Castles in Ireland

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Parkavonear Castle

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Parkavonear Castle is a 13th-century Anglo-Norman ruin in Aghadoe in Ireland, overlooking the lakes of Killarney. It was built following the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169.

It is two stories high, and, unusually, is built to a cylindrical design rather than the more common rectangular shape for Norman castles. The walls are two metres thick, and the internal floor space is several metres wide. There is a staircase within the wall joining the two floors. An entrance has been made into the lower floor, but originally the only entry would have been to the higher floor, enabling the occupants to pull in the ladder in time of attack. Only the stone parts of the structure remain, as the wooden floors and roof have deteriorated and been removed.

Square earthworks surrounded the keep but only traces of them remain.

Parkavonear Castle takes its name from the Irish paírc an mhóinéir, meaning field of the meadow. It is sometimes spelt Parkvonear, but local spelling includes the middle letter 'a' is a 13th-century Anglo-Norman ruin in Aghadoe in Ireland, overlooking the lakes of Killarney. It was built following the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169.

It is two stories high, and, unusually, is built to a cylindrical design rather than the more common rectangular shape for Norman castles. The walls are two metres thick, and the internal floor space is several metres wide. There is a staircase within the wall joining the two floors. An entrance has been made into the lower floor, but originally the only entry would have been to the higher floor, enabling the occupants to pull in the ladder in time of attack. Only the stone parts of the structure remain, as the wooden floors and roof have deteriorated and been removed.

Square earthworks surrounded the keep but only traces of them remain.

Parkavonear Castle takes its name from the Irish paírc an mhóinéir, meaning field of the meadow. It is sometimes spelt Parkvonear, but local spelling includes the middle letter 'a'

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Ross Castle

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Ross Castle (Irish: Caisleán an Rois) is a 15th-century tower house and keep on the edge of Lough Leane, in Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland.[1] It is the ancestral home of the O'Donoghue clan,[2] though it is better known for its association with the Brownes of Killarney who owned the castle until more recently.

The castle is operated by the Office of Public Works,[2] and is open to the public seasonally with guided tours.[3]

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Defensive features
2.1 Basic structure
2.2 Front entrance
2.3 Windows
2.4 Staircase
2.5 Machicolation
2.6 Parapet
2.7 Inner rooms
3 Gallery
4 Notes
5 External links
History[edit]
Ross Castle was built in the late 15th century by local ruling clan the O'Donoghues Mor (Ross), though ownership changed hands during the Second Desmond Rebellion of the 1580s to the MacCarthy Mór. He then leased the castle and the lands to Sir Valentine Browne ancestor of the Earls of Kenmare. The castle was amongst the last to surrender to Oliver Cromwell's Roundheads during the Irish Confederate Wars,[4] and was only taken when artillery was brought by boat via the River Laune. Lord Muskerry (MacCarty) held the castle against General Ludlow who marched to Ross with 4000 foot soldiers and 200 horse; however, it was by water that he attacked the stronghold. The Irish had a prophecy that Ross could never be taken until a warship could swim on the lake, an unbelievable prospect. The sight of the 'ships' unnerved the onlookers and the castle soon submitted.


Ross Castle in the last decade of the 19th century
At the end of the wars, the Brownes were able to show that their heir was too young to have taken part in the rebellion and they retained the lands. By about 1688, they had erected a mansion house near the castle, but their adherence to James II of England caused them to be exiled. The castle became a military barracks, which remained so until early in the 19th century. The Brownes did not return to live at Ross but built Kenmare House near Killarney.

There is a legend that O'Donoghue leaped or was sucked out of the window of the grand chamber at the top of the castle and disappeared into the waters of the lake along with his horse, his table and his library. It is said that O'Donoghue now lives in a great palace at the bottom of the lake where he keeps a close eye on everything that he sees.

Defensive features[edit]

Illustration of Ross Castle inner structure
Basic structure[edit]
The castle is typical of strongholds of Irish chieftains built during the Middle Ages. The tower house had square bartizans on diagonally opposite corners and a thick end wall. The tower was originally surrounded by a square bawn defended by round corner towers on each end.[3]

The structure is stacked and mortared stone with thick walls and providing five inner stories plus the roof.

Front entrance[edit]
The front entrance was a small anteroom secured by an iron grill or 'yett' at the outer wall. The yett could be closed from inside via a chain that could then be secured even if the front door was closed. This room provided small side access holes and a "murder-hole" above which allowed the defenders to attack anybody in the room.

The front door, on the inside of the anteroom, was constructed of two layers of thick Irish oak, one layer 90 degrees to the other with the boards riveted together. If the door was a single layer with the wood fibres going in a single direction, it would have been possible to split the door. The second cross layer prevented that. The door opened inward and was backed by two heavy beams fitted into the stone structure.

Windows[edit]
Windows at the lower levels were vertical thin slits preventing entrance into the structure but allowing persons inside to aim and fire arrows or guns at attackers. The windows on the top levels were larger to allow in light. It was felt that attackers would not be able to scale to those heights so larger windows were safe.

Staircase[edit]
The spiral staircase, located in the front left corner, was built in a clockwise direction. Attackers, ascending up would have their sword in their right hand and would be impeded by the center structure of the staircase. Defenders, facing down, would have their swords swinging at the outer part of the staircase giving them an advantage.

In addition, the stairs were of uneven height to throw off an attacker's charge by interfering with his gait.

Machicolation[edit]
Machicolations were stone structures at the top of the castle protruding out from the wall with a hole in the floor. There are two on Ross Castle, one over the front door and another on the back wall. The one at the front would allow defenders to drop stones or boiling oil on attackers at the front door, the only entrance to the castle.


Ross Castle from the lake
Parapet[edit]
The parapet at roof level is 'crenellated' providing ups, 'merlons', and downs, 'crenels', to allow defenders to hide behind the merlons while firing arrows or guns through the crenels.

Inner rooms[edit]
The first floor was used for storage.

The second floor was a living space for the house attendants and guards. Straw was spread on the floor to sleep on. There was typically no furniture.

The third floor was for food preparation and living and eating space for the house attendants and guards.

The fourth floor was the sleeping and living space for the chieftain and his family. The fourth floor had an arched stone roof supporting a stone floor of the fifth story as compared to the wood beam floors of the lower stories.

The fifth floor was the great room where the chieftain ate and entertained. This room was also the last sanctuary as it had a stone floor as a fire break from fire in the lower floors.

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Barberstown Castle

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Barberstown Castle is a structure originally built in 1288[1] in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland, 25 km (15 miles) west of Dublin. It has been operating as a hotel since 1971 and is surrounded by 20 acres (81,000 m2) of gardens. Renovations in 1996 revealed a previously undiscovered tunnel that links the castle to the nearby church in Straffan and is thought to have been used during penal times.

History[edit]
The castle was built by Nicholas Barby c.1288 on land originally owned by the Fitzgerald family. In 1630 William Sutton of one of the foremost families in the area owned the property.

In 1689 it was confiscated from Lord Kingston by the Earl of Tyrconnell after the accession of King James 11 of England. It then became the property of the Commissioners of the Revenue who leased it to Roger Kelly in the late 1600s. At the end of that century it passed through a number of hands, including Bartholomew Vanhomrigh who bought it for £1,033 in 1703, together with 335 acres (135 hectares) of land. Vanhomrigh had been Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1697 and was the father of Vanessa, lover of Dean Swift. He sold it to the Henrys who forced by financial circumstances to sell it on to Hugh Barton of the wine family Barton and Guestier. He built the last wing of the house in the 1830s. (He also built Straffan House, known today at the K Club).

In the 1900s it was sold by the Huddlestons to Mrs. Norah Devlin who converted it into a hotel in 1971. Eric Clapton purchased the property in 1979 and in 1987 sold it to the current owner, Ken Healy, who lives in the property. Healy has renovated it from a 10 bedroom guesthouse with three bathrooms to a 59 bedroom Failte Ireland approved 4 Star Hotel.

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Barretstown Castle

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Barretstown Castle is a castle in Ballymore Eustace, County Kildare, Ireland. It stands on the site of a late 12th century Anglo-Norman castle.

History[edit]
The first historical mention of the place is in a 1547 inquisition held after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, when Barretstown Castle was listed as the property of the Archbishop of Dublin, from whom it was promptly confiscated by the Crown. Thereafter the Castle was held by the Eustace family on a series of "permanent leases."

In the 17th century Sir Walter Borrowes married a daughter of the earl of Kildare and acquired the estate, and the family retained possession for over 200 years. Members of the family, such as Sir Kildare Borrowes, 5th Baronet, represented Kildare County and Harristown in the former Parliament of Ireland.

Unlike the Eustace baronets of the 16th and 17th centuries, the five Borrowes baronets who spanned the 19th century played no part in public life. This quiet aristocratic reign ended with the flamboyant Sir Kildare, 10th Baronet (1852–1924), whose father Rev. Sir Erasmus, 8th Baronet, had significantly modified the residence in a medieval, romantic, asymmetrical style. In 1918, the Borrowes family having left Ireland, Barretstown was purchased by Sir George Sheppard Murray, a Scotsman who converted the estate into a fine stud farm, and planted many of the exotic trees that dominate the landscape.

In 1962 Elizabeth Arden acquired the castle from the Murray family. Over five years, Arden extensively reconstructed, redecorated, and refurnished the castle. Her influence dominates the look of the house to this day. The door of the castle is reputed to have been painted red after her famous brand of perfume Red Door, and remains so to this day.

After Arden's death in 1967, the international biscuit tycoon Garfield Weston took up residence. Under his ownership the grounds were significantly improved, particularly through the addition of a magnificent lake in front of the castle.

The Weston family, which owns Dublin's famous Brown Thomas department store, presented the estate to the Irish government in 1977, during which time it was used for national and international conferences and seminars, as well as being used as a part of the Irish National Stud.

The Irish government has leased the castle and its grounds to the Barretstown Gang Camp Fund for the next 90 years for a nominal €1.26 per year. Part of Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Camps, the Barretstown Gang Camp opened in August 1994, serving 124 children. With the completion of the new medical centre and programme hall, in 1995 the camp served nearly 300 children from Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the United States, and Chernobyl disaster areas. In 2009, Barretstown will serve 1900 children from around Europe.

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Magnificent castles Luv them and the history surrounding them

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Kildare Castle

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Kildare Castle is a ruined castle located at Kildare in County Kildare, Ireland. Built in the 12th century as a motte and bailey castle by Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. The remains of a tower are the only above ground remains of the castle.

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Kilkea Castle

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Kilkea Castle is located just 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of Castledermot, County Kildare, Ireland near the village of Kilkea on the R418 regional road from Athy to Tullow. It was a medieval stronghold of the Fitzgeralds, earls of Kildare.

Contents [hide]
1 History of the Castle
2 The Castle now
3 Ernest Shackleton
4 Pronunciation
5 References
6 External links
History of the Castle[edit]
Sir Walter de Riddlesford built a motte and bailey castle there in 1181. A grand daughter of his married Maurice Fitzgerald, 3rd baron of Offaly, and so the Manor of Kilkea came into the possession of the Fitzgeralds and was to remain in the family for over 700 years.

Sir Thomas de Rokeby, the Justiciar of Ireland, used the castle as his military base, and died here in 1356.

The castle is particularly, associated with Gerald, the 11th Earl of Kildare known as the "Wizard Earl", who became the male representative of the Geraldines when only twelve years of age after his half brother "Silken Thomas" the 10th earl, was executed at Tyburn in 1537. The "Wizard Earl" was sent to the continent to be educated, and following his return to Kildare his interest in alchemy caused much interest among his neighbours around Kilkea Castle and he was said to possess magic powers.



The Earl died in 1585 and is supposed to return to the castle every seventh year mounted on a silver-shod white charger.[1] In 1634 the castle was leased to the Jesuit Order by the widow of the 14th Earl of Kildare and they remained there until 1646. That year the order entertained the Archbishop Rinuccini, Papal Nuncio to the Confederation of Kilkenny at Kilkea.

In the early eighteenth century the 19th Earl of Kildare decided to make Carton House the family seat and Kilkea Castle was leased to a succession of tenants. One of these tenants was Thomas Reynolds, a Dublin silk merchant, who was a "friend" of the Kildare hero of 1798, Lord Edward FitzGerald, through whom Reynolds had become a United Irishman, only to become an informer. His role as informer did not prevent the castle which had been recently done up in fine style being sacked by military during the rebellion. After a fire in 1849 the 3rd Duke of Leinster, Lord Walter was a founder member of the Kildare Archaeological Society in 1891 and undoubtedly the greatest antiquarian Kildare has ever had. He was editor of the "Journals of the Association of the Preservation of the Memorial of Dead in Ireland" from 1904 until his death in 1923. After Carton was sold in 1949 Kilkea Castle became the seat of the 8th Duke of Leinster.

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Leixlip Castle.

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Leixlip Castle. Built on a rock at the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water, the central part of the castle dates from 1172, just after the Norman Invasion of 1171 and is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited buildings in Ireland, pre-dating Dublin Castle by 30 years. It was used as a hunting base by King John when Lord of Ireland in 1185. It was not of major military importance but withstood a 4-day siege by the army of Edward Bruce in 1316.

Bought by judge Nicholas White in 1567, it remained in his family until 1728, when Leixlip and 809 acres around it including the castle was then bought by William Conolly of nearby Castletown House for £12,000. His family sold it in 1914. Various famous tenants of the Conollys in the castle included Archbishop Stone, the Protestant Primate (1750s), the Viceroy Lord Townshend (1770s), Lord Waterpark, and Baron de Robeck (who drowned at the Salmon Leap). In the 1920s it was the residence of the first French ambassador to the Irish Free State. In 1945 the castle was sold to William Kavanagh, prior to the purchase in April 1958 by The Hon. Desmond Guinness.

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Maynooth Castle

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Maynooth Castle is a ruined 12th century castle in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland which stands at the entrance to the South Campus of National University of Ireland.

History[edit]
The area covered by modern Kildare was granted by Strongbow to Maurice Fitzgerald in 1176. The castle was built at the junction of two rivers in the late 12th century and became the home of the Fitzgerald family from then on and was expanded by Sir John Fitzgerald in the 15th century. Maynooth Castle was for a time in the 16th century, the capital of Ireland and all government matters were dealt with from this Kildare stronghold. The Fitzgeralds became the Earls of Kildare and Lords Deputy of Ireland.

The Fitzgerald occupation of the castle ended with the 1534 rebellion of Silken Thomas, the son of the ninth Earl of Kildare. An English force led by William Skeffington bombarded the massive castle in March. The castle fell after a ten-day siege. This was as a direct result of the treachery of Silken Thomas' foster brother Christopher Parese. The garrison were executed before the castle gate. Silken Thomas was captured shortly afterwards and committed to the Tower of London with his five uncles. They were executed for treason at Tyburn on 3 February 1537.

The Castle was restored in 1630-35 by Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, after his daughter had married George FitzGerald but much of this building was destroyed in the 1640s during the Eleven years war. Only the gatehouse (on which united arms of the Boyles and FitzGeralds can still be viewed) and the Solar Tower survive. The Fitzgeralds left Maynooth for good and made first Kilkea Castle and then Carton House their family seat.

Restoration work on the castle was restarted by the Office of Public Works in February 2000 to develop it into a Heritage Site. It is now open to the public from June to October, 10.00 a.m. - 5.45 p.m.. Today the partly ruined building remains as a tourist attraction, with limited access possible.

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Burnchurch Castle

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Burnchurch Castle, a National Monument,[1] is a well-preserved 15th century Norman tower house with a round gate tower, situated in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Burnchurch Castle and tower, along with the Church of Ireland church, and the lime trees became a National Monument in 1993.[2]

It is said to have been built and owned by the Fitzgeralds of the house of Desmond in 15th century and continued to be occupied until 1817. It is 6.5 km (4.0 mi) south west of Kilkenny, off the Clonmel Road, 6 km from Ballybur near Cuffesgrange, outside the town of Callan, nearby to Kells Priory.

It is located in Burnchurch parish and was in the barony of Shillelogher.

Contents [hide]
1 Architecture
2 See also
3 Notes
4 Further reading
5 External links
Architecture[edit]

Burnchurch Castle & Turret
The 12.5m high circular turret still remains. A walled courtyard was originally attached to the castle. It is six storeys high, and has an unusually large number of passages and chambers inside the walls. A great hall was formerly attached to the tower's outside wall, but this has now vanished, as has most a bawn with a 41 foot tall tower at one corner. Old drawings, date unknown, show remnants of buildings.

Many tower houses have mural chambers and passages hidden away within their walls, though few have the number and complexity of those found in Burnchurch Castle. Beneath there is a vault with the principal chamber above, lying just below a gabled roof. There are numerous narrow rooms in the walls, including a "secret room" on the fourth floor.

A curved outside staircase still provides access to the three upper floors of this little tower so it can be explored. It has mullioned windows and is noteworthy for its finely carved fireplace with a joggle voussoir arch and its tall round chimney. The rounded chimney may be a later improvement.

It is broadly similar in size and layout to Clara Castle in Clara, but differs in that the gable-end walls are carried up one story higher than the other two walls and form to elongated turrets with their won rampart walls at the highest part of the building.[3] Burnchurch Castle and Clara are good examples of the characteristic Irish-style of stepped battlements.

It is known for being one of several Irish towers with the slightly narrower sides of the castle extending up an additional floor, creating in essence a pair of tower wide turrets.

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Foulksrath Castle

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Foulksrath Castle (Irish: Caislean Ratha) is a 16th-century[1] Anglo-Norman tower house located in Jenkinstown in County Kilkenny, Ireland.

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Architecture
3 Hauntings
4 References
History[edit]
The castle is closely associated with the De Frene and Purcell families, both of which came to Britain from Normandy at the time of the Norman Conquest. The estate and original fortified and moated dwelling were first occupied by the De Frene family and it is thought that the castle derives its name from Fulco De Frene (d. 1349) who was in the military service of Edward III and fought at the Battle of Crecy and the Siege of Calais. In the early 15th century the estate came into the possession of the Purcell family who built the current castle.[2][3]

The Purcells sided with the Royalists during the English Civil War and had their estate confiscated by Cromwell. The estate was divided between three officers in Cromwell's army. One of them, Bradshaw, received the castle, but allowed the Purcells to continue living on the land. There were several inhabitants of the castle following Bradshaw's death, including the Dawson family and Moses Henshaw. A family of peasant farmers named Purcell were still living in the castle grounds in 1777 when the castle and lands were let to Thomas Wright. The Wright family occupied the castle until 1861.[2][4]



The Swift family (relatives of Jonathan Swift) have been associated with the castle since at least 1857. In that year, Godwin Meade Pratt Swift patented the first aircraft in Ireland. He called the device an "aerial chariot" and tested it by launching it from the top of Foulkrath Castle via a catapult with his butler as the pilot. The plane immediately nosedived to the ground. The butler survived, but with multiple broken bones.[5][6] In a 1948 article in the Old Kilkenny Review, John Gibb wrote that the Swift family purchased the castle in 1898.[2] However in a 1979 article in the same publication, John Brennan suggests they may have been the castle's owners, if not its residents, for a considerable time before that.[3]

In 1910, the castle was let to a Colonel Butler and his sister. After the death of Miss Butler, the castle lay empty and began to fall into ruin.[2] It was purchased from the Swift family by An Óige (the Irish Youth Hostel Association) in 1946 with community support. The purchase and cost of conversion into a youth hostel were met by a public appeal.[1] The hostel closed in 2009 and Foulksrath Castle is now privately owned.[7]

Architecture[edit]
Located about 12 km outside the medieval city of Kilkenny it is a well preserved and restored Norman Tower House. Most of the bawn (outer) wall and some ancillary structures also survive in addition to the main tower. A pitched roof has been added over the centre of the tower, though the open-air walk along the tower's crenellated battlement has been preserved and is still accessible. A narrow spiral staircase connects the four stories. The remains of a moat protect the outer walls of the tower. The moat is believed to have existed since the original structure was built some time in the early 13th century. It is probable that the earlier building was incorporated into the present structure.[2]



Hauntings[edit]
Several stories are in circulation as to the haunted nature of the castle and it was visited in 1992 by a BBC television crew of British ghost hunters.[7]

The first legend concerns a female ghost said to look out from the castle windows; she is purported to be the daughter of a former owner of the castle, who, unhappy with his daughter's choice of lover, had her locked away in a tower, where she either starved to death, or was put to death by her father, depending on the version.[8]

The second ghost apparently makes a yearly apparition on 29 November, and is supposedly a guard who fell asleep on duty and was thrown to his death from the ramparts of the castle in punishment. His footsteps can be heard as he wanders the castle to make amends for his carelessness.[9]

The third legend concerns another female ghost, this time a woman who wanders the castle accompanied by the scent of wild flowers, or lilacs.[7]

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Gowran Castle

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Gowran Castle is located in the centre of Gowran, County Kilkenny, Ireland. The castle is a manor house and was fully restored between 2013 and 2014.

Contents [hide]
1 Early Years
2 Butler of Ormond Influence
3 Other Gowran Butler Castles
4 Agar Family
5 Time Line
6 See also
7 References
8 External Links
Early Years[edit]
The first Gowran Castle was built in 1385 by James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond, close to the centre of the town of Gowran, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. He made it his usual residence. James was called the Earl of Gowran. In 1391 he bought Kilkenny Castle and a large part of Co. Kilkenny. James died in Gowran Castle in 1405 and is buried in St. Mary's Collegiate Church Gowran together with his father James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond. his grand father James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormond and his great great grandfather Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick and 6th Chief Butler of Ireland . James the 2nd Earl was usually called The Noble Earl, being a great-grandson, through his mother, of King Edward I of England.

Gowran had been a settled place and a place of importance long before the arrival of the Normans in Ireland in 1169 A.D. Kings of Ossory were often referred to as kings of Gowran. The Mac Giolla Padraig (Modern day family name Fitzpatrick), Chief Rulers of Ossory, had a residence in Gowran. O’Donnchadha (Dunphy) was the chief of Gowran and most of the area around it. Local place names like Rathvaun, Rathcash, Rathcusack, and Rathgarvan, signified the presence of raths where people lived, farmed and foraged for a livelihood. Raths were also burial places. Larger sites were called Duns. The village of Dungarvan (Co. Kilkenny) also in the parish of Gowran is another example of such a settlement . The presence of the 3rd/4th Century Christianised Ogham stone on display in the historic St. Mary’s Collegiate Church Gowran would also indicate a place of residence and worship dating back 2000 years.

There are other ancient sites close to Gowran. For example, nearby Tullaherin Church, graveyard and Round Tower dating to the 6th Century. Freestone Hill situated 4 km from Gowran was a Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement where Roman coins and other artefacts were found during archaeological surveys in 1948 and 1951.

Butler of Ormond Influence[edit]
The Butlers were in possession of the lands in the Gowran area for almost 500 years. Following the Norman Invasion of Ireland in 1169 a grant of 44 000acres,[1] the Manor of Gowran was made to Theobald Fitzwalter (Theobald Walter, 1st Baron Butler) 1st Chief Butler of Ireland .

Other Gowran Butler Castles[edit]
In addition to building Gowran Castle, the Butlers built other castles in the area such as Ballysean Castle (Sometimes spelt Ballyshawnmore, Ballysheanmor, Ballyshanemore) near the centre of Gowran, Neigham Castle 4 km from Gowran and Paulstown Castle situated between Gowran and Paulstown 3 km from Gowran.

Agar Family[edit]
Following the Cromwellian invasion in Ireland in 1650, Gowran was besieged by Oliver Cromwell. Gowran Castle was attacked and badly damaged. For the following 300 years the Agar family were a major influence in the Gowran area. Several generations of the Agars occupied Gowran Castle and like the Butlers before them, many of them are buried in St. Mary’s Collegiate Church Gowran.

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Kilkenny Castle

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Kilkenny Castle (Irish: Caisleán Chill Chainnigh) is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland built in 1195 by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways. It was a symbol of Norman occupation and in its original thirteenth-century condition it would have formed an important element of the defences of the town with four large circular corner towers and a massive ditch, part of which can still be seen today on the Parade.

The property was transferred to the people of Kilkenny in 1967 for £50[1] and the castle and grounds are now managed by the Office of Public Works. The gardens and parkland adjoining the castle are open to the public. The Parade Tower is a conference venue. Awards and conferring ceremonies of the graduates of "Kilkenny Campus" of National University of Ireland, Maynooth have been held there since 2002.

Contents [hide]
1 Previous owners of the castle
1.1 Earls of Pembroke
1.2 Butler dynasty
1.3 The Irish State
2 History
2.1 Butlers of Ormond
2.2 Confederate Ireland
2.3 Irish Civil War
3 Restoration
4 References
5 External links
Previous owners of the castle[edit]
Earls of Pembroke[edit]
Kilkenny Castle has been an important site since Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, commonly known as Strongbow constructed the first castle, probably a wooden structure, in the 12th century. The Anglo-Normans had established a castle in 1173, possibly on the site of an earlier residence of the Mac Giolla Phádraig kings of Osraighe. Kilkenny formed part of the lordship of Leinster, which was granted to Strongbow. Strongbow’s daughter and heiress, Isabel married William Marshall in 1189. The Earl Marshall owned large estates in Ireland, England, Wales and France and managed them effectively. He appointed Geoffrey fitz Robert as seneschal of Leinster and so began a major phase of development in Kilkenny, including the construction of Kilkenny Castle and the agreement of rents and privileges with burgesses or citizens of the borough. The first stone castle on the site, was completed in 1213. This was a square-shaped castle with towers at each corner; three of these original four towers survive to this day

Butler dynasty[edit]
James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde, bought the castle in 1391 and established himself as ruler of the area. This James built Gowran Castle in 1385 and made it his Usual residence. He is buried in St. Mary's Collegiate Church Gowran.[2] James was called the Earl of Gowran. The Butler dynasty then ruled the surrounding area for centuries. They were Earls, Marquesses and Dukes of Ormonde and lived in the castle for over five hundred years. Among the many notable, Lady Margaret Butler (c. 1454 or 1465–1539) the Irish noblewoman, the daughter of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond. Lady Margaret Butler was born in Kilkenny Castle. She married Sir William Boleyn and was the paternal grandmother of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII of England.

The Castle became the seat to the very powerful family, the Butlers of Ormonde or Butler family, who lived there until 1935.

Kilkenny castle was the venue for the meeting of the General Assembly, or parliament, of the Confederate Ireland government in the 1640s.


Kilkenny Castle, the signature symbol of the Mediaeval city
The Irish State[edit]
The last member of the Butler family sold the castle to the local Castle Restoration Committee in the middle of the 20th century for £50. Shortly afterward it was handed over to the State, and has since been refurbished and is open to visitors. There are ornamental gardens on the city side of the castle, and extensive land and gardens to the front. It has become one of the most visited tourist sites in Ireland. Now a property in state care. Part of the National Art Gallery is on display in the castle.

History[edit]

Interior courtyard

The castle seen from the nearby River Nore.
Richard de Clare (also known as Strongbow) and other Norman knights came to Kilkenny in 1172, the high ground beside the River Nore was as an ideal site on which to build a wooden tower. He built a wooden castle of the type known as motte-and-bailey.

This strategic site was where the local Kings of Osraige had their chief residence before the Norman invasion.

Twenty years later, de Clare's son-in-law, William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, built the first stone castle on the site, of which three towers still remain.

The castle was owned by the seneschal of Kilkenny Sir Gilbert De Bohun who inherited the county of Kilkenny and castle from his mother in 1270, in 1300 he was outlawed by Edward I but was reinstated in 1303, he held the castle until his death in 1381. It was not granted to his heir Joan, but seized by the crown and sold to the Butler family.

Butlers of Ormond[edit]
The Castle became the seat to a very powerful family, the Butlers of Ormonde or Butler family. They were a remarkable family, resilient, politically astute and faithful to the crown and to Ireland. These loyalties determined their fortunes and career. The Butler family arrived in Ireland with the Norman invasion, and originally settled in Gowran. They changed their name from FitzWalter in 1185 to Butler. The family had become wealthy, and James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde, bought the castle in 1391 and established himself as ruler of the area. The Butler dynasty then ruled the surrounding area for centuries.

By the 18th century, the castle had become run down, reflecting the failing fortunes of the Butler family. However, some restoration was carried out by Anne Wandesford of Castlecomer, who brought wealth back into the family upon marrying John Butler, 17th Earl of Ormonde.

In the 19th century, the Butlers then attempted to restore it to its original medieval appearance, also rebuilding the north wing and extending the south curtain wall. More extensions were added in 1854.


View from the river, 1841 by William Henry Bartlett

The same view between 1890 and 1900
The Butler family remained living in the castle until 1935, when they sold its contents for £6,000, moved to London, and abandoned it for thirty years. The impact of rising taxes, death duties, economic depression and living costs had taken their toll. While the Ormondes had received £22,000 in rental income in the 1880s, investment income in the 1930s was in the region of £9,000 and by 1950 these investments yielded only £850. They disposed of the bulk of their tenanted estates in Tipperary and Kilkenny, 21,000 acres (85 km²), by 1915 for £240,000. Death duties and expenses following the death of James Butler, 3rd Marquess of Ormonde in 1919 amounted to £166,000.[3]


Auction Catalogue, 1935
In 1967, Arthur Butler, 6th Marquess and 24th Earl of Ormonde, sold the abandoned and deteriorating castle to the Castle Restoration Committee for £50, with the statement: "The people of Kilkenny, as well as myself and my family, feel a great pride in the Castle, and we have not liked to see this deterioration. We determined that it should not be allowed to fall into ruins. There are already too many ruins in Ireland." He also bought the land in front of the castle from the trustees "in order that it should never be built on and the castle would be seen in all its dignity and splendour". Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull turned up at the castle hand over party, with Jagger telling the newspapers "We just came to loon about."[citation needed]

Confederate Ireland[edit]
In the 17th century, the castle came into the hands of Elizabeth Preston, wife of then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, another James Butler, also 12th Earl and 1st Duke of Ormonde. Butler, unlike most of his family, was a Protestant and throughout the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s was the representative of Charles I in Ireland. However, his castle became the capital of a Catholic rebel movement, Confederate Ireland, whose parliament or "Supreme Council" met in Kilkenny Castle from 1642-48. Ormonde himself was based in Dublin at this time. The east wall and the northeast tower of the Castle were damaged in 1650 during the siege of Kilkenny by Oliver Cromwell during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. They were later torn down. Then, in 1661, Butler remodelled the castle as a “modern” château after his return from exile. A new entrance gateway in the south wall was built around this time.

Irish Civil War[edit]
During the Irish Civil War in 1922, Republicans were besieged in the Castle by Irish Free State forces. The Ormondes, together with their pet Pekinese, chose to remain in situ in their bedroom over the great gate, which was the main focus of attack. There was a machine gun outside their door. Only one man was injured but a great deal of damage was inflicted on the castle, which took many years to repair.[4]

Restoration[edit]
The rest of the 20th century saw a large amount of restoration and maintenance take place, as well as the castle being opened to visitors.[5] The Butler Gallery, in the castle basement, holds rotating exhibitions put on by the Kilkenny Art Gallery Society in a venue named for Peggy and Hubert Butler.

There are ornamental gardens on the city side of the castle, and extensive land and gardens to the front. It has become one of the most visited tourist sites in Ireland. Now a property in state care. Part of the National Art Gallery is on display in the castle.

Excavations and building surveys by Ben Murtagh in the 1990s revealed traces of an earlier castle, exposed a postern gate (side entrance) and section of the castle ditch facing on to the Parade (now visible), and also partly uncovered the lost south-east side of the castle.

The entrance was through the (now missing) east wall. Various other features of the original castle have also been excavated, including original stone buttressing and a garderobe. Parts of this castle survive to the present day but the castle has changed over centuries. The south curtain wall is long gone, the elaborate entrance gate is a 17th-century addition, and in much of what can be seen from the castle park side is a 19th-century reconstruction.

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Shankill Castle

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Shankill Castle and Gardens is set in parkland near Paulstown on the Carlow/Kilkenny border. Visitors are invited to walk in the grounds and gardens, and there are guided tours of the house.

Shankill Castle, Paulstown
Shankill Castle started as a Bulter tower-house near the ruins of an old church. Peter Aylward bought the lands from his wife's family, the Butlers, in 1708, and it was rebuilt and set in a formal landscape with a vista to the front and canal to the rear. In the 19th century, it was enlarged and castellated, serpentine bays added to the canal and an unusual polyhedral sundial given pride of place on a sunken lawn. Other additions were a gothic porch bearing the Aylward crest and a conservatory. The stable-yard and the castellated entrance to the demesne are attributed to Daniel Robertson. The interior preserves much of its 18th century character and features including a Georgian staircase, Gothic plasterwork and a Victorian drawing room.

A branch of the Butler family, the Toler-Aylwards resided at Shankill until 1991 and some still live in the area of Kilkenny. Shankill is now home to the artist Elizabeth Cope.



Garden[edit]
In the garden there are remnants of 18th century lime alles, 19th century laurel lawns. There are some Victorian favourites such as the now gigantic Sequoias and 20th century, self-sown ash trees. The moated garden, once a rose garden then forgotten and planted with Sitka spruces is now a spring garden, and the graveyard blooms all year round. The walled garden has an apple arch under-planted with red tulips and some antique goblet-shaped pear trees trained against a mellow brick wall.

Around Shankill Castle Gardens there are 3 significant trees which are included in the Tree Register of Ireland,[1] compiled by the Tree Council of Ireland.[2] These include a Commoime, a Wellingtonia Giant Sequoia and two Cupressus macrocarpa

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Ballaghmore Castle

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Ballaghmore Castle is a unique and beautiful place. Set in the Irish midlands in Co. Laois, it is the perfect setting for a relaxing rural break in luxurious and historic surroundings.

Situated in beautiful country side, with its renowned fishing, shooting, riding, hunting, hill walking, mountain climbing and golf.

Ballaghmore Castle can be rented weekly or weekends, for private parties, weddings etc.
Self-catering or staffed.

Accommodation is also offered in the 16th Century Manor Guest House on the grounds.

Set in 30 acres - Ballaghmore Castle provides privacy and peace.
Situated between Roscrea and Borris-on-Ossory, Ballaghmore Castle was built in 1480 by the Gaelic Chieftain MacGiollaphadraig (now called Fitzpatrick), meaning son of the servant of Patrick. Lords of Upper Ossory. They defended North Munster, strategically placed as they were on the old Irish Road. A Sheela-na-Gig carved in stone is on the front facing wall, a pagan fertility symbol to ward off evil.

Ballaghmore was partially destroyed by Cromwell's forces in 1647. It was restored in 1836 by a Mr. Ely who found a hoard of gold on the land. Ely was shot by an angry tenant and never lived in the castle. The castle was then used as a granary and afterwards fell into disuse, until the present owner Gráinne Ní Cormac, bought it in 1990 and restored it. Now furnished.

Gráinne (Grace) will delight you with stories of the history of the MacGiollaphadraigs (changed to Fitzpatrick by order of Henry 8th of England) which goes back to 500 B.C.

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Castle Durrow

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Castle Durrow is an 18th-century country house in Durrow, County Laois, Ireland. The house was built in the pre-Palladian design and formal gardens that was popular in the 18th century and is considered one of the finest country houses in Laois.[citation needed]

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 See also
3 References
4 Bibliography
History[edit]
The house was built between 1712-1716 by Colonel William Flower (lfrom 1733 Baron Castle Durrow) as a family home. In 1751 William's son Henry was created first Viscount Ashbrook, also in the Irish peerage, and the title is still extant, being held by his direct heir, Michael Flower, eleventh Viscount Ashbrook (b. 1935).

The Flower family retained ownership of the estate until 1922, when they were forced to sell up and return to England. It was bought by a Mr. Maher of Freshford, Co Kilkenny who was primarily interested in the estate's timber reserves. Eventually the Land Commission took over the arable portion of the property and the Forestry Department took over the woodland.

After standing empty for some years the house itself was transformed in 1929 into a school (St Fintan’s College and Convent) and in 1998 was purchased by Peter and Shelley Stokes and redeveloped as the luxury Castle Hotel.

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Cullahill Castle

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Cullahill Castle was the principal stronghold of the MacGillaptricks of Upper Ossory built around 1425 and destroyed around 1650.

Contents [hide]
1 Location
2 History
3 Structure
4 External links
5 References
Location[edit]
In the village of Cullahill in County Laois, Ireland. Approximately 100 metres out on the road up the nearby hill that gives the area its name.

History[edit]
Built around 1425, probably by Finghin MacGillapatrick

Reportedly came under attack on several occasions by the "sovereign and citizens of Kilkenny" under reward from King Henry VI. Such attacks were reported in 1441 and 1517.[Canon Carrigan 1]

It was attacked and partially destroyed by Cromwell's forces around 1650. It was probably attacked by cannon from a nearby hill.

It was recorded as "ruinous and uninhabitated" in 1657.

Structure[edit]
It is a tower-house rising to five storeys. Most of the northern portion, including the doorway, is missing. It is vaulted above the ground floor and has mural passages and chambers. A straight mural stairway rises to the upper levels. There are remains of mullioned windows at the higher floors of the castle.

The castle has a Sheela na Gig mounted on the outer wall behind the chimney.

Across the road lies the ruins of its chapel which was the private chapel of the Catholic lords of Upper Ossory.

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Dunamase Castle

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Dunamase Castle or The Rock of Dunamase (Irish: Dún Másc[1] "fort of Másc") is a rocky outcrop in the townland of Park or Dunamase in County Laois.[1] The rock, 46 metres (151 ft) above a flat plain, has the ruins of Dunamase Castle, a defensive stronghold dating from the early Anglo-Norman period with a view across to the Slieve Bloom Mountains. It is near the N80 road between the towns of Portlaoise and Stradbally.

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 References
3 Notes
4 External links
History[edit]
Archeological excavations in the 1990s demonstrated that the Rock was first settled in the 9th century when a hill fort or dún was constructed on the site. The first known settlement on the rock was Dun Masc, or Masc’s Fort, an early Christian settlement that was pillaged in 842 by the Vikings In 845 the Vikings of Dublin attacked the site and the abbot of Terryglass, Aed son of Dub dá Chrích, was killed there.[2] There is no clear evidence of 10th–11th century occupation.

The castle was built in the second half of the 12th century.

When the Normans arrived in Ireland in the late 1100s, Dunamase became the most important Anglo-Norman fortification in Laois. It was Dunamase where Diarmuid MacMurrough, King of Leinster, brought the wife of O'Rourke, the King of Breifne, after kidnapping her. Enlisting the help of the O'Connor clan, the O'Rourkes and O'Connors drove MacMurrough from Dunamase and he fled Ireland. MacMurrough gave Dunamase and his daughter Aoife in marriage to the Norman conqueror Strongbow in 1170 as part of a deal to enlist his help to regain his lands. It is said the first major Norman invasion of Ireland then followed when Strongbow accompanied MacMurrough, along with many men, to attack and regain MacMurrogh's lands.

Later, with the marriage of Strongbow and Aoife's daughter and heir, Isabel, the castle passed into the hands of the Marshal family. William Marshal, who later became Regent of England in the minority of Henry III, had five sons, all of whom succeeded him in turn and died without issue. So in 1247 the Marshal lands were divided among William's five daughters. Dunamase fell to Eva Marshal and then to her daughter, Maud, who was married to Roger Mortimer. The castle remained in Mortimer hands until 1330 when another Roger Mortimer was executed for treason. By the time the Mortimer family was rehabilitated the castle seems to have passed out of the area under Norman control. There is no evidence that the castle was taken over and used by the local Irish lords and it seems to have become a ruinous shell by 1350.

Nor is there evidence that the castle was reoccupied in the 17th century. It played no part in the Cromwellian wars, except that it was blown up in 1650 to prevent it being used. In the later 18th century Sir John Parnell started to build a banqueting hall within the ruins and this work incorporated medieval architectural details taken from other sites in the area. It is these features which have led some writers[who?] to believe that there was a later medieval rebuild and reoccupation of the castle.

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Lough Rynn Castle

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Lough Rynn Castle (Irish: Caisleán Loch na Reanna) is a luxury castle hotel on the shores of Lough Rynn in County Leitrim, Ireland situated on the historic grounds of the medieval castle and estate of the Mac Raghnaill family of Muintir Eolais.

Contents [hide]
1 Location
2 History
2.1 Mac Raghnaill family ( –1621)
2.2 Crofton family (1621–1750)
2.3 Clements family (1750–1970s)
2.4 William Sydney Clements, 3rd Earl of Leitrim
2.5 Extension and refurbishment of the castle (1889)
3 Hotel
3.1 Castle
3.2 Gardens
4 Photo gallery
5 References
6 Further reading
Location[edit]
Lough Rynn Castle and estate is located on an isthmus between the lakes of Lough Rynn and Lough Erril.[1] It is some 4 km from Mohill, 145 km from Dublin City on the N4 and 155 km from Galway City.[2][better source needed] The nearest airport is at Knock, 99 km away.


View towards Lough Rynn
History[edit]
Mac Raghnaill family ( –1621)[edit]
The current Lough Rynn estate is built on the ancestral lands of the Mac Raghnaill family, the pre-Conquest rulers of this part of County Leitrim known as Muintir Eolais.[1] The remains of that family's presence can be seen in Mac Raghnaill's Castle, a late medieval castle located close to the lake and some 500 metres from the existing Lough Rynn Castle.


The remains of Mac Raghnaill Castle
The structure of the Mac Raghnaill castle was, in the words of one historian,[who?] "fairly standard for the time, but it did have a few unusual - and clever - features. Although a square shape, the castle had rounded corners that made it more impervious to artillery attacks and it had a straight stairway carved into the hollow of a wall, rather than the more usual spiral stair in one corner."[1]

The Mac Raghnaill family had played an important role in the Nine Years War on the side of Aodh Mór Ó Néill resisting the English conquest of Ireland.

Crofton family (1621–1750)[edit]
In the English Plantation of 1621, the Mac Raghnaill lands in Lough Rynn were confiscated and granted to an English family named Crofton.[1] The Croftons brought British Protestant settlers with them and in the 1620s and 1630s the native Irish were gradually removed from the land.[1]

Clements family (1750–1970s)[edit]
In 1750 the Croftons were replaced by another English family named the Clements. Daniel Clements, an officer in Oliver Cromwell's army, had been granted land in County Cavan which had been confiscated from the Irish following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.[3] In 1750 Nathaniel Clements acquired the Lough Rynn estate, while remaining on his lands in Cavan.[4] Nevertheless, the Clements started to become more involved in political life in Leitrim with Robert Clements becoming sheriff for the county in 1759.[5] In 1795 Robert Clements became the first Earl of Leitrim.[5] In 1833, Robert Bermingham, Viscount Clements, built a mock Tudor revival house overlooking Lough Rynn.[6] It is this property which is the basis for the current Lough Rynn Castle.

William Sydney Clements, 3rd Earl of Leitrim[edit]
Upon Robert's death in 1839, management of Lough Rynn passed to his brother, William Sydney Clements. In 1854, when their father Nathaniel Clements, 2nd Earl of Leitrim, died William Sydney Clements became the 3rd Earl of Leitrim. He inherited an estate of a massive 90,000 acres which stretched across four counties.[4] From around this time Sydney Clements asserted his control over the estate in an authoritarian manner which won him many opponents among the tenantry. The inability of tenants to pay rent during and after An Gorta Mór provided him with an opportunity to clear his estate and introduce more productive farming practices. The change in attitude towards tenants by this new Lord Leitrim is seen four years after he assumed his father's title. In 1858, in a nationally reported event, Clements assembled one thousand armed military and police to repossess the local Gortletteragh Church for non-payment of rent, rent which his liberally-minded father had refused to take. However, some six thousand men turned up from Longford, Westmeath, Roscommