565.] In 1567, two years after being defeated by O'Neill, the McDonnells entertained him in Castle Carra during two days of hunting and feasting. However, on the third day, 2 June, during a quarrel, they stabbed O'Neill to death to avenge their earlier defeat and sent his head to the English representatives of Queen Elizabeth in Dublin Castle.[1]

In 1585, Donnell Gorm MacDonnell was besieged by the English,; his father, Sorley Boy landed near the castle and drove off the besiegers. Around 1730, it was known to have been occupied by the Lynch family.] Today the castle is in ruins and overgrown with ivy

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Carrickfergus Castle

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Carrickfergus Castle is a Norman castle in Northern Ireland, situated in the town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern shore of Belfast Lough. Besieged in turn by the Scots, Irish, English and French, the castle played an important military role until 1928 and remains one of the best preserved medieval structures in Northern Ireland. It was strategically useful, with 3/4 of the castle perimeter surrounded by water (although in modern times only 1/3 is surrounded by water due to land reclamation). Today it is maintained by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency as a state care historic monument, at grid ref: J4143 8725.

Carrickfergus was built by John de Courcy in 1177 as his headquarters, after he conquered eastern Ulster in 1177 and ruled as a petty king until 1204, when he was ousted by another Norman adventurer, Hugh de Lacy. Initially de Courcy built the inner ward, a small bailey at the end of the promontory with a high polygonal curtain wall and east gate. It had a number of buildings, including the great hall. From its strategic position on a rocky promontory, originally almost surrounded by sea, the castle commanded Carrickfergus Bay (later known as Belfast Lough), and the land approaches into the walled town that developed beneath its shadows.

English control
It appears first in the official English records in 1210 when King John laid siege to it and took control of what was then Ulster's premier strategic garrison. Following its capture, constables were appointed to command the castle and the surrounding area. In 1217 the new constable, De Serlane, was assigned one hundred pounds to build a new curtain wall so that the approach along the rock could be protected, as well as the eastern approaches over the sand exposed at low tide. The middle-ward curtain wall was later reduced to ground level in the eighteenth century, save along the seaward side, where it survives with a postern gate and the east tower, notable for a fine array of cross-bow loops at basement level.

A chamber on the first floor of the east tower is believed to have been the castle's chapel on account of its fine Romanesque-style double window surround, though the original chapel must have been in the inner ward. The ribbed vault over the entrance passage, the murder hole and the massive portcullis at either end of the gatehouse are later insertions started by Hugh de Lacey who died in 1248 and did not live to see its completion in around 1250. It was finished by King Henry III.

After the collapse of the Earldom of Ulster in 1333, the castle remained the Crown's principal residential and administrative centre in the north of Ireland. During the early stages of the Nine Years War (1595–1603), when English influence in the north became tenuous, crown forces were supplied and maintained through the town's port. And in 1597, the surrounding country was the scene for the Battle of Carrickfergus.

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a number of improvements were made to accommodate artillery, notably externally splayed gunports and embrasures for cannon, though these improvements did not prevent the castle from being attacked and captured on many occasions during this time. General Schomberg besieged and took the castle in 1690. This is also the place where Schomberg's leader, King William III first set foot in Ireland on 14 June 1690.

In 1760, after fierce fighting in the town, it was surrendered to French invaders under the command of Francois Thurot. They looted the castle and town and then left, only to be caught by the Royal Navy.

Later use

18th century depiction of the castle
In 1778, a small but significant event in the American War of Independence began at Carrickfergus, when John Paul Jones, in the face of reluctance by his crew to approach too close to the Castle, lured a Royal Navy vessel from its moorings into the North Channel, and won an hour-long battle. In 1797 the Castle, which had on various occasions been used to house prisoners of war, became a prison and it was heavily defended during the Napoleonic Wars; six guns on the east battery remain of the twenty-two that were used in 1811.

For a century it remained a magazine and armoury. During the First World War it was used as a garrison and ordnance store and during the Second World War as an air raid shelter.

It was garrisoned continuously for about 750 years until 1928, when its ownership was transferred from the British Army to the new Government of Northern Ireland for preservation as an ancient monument. Many of its post-Norman and Victorian additions were then removed to restore the castle's original Norman appearance. It remains open to the public. The banqueting hall has been fully restored and there are many exhibits to show what life was like in medieval times. It was built and re-built three times, and still stands today.

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Castle Upton

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Castle Upton is a castle situated in the village of Templepatrick, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. One side of the main street in the village of Templepatrick consists of the demesne wall of Castle Upton. A fortified gateway in the wall at the centre of the village leads up to the castle. The core of the main house is a tower house with walls up to five feet thick, created in 1611 by Sir Robert Norton and originally known as Castle Norton. It was purchased in 1625 by Captain Henry Upton, who became Member of Parliament for Carrickfergus in 1634 and renamed the building. The stable block is a copy of Roman style fortifications. The family mausoleum is in the care of the National Trust and is open to visitors. Many Templetown viscounts and barons are buried there. The mausoleum was built in the form of a triumphal arch by Robert Adam, who also extended the house in 1783. The house is currently inhabited by the Kinahan family,

One of the notable achievements of this castle is the reconstruction of the wrecked Adam wing. This wing, now contains a ballroom in which an Italian, marble chimney has been added. The owners of this castle obtained this chimney from the Downhill Castle in the County Londonderry.


Owner and Location
the Kinahan family are the current owners of Castle Upton, after inheriting it from one of there family members. Kinahan has a university degree in Spanish and French, which would be very helpful for international guests when thinking of Castle Upton as a chosen event destination.

Although this Castle has a rural setting, it is only a few minutes off the M2 motorway. This castle is about 25 minutes from Belfast; two hotels are about a two-minute drive from the castle. These hotels are The Hilton and Templeton Hotels in addition to the Dunadry and Dunsilly, which is slightly further away. One can reach Castle Upton at +44 7881 551807 to find out more information on planning events or a wedding at this beautiful venue. Many pictures can be found on their website and their Facebook page.

Events
This Castle is known for being a major wedding destination in Northern Ireland. It is licensed for religious in addition to civil marriages and can accommodate up to 100 guests. Castle Upton has many beautifully maintained gardens, which are perfect for wedding photographs or events that require the taking of pictures.

Castle Upton in the past has held many art galleries, though many people decide to visit this castle specifically for the grounds it is on. In one art gallery, there was a great variation of art in many styles. National and international artists were presented, in addition to painting, sculptures and 3D pieces. Artists included in one art exhibition were: Barbara Allen, Heidi Wickman, Deadre McKibbin and Kevin McAleenan. There was everything from watercolour art, to abstract art to paintings of cows and their realism.

When people decide to visit Castle Upton, either because there is a wedding or an art exhibition, many find they have a very enjoyable time. The environment created has a good mix of professional and relaxed according to some, which makes this a perfect destination for not only weddings, but also birthdays, work parties and anniversaries.

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Dunaneeny Castle

Dunaneeny Castle (Dun-an-aenaighe) is a ruined castle near Ballycastle, Antrim, Northern Ireland. The castle was home to the chiefs of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg and later the MacDonnells of Antrim.

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Dunluce Castle

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Dunluce Castle (from Irish: Dún Libhse)[3] is a now-ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland. It is located on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim (between Portballintrae and Portrush), and is accessible via a bridge connecting it to the mainland. The castle is surrounded by extremely steep drops on either side, which may have been an important factor to the early Christians and Vikings who were drawn to this place where an early Irish fort once stood.

Dunluce Castle is in the care of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. It is a Monument in State Care sited in the townland of Dunluce, in Coleraine Borough Council area, at grid ref: C9048 4137.[4] The earthworks, adjacent to Dunluce Castle, are a Scheduled Historic Monument, at grid ref: area of C905 412.[5]

History
In the 13th century Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster, built the first castle at Dunluce.

It is first documented in the hands of the McQuillan family in 1513. The earliest features of the castle are two large drum towers about 9 metres (30 ft) in diameter on the eastern side, both relics of a stronghold built here by the McQuillans after they became lords of the Route.

The McQuillans were the Lords of Route from the late 13th century until they were displaced by the MacDonalds after losing two major battles against them during the mid and late-16th century.


The castle in the last decade of the 19th century
Later Dunluce Castle became the home of the chief of the Clan MacDonnell of Antrim and the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg from Scotland. Chief John Mor MacDonald was the second son of Good John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, 6th chief of Clan Donald in Scotland. John Mor MacDonald was born through John of Islay's second marriage to Princess Margaret Stewart, daughter of King Robert II of Scotland. In 1584, on the death of James MacDonald the 6th chief of the Clan MacDonald of Antrim and Dunnyveg, the Antrim Glens were seized by Sorley Boy MacDonnell, one of his younger brothers. Sorley Boy took the castle, keeping it for himself and improving it in the Scottish style. Sorley Boy swore allegiance to Queen Elizabeth I and his son Randal was made 1st Earl of Antrim by King James I.

Four years later, the Girona, a galleass from the Spanish Armada was wrecked in a storm on the rocks nearby. The cannon from the ship were installed in the gatehouses and the rest of the cargo sold, the funds being used to restore the castle. MacDonnell's granddaughter Rose was born in the castle in 1613.

At one point, part of the kitchen next to the cliff face collapsed into the sea, after which the wife of the owner refused to live in the castle any longer. According to a legend, when the kitchen fell into the sea only a kitchen boy survived, as he was sitting in the corner of the kitchen which did not collapse.

Dunluce Castle served as the seat of the Earl of Antrim until the impoverishment of the MacDonnells in 1690, following the Battle of the Boyne. Since that time, the castle has deteriorated and parts were scavenged to serve as materials for nearby buildings.

Dunluce town
In 2011, major archaeological excavations found significant remains of the "lost town of Dunluce", which was razed to the ground in the Irish uprising of 1641.[6]

Lying adjacent to Dunluce Castle, the town was built around 1608 by Randall MacDonnell, the first Earl of Antrim, and pre-dates the official Plantation of Ulster.[6] It may have contained the most revolutionary housing in Europe when it was built in the early 17th century, including indoor toilets which had only started to be introduced around Europe at the time, and a complex street network based on a grid system.[6] 95% of the town is still to be discovered.[6]

In popular culture[edit]
Dunluce Castle is thought to be the inspiration for Cair Paravel in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. In 1973 the castle appeared on the inner gatefold of the multi-million selling Led Zeppelin album Houses of the Holy. It is also featured on the cover of the album Glasgow Friday by American musician Jandek. Ron Moody menaced Jack Wild and Helen Raye at Dunluce Castle in Flight of the Doves a 1971 film. The castle appeared as Snakehead's hideout under the name 'Ravens Keep' in the 2003 movie, The Medallion, which starred Jackie Chan. This castle is also the subject of a song named "Dunluce Castle" written by George Millar and sung by the Irish Rovers. The cassette and CD versions of Gary Moore's 1989 album After the War feature an instrumental track titled "Dunluce" in one and two parts respectively. The castle is mentioned and appears briefly in Michael Palin's 2004 episode of Great Railway Journeys, Derry to Kerry.

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Dunseverick Castle

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Dunseverick Castle
County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Dunseverick Castle
Coordinates 55.231°N 6.395°WCoordinates: 55.231°N 6.395°W
Type Castle
Site information
Controlled by Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Open to
the public Yes
Condition In ruins

The Gate lodge
Dunseverick Castle is situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, near the small village of Dunseverick and the Giant's Causeway. Dunseverick Castle and earthworks are Scheduled Historic Monuments in the townland of Feigh, in Moyle District Council area, at grid ref: C9871 4467.[1]

Dunseverick Castle and the peninsula on which it stands were given to the National Trust in 1962 by local farmer Jack McCurdy. The Causeway Cliff Path also runs past on its way to Dunseverick Harbour to the east and to the Giant's Causeway to the west.

History[edit]
Saint Patrick is recorded as having visited Dunseverick castle in the 5th century AD, where he baptized Olcán, a local man who later became a Bishop of Ireland.[2] The original stone fort that occupied the position was attacked by Viking raiders in 870 AD.

In the later part of the 6th century AD, this was the seat of Fergus Mor MacEirc (Fergus the Great). Fergus was King of Dalriada and great-uncle of the High King of Ireland, Muirceartaigh (Murtagh) MacEirc. It is the AD 500 departure point from Ireland of the Lia Fail or coronation stone. Murtagh loaned it to Fergus for the latter's coronation in western Scotland part of which Fergus had settled as his sea-kingdom expanded.

The O'Cahan family held it from circa 1000 AD to circa 1320 AD, then regained it in the mid 16th century. Last one to have the castle was Giolla Dubh Ó Catháin, who left it in 1657 to settle in the Craig/Lisbellanagroagh area. Post 1660 they use the anglicised name McCain/O'Kane.

The castle was captured and destroyed by General Robert Munro in 1642[3] and his Cromwellian troops in the 1650s, and today only the ruins of the gatelodge remain. A small residential tower survived until 1978 when it eventually surrendered to the sea below.

It was a 'key' ancient site in Ireland. One of the royal roads from Tara, seat of the Kings of Ireland ended at Dunseverick castle.

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Glenarm Castle,

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Glenarm Castle, Glenarm, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is the ancestral home of the Earls of Antrim.

There has been a castle at Glenarm since the 13th century, and it is at the heart of one of Northern Ireland’s oldest estates.

The present castle was built by Sir Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim, in 1636. It is currently owned by Randal, Viscount Dunluce, the son of Alexander McDonnell, 9th Earl of Antrim.

The Castle's Walled Garden is open to the public between May and September and hosts many events. In July of every year the grounds are the site of a world class Highland Games. The Dalriada Festival is also held at Glenarm Castle and within the local village, which celebrates sport, music and fine food from all over Scotland and Ireland, as well as hosting traditional Ulster Scots cultural events. As part of the Dalriada Festival Glenarm Castle has started to host large outdoor concerts which as of 2012 has welcomed artists like General Fiasco, The Priests, Duke Special, Ronan Keating, Sharon Corr, Brian Houston, David Phelps and the likes.

Summer Madness, Ireland's biggest Christian Festival, moved from its annual residence at the Kings Hall, Belfast, to Glenarm Castle in 2012. It is thought this Festival will return to Glenarm, on a yearly basis, for the foreseeable future.

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Kinbane Castle

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Kinbane Castle (Caislen Ceinn Bán, White Head Castle, Kenbane Castle) is situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on a long, narrow limestone headland projecting into the sea, approximately 5 km from Ballycastle on the road to Ballintoy. The name Kinbane means White Head and refers to the white limestone on which the castle stands. Not much of the castle remains, and the path up to it is narrow and stepped. Kinbane Castle is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the townland of Cregganboy, in Moyle District Council area, at grid ref: D0876 4383.[1] The area surrounding Kinbane Castle is a Scheduled Historic Monument, grid ref: D0879 4381.[2] It also offers spectacular views of Rathlin Island and Dunagregor Iron Age fort.

History
A two storey castle was built in 1547 by Colla MacDonnell, brother of Sorley Boy MacDonnell, with a large courtyard with traces of other buildings, probably constructed out of wood.[3] In 1551 the castle was besieged by English forces under Lord Deputy, Sir James Croft, in the course of an expedition against the MacDonnell's. Another siege in 1555 by English forces, the castle was partly destroyed by cannon fire. Rebuilt afterwards, Colla MacDonnell died at the castle in 1558.

The hollow below the castle known as Lag na Sassenach (Hollow of the English) and it was allegedly during the 16th century that a garrison of English soldiers laying siege to the castle were surrounded and massacred. Fires lit on the headland as calls for assistance were answered by clansmen who came from all directions and surrounded the garrison.

Sorley Boy MacDonnell exchanged the castle with another property at Colonsay with Gillaspick MacDonnell, son of Colla MacDonnell. The castle was then presented to the Owen MacIan Dubh MacAllister, 2nd of Loup, Chief of Clan MacAlister as a reward for their service and loyalty to the MacDonnell clan. Owen MacIan Dubh MacAllister was killed in 1571 during a skirmish with the Carrickfergus garrison, fighting alongside Sorley Boy.

The castle remained in the descendants of the MacAllisters of Kenbane until the 18th century.

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Kilwaughter Castle

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Kilwaughter Castle lies near the village of Kilwaughter, south west of the town of Larne, in County Antrim, in Northern Ireland.

Kilwaughter Castle was built as a T-plan tower house probably in the 17th century by the Agnew family on lands they obtained from King James VI. It was 4 storeys high with corner turrets.

Around 1803 the present castle like mansion, incorporating the earlier tower house, was built by the architect John Nash, who also built Regent's Street in London, for the Agnew family. They were the tax collectors for the County of Antrim.

A daughter of Squire Agnew went to Italy were she married a Count. She returned to Kilwaughter around 1897 as Countess Balzani.

During World War I, wounded American officers were among those who found comfort at Kilwaughter Castle, then the home of a fellow American, Mrs. Elizabeth Galt Smith. Her family leased and refurbished the castle for over 30 years until 1922.

During World War II the fact that the castle was the property of the Italian Balzani family had resulted in it being declared enemy territory. Kilwaughter Castle was occupied by soldiers including, in 1944, members of the American 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion preparing for D-day. After the war the castle remained unoccupied and gradually fell to ruin.

At present the castle ruin is part of a farm. The roofs (part of which were originally sheathed with just sand and tar) have collapsed, as have the floors.

Although Kilwaughter Castle is mostly non-medieval I like it. Its ruined towers and collapsed interior give it a desolate atmosphere. The castle is private property and can not be visited.

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Olderfleet Castle ruins

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Olderfleet Castle (more correctly a four-storey tower house according to tradition built by the Scoto-Irish Bissett family in the 13th century), was an Irish castle, the remains of which stand on the Curran Point to the south of Larne Harbour in Larne Lough, present-day Northern Ireland. Larne Lough was formerly called Olderfleet. In 1315 Edward Bruce landed here with his 6000 strong army en route to conquer Ireland. Queen Elizabeth I considered the castle of such strategic importance that she appointed Sir Moyses Hill its governor in 1569.

Olderfleet Castle is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Curran and Drumaliss, in Larne Borough Council area, at grid ref: D4133 0166.[1] The place name of Olderfleet (now Larne) is of Danish origin

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Rathlin Castle,

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Rathlin Castle, also known as Bruce's Castle, was a castle on Rathlin Island off the coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland.

History
In 1306 after being defeated by Sir Aymer de Valence at the Battle of Methven and then by the Lord of Lorne at the Battle of Strathfillan, King Robert I of Scotland retired to Rathlin Castle for the winter with a small following of his most faithful men, including James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, Bruce's brothers Thomas, Alexander and Edward, as well as Sir Neil Campbell and Malcolm II, the Earl of Lennox. They were welcomed by the owners of the island and castle, the Scoto-Irish Bissett family, lords of the Glens of Antrim, who were later dispossessed of it by the English for this reason.

In July 1575, English forces led by Francis Drake and John Norreys attacked the castle with cannons and upon the surrender of the garrison of some MacDonnell's of Antrim, the defenders, except for some prisoners, and the island's residents were put to the sword resulting in the event known as the Rathlin Island Massacre. The main army of MacDonnells of Antrim led by Sorley Boy MacDonnell stationed at Ballycastle had witnessed the event taking place on Rathlin Island, where the families and valuables had been lodged for safety. Sorley Boy led his army in a successful retaliatory raid on Carrickfergus from where the Rathlin Island raid had left.

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Red Bay Castle

Red Bay Castle (Irish: Caislen Camus Rhuaidh) is situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on a headland projecting into the sea north of Glenariff situated on the road to Cushendall.[1]

History[edit]
It was built by the Bissett family in the 13th century on the site of an earlier motte-and-bailey outpost of the Kingdom of Dál Riata. The Bissett family were forfeited of their lands in Scotland and fled for their lives to Ireland after Walter de Bisset was accused of the murder of Patrick, Earl of Atholl, at Haddington, East Lothian in 1242. King Henry III of England granted Bisset large possessions in the Barony of Glenarm, Ireland.[2]

John Mor MacDonald 1st of Dunnyveg married Margery Bissett of the Glens of Antrim, and acquired as a result the castle of Red Bay. His descendants known as the MacDonnells of Antrim extended and rebuilt the castle in the 16th century. In 1565, the castle was burned to the ground by Shane O'Neill, chief of the O'Neills of Tyrone; it was rebuilt by Sorley Boy MacDonnell, however later fell into disrepair.[1]

In 1604 the castle was restored and was later destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in 1652 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland

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Shane's Castle

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Shane's Castle is a ruined castle near Randalstown in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The castle is on the north-east shores of Lough Neagh. Built in 1345 by a member of the O'Neill dynasty, it was originally called Eden-duff-carrick.[1] Shane MacBrien O'Neill changed the name to Shane's Castle in 1722.[1]

A terrace was built about the year 1800, and in 1812 work was started to rebuild the castle to the designs of John Nash but the castle was devastated by a fire in 1816 and work abandoned. Only Nash's camellia house survives.[1] In the 1860s a second house was built by Charles Lanyon and William Henry Lynn of Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon, for the 1st Lord O'Neill. The demesne covers 2,600 acres along the shores of Lough Neagh.[1]

The castle is used extensively in the HBO TV series Game of Thrones[2]

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Creevekeeran Castle

Creevekeeran Castle is a castle in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It stands on a rocky outcrop but only the west wall, three stories high, remains. The castle is a Scheduled Historic Monument sited in the townland of Creevekeeran, in Armagh City and District Council area, at grid ref: H7847 3710.

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Gosford Castle

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Gosford Castle is situated in Gosford, a townland of Markethill, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, close to the border with County Down. Construction of the castle began in 1819 and finished in the 1850s. It was commissioned by Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford and the architect was Thomas Hopper, one of the leading London architects of the first half of the 19th century. It is the largest Grade A listed building in Northern Ireland.

The Ministry of Agriculture bought the estate in 1958, establishing Gosford Forest Park. In January 2006 the decaying castle was bought by a development company, the Boyd Partnership, which planned to turn it into private homes. In January 2008 the first residents of the new apartments moved in. The estimated repair bill was in the region of £4m, the nature of the development was selected by a government-appointed panel.


Architecture
The style of Gosford is that of Norman revival, it being one of the few examples of this in the world.[citation needed] It was regarded by Robin Fredden, Secretary of the National Trust in 1952 as "one of the most original buildings of the first half of the nineteenth century", he further noted that it was "reputed to be the largest pile in Ireland", having some 150 rooms.[1] Thomas Hopper, the architect, also designed Penrhyn Castle in Wales, which is in a similar style.

History
The 4th Earl of Gosford was forced to sell the castle's contents in 1921 and, during the Second World War, it was commandeered and used as prisoner-of-war camp. Following the war the Gosfords sold the estate and, eventually, it was acquired by the Forestry Commission. It was, for periods, occupied as a hotel, barracks and restaurant. It was also used during the Troubles in NI by the British Army. There is also a crypt hidden somewhere in one of the corners of the castle that has recently been sealed.

Jamboree
The park was the site of an Irish Scout Jamboree in 1989. "Gosford '89" was attended by over 3,000 scouts from around the world, including contingents from Canada, Japan and America. The Camp Chief was Wilson Lambe,[2] and the co-ordinator was Mark Larmour. There were six subcamps as well as a staff subcamp.

Redevelopment
The government regained possession of the castle in February 2002. The castle at this time was in a desperate state of disrepair and without urgent intervention was in real danger of becoming irretrievably beyond repair. Following lengthy negotiations, in 2006 a local developer and specialist architects, in partnership with the Northern Ireland Heritage Service, put forward a proposal to restore the castle. The agreed proposal was to turn Gosford Castle into 23 residences. The castle was sold to Gosford Castle Developments for £1,000 in January 2006, although the repair bill was estimated at £4million. By end of 2013 the cost of redevelopment has risen to over £7million.[3]

As many sections of the building have a degree of vertical independence, the principal sub-division of the castle was into vertically-separated dwellings. To achieve this, a team of artisans and craftsmen were recruited to create the individualistic homes of two, three and four storeys in height, set within the original fabric of the castle. The development retains the character and historic integrity of the castle by using existing staircases and walls where possible. Attention to detail included the restoration of original colour schemes in the principal rooms, such as the vaulted ceiling of the Inner Hall, picked out in gold; walls that were painted green to represent drapery; and a background of scarlet used to set off the library’s wooden bookcases. Residents began moving into the first completed homes in the castle courtyard in January 200

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Moyry Castle

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Moyry Castle is situated in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was built in 1601 by Lord Mountjoy to help secure Moyry Pass and the Gap of the North. It is set in the corner of a small bawn and is a small rectangular tower three storeys high.

Moyry Castle is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the townland of Carrickbroad, in Newry and Mourne District Council area, at grid ref: J0576 1466

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Brownlow House, or Lurgan Castle

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Brownlow House, or Lurgan Castle as it is locally known, was built in 1833 for the Rt. Hon. Charles Brownlow and was owned by the Brownlow family until the turn of the century, until changing fortunes resulted in the property being sold to the Lurgan Real Property Company Ltd.

Brownlow House, built in age of grandeur and cultured tastes, is an imposing building situated just a few minutes walk from the centre of the town, the house is a prominent landmark with its lantern shaped tower and forest of tall chimney pots, each one a different design in a variety of complicated pierced scroll work and interlacing bands dominating the skyline. It commands a stunning view across the park and lake, which were once part of Lord Lurgan’s Estate, but are now owned by Craigavon Borough Council.

The building, built from Scottish sandstone, was designed in the Elizabethan style by the famous Edinburgh architect, William Henry Playfair and was recently listed by the Department of Environment as being of special architectural and historical interest.

At the outbreak of the first World War, Brownlow House was the headquarters of the 16th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles and the 10th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers, while in the second World War various contingents of British and American troups were stationed in Lurgan at Brownlow House. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander is said to have stayed at Brownlow House with his men and the room he stayed in has since been re-named the Eisenhower room.

Legend has it that there is a tunnel that runs from Browlow House under the Park Lake up to Castle Lane in Lurgan, apparently Lord Brownlow had a very protective wife, and after many years of a good marriage things went sour and the Lord went looking elsewhere. But his wife was on to him and refused to let him leave the house after dark. Lord Brownlow is said to have rallied up a few of his male servants to dig him a tunnel so he would be able to exit the castle after dark and return unnoticed by his wife just in time for breakfast! Is the story true? We couldn’t possibly say!

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Ballyloughan Castle

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Ballyloughan Castle is a ruined castle and National Monument in County Carlow near Bagenalstown. A twin-towered gatehouse, the hall and foundations of one of the corner towers, dating to about 1300 remain

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Ballymoon Castle

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Ballymoon Castle is a National Monument situated 2 miles (3 km) east of Muine Bheag (Bagenalstown), County Carlow, Ireland. The castle is thought to date from the 13th century.
Ballymoon Castle is situated about 2 miles east of Bagenalstown in a field next to the Fennagh road.

The castle is now in ruins and consists of a square courtyard about 80 feet on each side, with 20 foot high granite walls that are about 8 feet wide at the base. The inside of the castle is open, but the walls show where the doors and fireplaces were positioned. The large double fireplace on the north side was part of the great hall. There are no traces of the interior structure of the castle apart from the foundations, and this has led to speculation that the castle was never completed. The wall on the western side has an arched gateway. Portcullis grooves can be seen on the gateway, and there may have been a barbican in front. A number of cross shaped gun loops and arrow slits can be seen in the castle walls.

Facilities
The castle is accessible to the public, with access via a small wooden bridge over a ditch. Visitors can explore the castle walls at ground level. Ballymoon Castle is now a National Monument.

History
Ballymoon Castle is thought to have been built in the 13th century or early 14th century. Much of the history has been lost in the mists of time, but it is thought to have been built by the Bigod family, or by the Carew family, who acquired the land from the Bigods. In the late 1800s the castle was bought by Michael Sheill from Wexford who established a number of local businesses.

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Carlow Castle

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Carlow Castle is located near to the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland.It was built between 1207 and 1213, and is a National Monument of Ireland.


History and Architecture
The earliest written record of this castle is from 1231 but it does not name its builder. It is widely assumed that the castle was built by William Marshal the elder in the time period between 1207 and 1213 which he spent in Ireland.[5] The castle in Carlow was the very first of its kind in Ireland, a towered keep, where a huge rectangular tower is surrounded by four smaller three-quarter-circular towers at the corners of the rectangle.] However, there have been doubts that the castle in Carlow supported the traditional function of a keep, i.e. to serve as a refuge of last resort. Instead it deliberately diverted from the contemporary standard in England and continental Europe, i.e. there is no towered curtain, no gate house, and no undivided great hall.[6] Similar castles of the same period were erected in Ferns, Lea, and Terryglass.

The inner castle measured 16 by 9.2 metres (52 ft × 30 ft),[7] the towers had a diameter of 15 feet (4.6 m), and the walls were 9 feet (2.7 m) thick.[3] The inner castle had three storeys and timber was used for the upper storeys. The long west wall provided stairways[8] and two latrines. The latter indicates that the space was divided.[9] The entrance door was in the first floor but is now broken out.[8][10]

The castle was handed over to the crown in 1306, granted in 1312 to Thomas Plantagenet, confiscated by the crown in 1537 as the landlords were absent, bought by the Earl of Thomond in 1616, changed hands multiple times until it was taken by Oliver Cromwell in 1650 but was later returned to the Earl of Thomond. In 1814 the castle was widely destroyed in an attempt to create more space for the conversion into a lunatic asylum with the help of explosives.[5] Just the outer face of the west wall and the two neighbouring towers could be preserved

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Huntington Castle,

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Huntington Castle, also known as Clonegal Castle, is a castle in Clonegal, County Carlow, Ireland.

The structure was originally a "plantation castle", used for defensive purposes during the plantation of the area in the early 17th century. The original tower house, which served as a garrison, was built in the 1400s as a stronghold for the Caviness family, an old Irish clan. Later Baron Esmonde. Due to the strategic importance of the village of Clonegal during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland because of its location on the road between Dublin and Wexford, the castle was captured by Oliver Cromwell as he marched on Kilkenny in 1650.

It is now a private house open to the public for guided tours throughout June, July, August and September. It was the setting for Stanley Kubrick's film Barry Lyndon. Its basement has been the base of a religion, the Fellowship of Isis, since 1976,[3] The castle hosted the Solas Festival in August 2008.[4] co-founded by Olivia Robertson, her brother Lawrence Durdin-Robertson and his wife Pamela.

Huntington Castle Gardens
The Esmonde family, laid out most of the gardens in the 17th century. This includes the French limes on the Avenue, the parterre or lawns to the side of the house, the fish ponds on either side of the centre walk through the wilderness and the majority of yew trees which comprise the Yew Walk. Larger plantings have resulted in Huntington possessing a number of great Irish trees, including varieties of hickory, a cut leaved oak, Siberian crab and buckeye chestnut. A lake at the bottom of the wilderness was built for ornamental purposes but next to it is one of the earliest water turbine houses in Ireland, providing Huntington with its own electricity as early as 1888. The River Derry, which forms the boundary between Counties Wexford and Carlow, flows along the bottom of the wilderness, providing a pleasant setting for woodland walks.

Ghosts
Huntington castle has been plagued by ghosts of Druids in the fields and even in the castle. It is said that the Druids could, at a stroke, create a mist; start fires at will; and bring down showers of blood. They were feared because they would sacrifice, men and woman, to please their gods. It also has a well that has never run dry, and because of that it has saved the castle from sedge in many instances.

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Leighlinbridge Castle,

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Leighlinbridge Castle, also called Black Castle, is situated in the village of Leighlinbridge, County Carlow, Ireland, on the River Barrow, and was one of Ireland’s earliest Norman castles. A 50-foot-tall (15 m) broken castle tower and bawn wall are all that can be seen today

History
One source says that in 1180 Hugh de Lacy built the first castle here to defend the river crossing, while another states that in 1181, John de Clahull built one of the earliest strongholds of The Pale here. The present building is, however, a 14th-century Tower house. Beside the castle was a Carmelite priory, founded in 1270.[5] During the 14th century, the Cavanaghs reclaimed most of their land in the area, including the castle.[3] The castle was rebuilt in 1547 by Edward Bellingham as Black Castle, and a band of horse was kept there, under whose protection the county slowly settled. The castle was situated in the Barony of Idrone owned by the Carews. The castle was sacked by Cromwellian forces in 1650 during the Irish Confederate Wars.

Features
A broken castle tower, 50 feet tall, and the bawn wall compose the ruins seen todayAll that remains is the left half of the 14th-century tower and part of the bawn

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Tinnahinch Castle

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The principal seat of the Dunne family was Tinnahinch Castle. Originally known as “Baun Riaganach”, the castle was built by Tadhg MacLaighnigh Ui Duinn in 1475 and was the residence of the chief of the Dunne's. Tinnahinch Castle was located at the Barrow River, one mile south of Tinnahinch bridge. The name Tinnahinch originally means “house of the island”, a tributary stream of the Barrow river surrounding the castle gives it the appearance of an island. Tinnahinch Castle was destroyed by during the Cromwellian Invasion by forces led by Colonel Hewson in 1653. At the time it was strongly defended by Charles Dunne and it required a full park of artillery from the invading forces to level the castle. After the destruction of Tinnahinch Castle the principal seat of the Dunne family moved to Brittas Castle. Unfortunately there remains nothing of the original castle apart from a wall which may have been part of the original building.

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Bailieborough Castle

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Bailieborough Castle was located in Bailieborough, County Cavan, Ireland. It was built in an enclosed demesne by 1629. Also known as Castle House, Lisgar House, or simply 'The Castle', the country house was located just to the south-west of Castle Lough in what is now known as Bailieborough Demesne, on the north-western edge of the town. It is now totally demolished

History
William Bailie, a Scottish "undertaker" or Planter, was granted the lands of Tonergie (Tandragee) in East Breffnie by James I in 1610 on condition he enclosed a demesne, built a fortified house and settled on the estate a number of Scottish or English families. This he did by 1629. During the rising of 1641 the house was attacked and occupied for a month by a troop of Irish soldiers under Colonel Hugh O’Reilly.

William died c.1648 and the estate passed to his son, William, the Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh. On the bishop's death in 1664 the estate was inherited by his only daughter, who had married James Hamilton. James was succeeded by his son Henry, the M.P. for Cavan who was killed at the siege of Limerick during the Jacobite war. His successor was his son, another James Hamilton, who sold the property in 1724 to Major Charles Stewart - nephew and co-heir of General William Steuart - and left the area.[3] [4]

Charles Stewart died in 1740 and left the estate to his son, William Stewart, who was High Sheriff of Cavan for 1749 and MP for Cavan county (1766–1768). He was followed by his son Charles, who was also MP for Cavan (1783–1793). He was killed in an accident in 1795, when the estate passed to a nephew, Thomas Charles Stewart Corry, who sold it to Colonel William Young in 1814.

Colonel Young laid out the town of Bailieborough in its present location and was made 1st Baronet Young of Bailieborough in 1821. He died in 1835 and was succeeded by his son John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar, who was at one time Chief Secretary for Ireland and, at a later date, Governor General of Canada. He was made 1st Baron Lisgar in 1870 and in his retirement renovated the house. After Lady Lisgar's death in 1895 the estate went into Chancery and some of the land was sold to the tenants under the Ashbourne Act.

The house itself was sold to Sir Stanley Cochrane, who later sold it to his nephew, the late Mr. W.L.B. Cochrane, a Bailieborough solicitor. The bulk of the land was sold in 1910 to the Forestry Division of the Department of Lands. In 1915 the house and the remaining 100 acres of land were sold to a religious order, the Marist Brothers of Athlone. Several of the brothers lie buried in a walled enclosure in the vicinity. In 1918 the house burnt down and although the brothers continued in a rebuilt section until 1936, they then decided to sell the house to the Department of Lands and leave. The house was demolished soon after.

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Cabra Castle

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Cabra Castle is the name given to two castles, one now ruined, the other now used as an impressive luxury hotel. They are near the hamlet of Cabra, which is very near Kingscourt (Irish: Dún a' Rí) in south-east County Cavan, Ireland.

The current Cabra Castle (located just off the R179, known locally as the Carrickmacross Road) was constructed in a mixture of the 'neo-Norman-style' and the 'Gothick-style' in the first decade of the 19th-century. Much of the exterior is in a form of what might be described as the 'neo-Norman-style', while the interior is mainly 'Gothick' (as opposed to the later neo-Gothic styles). This structure was originally called Cormey (or Cormy) Castle, after the local townland where it was built. It was constructed for the Foster family, a local 'Ascendancy' family. However, the cost of building the new country house effectively bankrupted the Foster family. So, in 1813, shortly after the new Cormey Castle had been completed, the Foster's sold their new country house to their much wealthier neighbours, the Pratt dynasty, who were another local 'Ascendancy' family.

The aristocratic Pratt family lived just across the Carrickmacross Road at the original Cabra House (also sometimes known as Cabra Castle) on the Cabra Estate, the family's huge country estate. The Pratt family had owned the Cabra Estate since 1699. In 1813, Colonel Joseph Pratt added the new Cormey Castle and much of the Foster's Cormey Estate to his own Cabra Estate. Cormey Castle replaced the original Cabra House as the chief 'seat' of the Pratt dynasty in County Cavan. Around 1820, the Pratt family renamed Cormey Castle as Cabra Castle, the name it retains to this day.

The ruins of the original Cabra House, or Cabra Castle, can be seen on a slight height near the Wishing Well in what is now Dún a' Rí Forest Park, formerly part of the Cabra Estate. The forest park is now owned by Coillte, the Irish Government's forestry company.

Major Mervyn Pratt owned Cabra Castle and the Cabra Estate from 1927 until his death in December 1950. The Major, however, mainly lived at Enniscoe, another country estate that the Pratt family had owned since the 1860s near Crossmolina in County Mayo. He was succeeded by his nephew, Mervyn Sheppard, a long-serving civil servant with the British Colonial Service in Malaya, who was the last member of the Pratt dynasty to own Cabra Castle. Due to the mounting costs of running the castle and running what remained of the Cabra Estate, he sold the country house to a local Catholic family, the Brennan's, in 1964. The Brennan family turned the castle into a hotel, which it remained up until they sold it in 1986 to a Mr. Mansour, a senior politician and businessman from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the U.A.E.. Mansour closed the hotel with the intention of turning Cabra Castle back into a private country house once more. However, he never actually got round to restoring the castle as a private residence or restoring it to its former glory.

In 1991, Mansour sold Cabra Castle to the Corscadden family, who run a number of hotels. They restored the castle and turned it into a luxury four-star hotel, reopening it as such in the early 1990s. It continues to be owned by the Corscadden family, and the castle remains a luxury hotel. The castle is very close to County Cavan's border with both County Monaghan and, in particular, County Meath. About a hundred acres of land now makes up the surrounding demesne (or park) of Cabra Castle.

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Castle Saunderson

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Castle Saunderson International Scouting Centre is an international Scouting Scout centre near Belturbet, County Cavan, Ireland, opened in 2012.[1] It is located on the grounds of the castle, the family seat of the Saunderson family. The centre provides indoor accommodation and campsites covering 34 acres of land. It is open to Scouts year round, as well as to non-Scouts for most of the year.


The Saunderson family acquired the original castle in 1573 during the Ulster plantation. The original castle was inhabited by the O'Reillys of Breffni and formerly known as Breffni Castle since the 14th century. The present castle dating from the 1840s.[citation needed] A notable member of the family born there was Edward Saunderson, founder of the Ulster Unionist Party.

Captain Alexander Saunderson sold the Castle in 1977 to a businessman, who planned to use it as a residence, but this never transpired. It later served as a hotel, but was damaged by fire, the third fire to occur at the Castle.

International Scout Centre[edit]
In 1997 the castle and its grounds were acquired by Scouting Ireland (CSI). The subsequent formation of Scouting Ireland and financial difficulties had delayed its development as a cross-border Scout campsite, but substantial progress occurred with the announcement in November 2008 of EU funding for the project, amounting to over €3 million.[2]

Michael D Higgins, President of Ireland, opened the €3.7 million European-funded Castle Saunderson International Scouting Centre in Cavan on 18 August 2012. The President was joined by dignitaries from both sides of the Border, including Northern Ireland Executive Ministers Jonathan Bell, Nelson McCausland and Jennifer McCann and Minster of State in the Republic Fergus O’Dowd.[1]

The Saunderson Castle estate (currently only 103 acres)[citation needed] has an entrance in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. These grounds include a church and family grave yard.

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Cloughoughter Castle

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Cloughoughter Castle is a ruined circular castle, situated on a small island in Lough Oughter, 4 kilometres east of the town of Killeshandra in County Cavan, Ireland.

The castle is located in the historic Kingdom of Breifne, specifically in the part that would later be subdivided into East Breifne, roughly corresponding to County Cavan. Prior to the construction of the castle, the spot may have been a crannóg. In the latter part of the 12th century, it was under the control of the O'Rourkes, but it seems to have come into the hands of the Anglo-Norman William Gorm de Lacy after the Normans wrest control of some of the territory from that ruling clan. While the exact date construction began is unknown, it is estimated to have started in the first quarter of the 13th century. Architectural elements date the lower two storeys of cloughoughter to this time.

In 1233, the O'Reilly clan took possession of the area and completed the castle. They retained it for centuries in the midst of their ongoing conflicts with the O'Rourkes and with members of their own clan. It was there that Philip O'Reilly was imprisoned in the 1360s with "no allowance save a sheaf of oats for day and night and a cup of water, so that he was compelled to drink his own urine."

After the Plantations[edit]
Possession of Cloughoughter was granted to servitor Hugh Culme during the forced Plantation of Ulster. Culme stupidly did not dwell in the castle, but built a new residence upon the nearby lake shore. The Castle was reinforced and used as an armory but no inhabitation. Culme thought it safe enough to live on the nearby shores. However, Hugh Culme's fortune defied reality as he was subsequently imprisoned in his own armory with large numbers of his fellow planters.

During the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Philip O'Reilly, then an MP for Cavan and secret leader of the Indigenous Irish revolutionaries, succeeded in a conspiracy at capturing Hugh Culme and seizing control of the castle. During this final phase of its active existence, it was used as a prison. In this capacity Culme along with other foreign Planters, were imprisoned for years.

For the remaining years of the rebellion, O'Reilly retained it as an island fortification, holding it a total of 12 years before it was besieged. Finally, The British Cromwellian forces had defeated the surrounding indigenous Irish armies, pushed the defenses back to the lake, recovered the lake-shore and proceeded to bombard the castle from positions in the townland of Innishconnell. When the castle finally fell and the indigenous Irish captured in March 1653, it was the last stronghold of the rebellion to fall.

Left in ruins, the castle became a frequent subject of art in the 18th and 19th centuries.Its visual impact was described in a travelogue published The Dublin University Magazine in 1852:

It stands on a small island, scarce three hundred feet in diameter, just sufficient to contain the castle and a small margin of rock around it. The island stands in very deep water; the shores are a mile distant, wild, yet thickly wooded. The castle is a beautiful ruin, round, massive, hoary, save where mantled with rich Irish ivy. The walls are immensely thick, with embrasures and coved windows, round which "ruin greenly dwells." It is unlike most Irish castles, which are square.

Conservation efforts were begun on the castle in 1987.

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Ballymarkahan Castle is a ruined tower house in the parish of Quin, in County Clare, Ireland.[1] It was listed by Irish antiquarian T. J. Westropp as one of the 195 "lesser castles", or peel towers, of County Clare in 1899, by which time it was already a ruin.[2][3] It was mentioned as a ruin in the Ordnance Survey Letters of John O'Donovan and Eugene O'Curry in 1839.[4] It is marked on the Ordnance Survey map of 1842.[5] The castle dates from the fifteenth century, some time after the construction of Quin Abbey, and was built by the MacNamara family, who built a number of castles in the area, including nearby Knappogue Castle.[6] According to Westropp, it was built in 1430 by "Donall, son of Shane an Gabhaltais

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Ballinalacken Castle

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Ballinalacken Castle is a two-stage tower house of uncertain date but most likely built in the 15th or early 16th century. It is located on a limestone outcrop overlooking the road from Lisdoonvarna to Fanore in County Clare, Ireland in the grounds of Ballinalacken Castle Hotel which was built in 1840 as the home of Lord O'Brien.[1] The name is taken from the townland where it is located, the original Irish version of which is Baile na Leacan, which means the town (land) of the flagstones.

The basements of Ballinalacken Castle are thought to have been set as far as the 10th century, by another noted Irish clan, the O'Connor's,[2] who ruled West Corcomroe in those times. The fortress was founded in the 14th century and Lochlan MacCon O'Connor was in charge of its first rebuilding. In 1564, the control over West Corcomroe passed to the O`Briens and years later the castle was granted to Turlough O'Brien, a member of the family living in Ennistymon.[2]

The Ballinalacken O'Briens trace their descent from Turlough Don who died in 1528, and also from the Ennistymon O'Briens, which was founded by Sir Donald O'Brien of Dough castle who died in 1579.[3] The O'Briens were one of the most powerful families in Ireland at the time and built several castles - of which Ballinalacken is one.

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Ballyhannon Castle

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Ballyhannon Castle is a medieval Irish castle dating back to the 15th century, located near the village of Quin in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland. It is fully intact and in the Irish Governmental records it is registered as a National Monument and "Listed/Protected" structure, intended to protect its historic, architectural and aesthetic significance.

History[edit]
The castle of Ballyhannon, also known in later times as Castlefergus, most likely from its proximity to the River Fergus, is a towerhouse of atypical internal design within the context of the Co. Clare group of towerhouses. The castle stands in the townland of Castlefergus close to Latoon Creek, which itself feeds into the River Fergus. Ballyhannon townlands (both north and south) lie to the north east of the castle. The older spelling, Ballyhannan, is retained in these townland names. The townland name can be translated as O’Hannan’s[1] or O’Hannon’s home. Although there are many substantial families of Hannon in Munster and Connaught, the name seldom appears in the annals of medieval Ireland.[2]

The death in 1266 of Maelisa O’Hannen, prior of Roscommon, is one of the few such entries. In the census of 1659 the name was found in considerable numbers in the Barony of Bunratty. The prefix O, was dropped in the submergence of Gaelic Ireland and has not been resumed. Strictly speaking Hannon is the anglicised form of the Gaelic O’ hAnnáin, a name chiefly associated with Co. Limerick.[3] It was common at the end of the sixteenth century in many parts of Connaught and Munster.[4] The Hannons or Ó hAnnáin are a Dalcassian sept of noble Milesian ancestry whose members attained the status of knighthood, and whose patrimonial lands were in this area, south of Quin. Their name is still retained in the townlands of Ballyhannan north and Ballyhannan south. Although the Hannon name is remembered in the name of Ballyhannon Castle, their history is of an earlier period and no references to the family can be found in connection with the history of the castle itself.

The castle was built about 1490[5] by Hugh, and possibly Síoda, sons of Donnchadh MacNamara.[6] This period was described by the noted antiquarian, T.J.Westropp, as the "Golden Age of castle-building in Thomond"[7] because of the high standard of construction which had been achieved by the masons at this period. Although Ballyhannon Castle was the home of the MacNamaras for many centuries, there are some references to the O’Briens, on whose lands it stood, in relation to its history. For example in the year 1560, a grant was made by Queen Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) to Conor O’Brien (c.1534 - 1581), Earl of Thomond, of Ballyhannon Castle, and several other castles, previously held by Donnell O’Brien; "To hold in tail male, by service of one knight’s fee",[8] meaning that the property would pass onto his male heirs, subject to military service to the Queen. In the lists of the castles of the county for the years 1570 and 1574 Ballyhannon Castle was owned by Covea Riogh MacNamara, son of Mahon.[9] Some transcriptions of these lists record the castle as being owned by William Neylon. This was due to an error in aligning the columns during the transcription of the original manuscript lists.[2]

A fireplace with the inscription "H.T.E. 1576" was recorded by Westropp & Twigge in the 1890s,[10] as being in the castle. This was one of the earliest dated fireplaces in the county, though it cannot now be located within the castle. In 1586 Queen Elizabeth I issued a pardon to Hugh, son of Covea MacNamara, of Ballyhannon Castle for being in rebellion. He had to provide sureties for his future good behaviour and answer at the local courts as requested.[11] In the 1626 rental of the 5th Earl of Thomond, Henry O’Brien (c.1588 - 1639), Ballyhannon Castle was listed as being rented to one Robert Hawksworth, with one quarter of land for the sum of £4.00.[12] It is likely that Hawksworth was one of the many English Protestant settlers brought into the county by the O’Briens and settled on the O’Brien properties in Thomond during this period. The settling of English Protestants on lands of the native Irish Catholics precipitated the 1641 rebellion and many records exist of the Irish despoiling the settlers and turning them out of their newly acquired lands and properties. The MacNamaras of Ballyhannon acted no differently from the other displaced Irish. John Smith of Latoon complained of his losses which, "amounted to £1,354, including his lease for life of Lattoon, and his outlay upon buildings and sea embankments." He complained that Oliver Delahoyde of Fomerla Castle in Tulla, "with fifty men came, on the night of 15 January 1642, and stripped him of part of his goods. The work of spoilation was subsequently completed by the MacNamaras of Ballyhannon" among others.[13] Most of the Irish landowners who took part in this rebellion were later stripped of their possessions. Among those noted as having forfeited their property after the rebellion was Mahone MacNamara of Ballyhannon. His property was disposed of to Pierce Creagh (a Protestant settler) and to the Earl of Thomond, Barnabas O’Brien (c.1590 - 1657), 6th Earl.[14] After the rebellion, the Cromwellian campaign attempted to complete the subjugation of the native Irish, and many of their castles were dismantled by the Commonwealth forces to render them defenceless. Ballyhannon appears to have escaped this destruction and a sketch of the castle in 1675, which survives in the "Edenvale Survey", shows it to have been roofed and in good condition. The castle appears to be surrounded by a bawn wall with a gate and loophole windows at this time.[15] With the assention to the English throne of the Catholic King James II (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) in 1685, the fate of the native Irish improved somewhat for a time. Ballyhannon Castle was one of the castles noted by Sir Daniel O’Brien, Viscount Clare, as being suitable for the imprisonment of Protestant settlers who were now being dispossessed. A letter written in 1689 describing the events of the time is worth recording. "Take every one of them that are young (Seir or Mr.), and let the common sort lie in the prison, and the rest strictly guarded, or rather put into some strong castle that has a geate to be locked on the outside like Ballyhannon".[16] Pierce Creagh who had received part of the MacNamara property at Ballyhannon after the rebellion was named as one of those to be imprisoned in the above letter from Sir Daniel O’Brien. The castle is also mentioned in 1690 when Thomas Hickman, who seemed to be living in fear during another upsurge in the conflict, asked Sir Donough O’Brien to collect some of his belongings from Ballyhannon Castle and to keep other possessions of his in a safe place, as he expected the castle was soon to be garrisoned.[17]

The castle appears on Henry Pelham’s "Grand Jury" map of 1787 under the names Ballyhannon and Castlefergus, which is the first time Castlefergus appears as the name of the castle. Hely Dutton, writing in 1808, records the castle as: "Fergus – inhabited and lately white-washed! ".[18] There are also some references to the Blood family of Castlefergus, though these relate most likely to Castlefergus House which stood south west of the castle and is now demolished.[19] Charlotte Blood, daughter of William Blood, who was murdered at his house at Applevale near Corofin, married her cousin Matthew Henry Blood, M.D. of Castlefergus in 1831.[20] Westropp, writing in 1917 notes some curious traces of settlement in the fields at Castlefergus,[21] most likely the remains of ringforts and other early Bronze Age habitation sites. Samuel Lewis, writing, in 1837, notes Castlefergus as: "The fine modern residence" of William Smith Blood Esq. He adds: "adjoining which are the remains of the ancient edifice",[22] telling us that by this date the castle was uninhabited, probably for the first time in 350 years. By 1858 the castle was ivy-covered and described as: "a fine old green-mantled tower" on the grounds of Castlefergus House.[23]

The American millionaire and oil heiress Elizabeth Phillips (of Phillips Petroleum) and her husband Henry D. Irwin, who chose to call it "Ballyhannan Castle", (using the older townland spelling), restored the building to its former glory in 1970. It is currently rented out to top-of-the-market tourists as an out-of-the-way destination. It was also home to rock stars and several American film stars during film making in the region.[2]

Robert Twigge describes the castle in the early 1900s as follows: "The castle stands on a low rock, scarped to the west and had no outworks, (the bawn noted in 1675 having been removed by this time). The very perfect tower, measuring 33’6" x 24’, is in excellent preservation, having been inhabited in the last century. The pointed south door is defended by a shot-hole on the left and a murder hole above. The stair mounts round the s.w. angle, and at the 14th step a long corridor with 2 lights in the w. wall is reached. At the n. end a spiral staircase of 72 steps leads to the top. At the 12th step from the corridor another passage through the n. wall is reached. 5 curved steps at the s. end of the w. corridor lead to a similar passage along the s. wall over the porch and lodge. There is a handsome trefoil headed window of 2 lights in the s.w. angle and a garderobe to the s.e. angle. Mounting the spiral stair still higher other corridors, over the lower ones, in the w. and s. sides, are reached. There are 4 main stories under the stone vault forming the roof. The basement story has very deep recesses under the corridor and the 2 on the n. side have a narrow chamfered screen between them. A fireplace bears the date 1576, but this was of course a later addition to the building"

[Fairlie]

Ballyportry Castle

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Ballyportry Castle

Built in the late 15th century by the O’Briens of Lemeneagh Castle, Ballyportry Castle remained occupied through the 16th and 17th centuries before falling into disrepair and disuse. The Statistical Survey of County Clare in 1808 makes mention of a poor family still taking shelter at Ballyportry. Miraculously, its four walls were intact, although open to the sky, when the ruin was acquired in the 1960s by New York architect, Robert Owen Brown.

Here are some interesting facts and reasons to stay at this beautiful Gaelic tower house:

The castle is located at the edge of the Burren National Park, the finest and most interesting surviving archaeological, botanical and geological landscape in the west of Ireland.

Ballyportry Castle is between Kerry and Connemara, and is inland from Galway Bay. County Clare is a peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, which is about 45 minutes away by car from the castle.

Ballyportry is one of the finest habitable tower houses Ireland.

One of the best restored tower houses in Ireland and the most intact that is offered for rental.

Sympathetic restoration and subsequent researched conservation programmes have achieved the best example of mediaeval stone building conservation anywhere in Ireland.

Fullest evocation of late 15th-century castle atmosphere of any Irish buildings.

Ballyportry is almost half a century older than Trinity College, Dublin. It was built in the decade of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Americas.

Home of the late mediaeval Gaelic chieftains, the O’Brien’s, who sprung from an ancient Celtic sept whose most famous king, Brian Boru, was High King of Ireland. (A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish clan.)

The late middle ages in Gaelic Ireland was a time of active culture, of intrigue, aristocracy and poetry. The late 15th-century Gaelic chiefs would have lived lives of privilege, culture, politics and warfare. It was a time of shifting political alliances.

2014 will be a year of remembering Brian Boru as it will be 1,000 years since the most famous battle in Irish history when he was the leader of the Irish forces against the Vikings. He decisively defeated the Vikings at the bloody Battle of Clontarf at which he lost his life.

Restored by the American architect Bob Brown who, although without obvious Irish roots, fell in love with Ireland and it’s castles in the late 1960s.

[Fairlie]

Bunratty Castle

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Bunratty Castle (Irish: Caisleán Bhun Raithe, meaning "Castle at the Mouth of the Ratty") is a large 15th century tower house in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in the centre of Bunratty village (Irish: Bun Ráite), by the N18 road between Limerick and Ennis, near Shannon Town and its airport. The castle and the adjoining folk park are run by Shannon Heritage as tourist attractions.
The name Bunratty, Bun Raite (or possibly, Bun na Raite) in Irish, means the 'bottom' or end of the 'Ratty' river.[2] This river, alongside the castle, flows into the nearby Shannon estuary.

History[edit]
Earlier structures[edit]

Room in Bunratty Castle
The first recorded settlement at the site may have been a Viking settlement/trading camp reported in the Annals of the Four Masters to have been destroyed by Brian Boru in 977. According to local tradition, such a camp was located on a rise south-west of the current castle. However, since no actual remains of this settlement have yet been found, its exact location is unknown and its existence is not proven.]

Around 1250, King Henry III of England granted the cantred or district of Tradraighe (or Tradree) to Robert De Muscegros, who in 1251 cut down around 200 trees in the King's wood at Cratloe. These may have been used to construct a motte and bailey castle, which would have been the first castle at Bunratty, but again the exact position of this is unknown. A later reference in the state papers, dating to 1253 gives de Muscegros the right to hold markets and an annual fair at Bunratty. It has thus been assumed that the site was the centre of early Norman control in south-eastern Clare. Early 19th century scholars put the structure to the north-west of the current castle. However, when a hotel was constructed there in 1959, John Hunt excavated the area and thought the remains to be that of a gun emplacement from the Confederate Wars

These lands were later handed back to (or taken back by) King Henry III and granted to Thomas De Clare, a descendant of Strongbow in 1276. De Clare built the first stone structure on the site (the second castle). This castle was occupied from ca. 1278 to 1318 and consisted of a large single stone tower with lime white walls. It stood close to the river, on or near the site of the present Bunratty Castle. In the late 13th century, Bunrattty had about 1,000 inhabitants. The castle was attacked several times by the O'Briens (or O'Brians) and their allies. In 1284, while De Clare was away in England, the site was captured and destroyed. On his return, in 1287, De Clare had the site rebuilt and a 140 yard long fosse built around it. The castle was again attacked but it did not fall until 1318. In that year a major battle was fought at Dysert O'Dea as part of the Irish Bruce Wars, in which both Thomas De Clare and his son Richard were killed. Lady De Clare, on learning this, fled from Bunratty to Limerick after burning castle and town. The De Clare family never returned to the area and the remains of the castle eventually collapsed. As the stones were likely used for other local construction works, no traces remain of this second castle.

In the 14th century, Limerick was an important port for the English Crown. To guard access via the Shannon estuary against attacks from the Irish, the site was once again occupied. In 1353, Sir Thomas de Rokeby led an English army to conquer the MacNamaras and MacCarthys. A new castle (the third) was built at Bunratty, but once again, its exact location is unknown. Local tradition holds that it stood at the site where the Bunratty Castle Hotel was later constructed. However, the new structure was hardly finished before being captured by the Irish. Documents show that in 1355, King Edward III of England released Thomas Fitzjohn Fitzmaurice from prison in Limerick. He had been charged with letting the castle fall into the hands of Murtough O’Brien whilst serving as a Governor (Captain) of Bunratty.[3]

Current structure
The fourth castle, the present structure, was built by the MacNamara family after around 1425. Its builder may have been one Maccon Sioda MacNamara, chieftain of Clann Cuilein (i.e. the MacNamaras). He died before the castle was completed which happened under his son Sean Finn (died in 1467). At around 1500, Bunratty Castle came into the hands of the O'Briens (or O'Brians), the most powerful clan in Munster and later Earls of Thomond. They expanded the site and eventually made it their chief seat, moving it there from Ennis.

In 1558, the castle—now noted as one of the principal stongholds of Thomond—was taken by Thomas Radclyffe, the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland from Donal O'Brien of Duagh, last King of Thomond (died 1579), and given to Donal's nephew, Connor O'Brien. Donogh O'Brien, Conor's son, may have been the one to move the seat of the family from Clonroad (Ennis) to Bunratty. He made various improvements to the castle including putting a new lead roof on it.

During the Confederate Wars set off by the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Lord Forbes, commanding forces of the English Long Parliament, was allowed by the then Lord Barnabas O'Brien to occupy Bunratty in 1646. Barnabas did not want to commit to either side in the struggle, playing off royalists, rebels and roundheads against each other. He left for England, where he joined King Charles. Defence of the castle, whose position allowed those holding it to blockade maritime access to Limerick (held by the Confederates) and the river Shannon, was in the hands of Rear-Admiral Penn, the father of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania. After a long siege, the Confederates took the castle. Penn surrendered but was allowed to sail away to Kinsale.[2]

Barnabas O'Brien died in 1657, but had apparently leased out the castle to one "John Cooper", possibly the same person married to Máire ní Mahon of Leamaneh Castle, widow of another O'Brien, Conor (died 1651).[2] Bunratty Castle remained property of the O'Briens and in the 1680s the castle was still the principal seat of the Earls of Thomond. In 1712, Henry, the 8th and last Earl of Thomond (1688-1741) sold Bunratty Castle and 472 acres of land to Thomas Amory for £225 and an annual rent of £120. Amory in turn sold the castle to Thomas Studdert who moved in ca. 1720.[4]

The Studdert family left the castle (allowing it to fall into disrepair), to reside in the more comfortable and modern adjacent "Bunratty House" they had built in 1804.The reasons for the move are bound up in family arguments over the eldest son marrying his first cousin.[citation needed]

For some time in the mid-19th century, the castle was used as a barracks by the Royal Irish Constabulary.[6] In 1894, Bunratty was once again used by the Studdert family, as the seat of Captain Richard Studdert.[6] In the late 19th century, the roof of the Great Hall collapsed.

In 1956, the castle was purchased and restored by the 7th Viscount Gort, with assistance from the Office of Public Works.He reroofed the castle and saved it from ruin. The castle was opened to the public in 1960, sporting furniture, tapestries and works of art dating to around 1600.

Today

Rose Cottage at the Folk Park
Today, the castle is a major tourist attraction, along with "Bunratty Folk Park". Both the castle and Bunratty House are open to the public. The castle is famous for its medieval banquets, offered since 1963, at which the "Bunratty Castle Entertainers" perform today.

"Bunratty Folk Park" is an open-air museum featuring around 30 buildings, including the Ardcroney Church Of Ireland church, moved here and reopened in 1998.

[Tricia]

I seen a link up on fb group fairlie then disappeared when I tried to comment

[Fairlie]

that's because i forgot to add a picture ...............................Dohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh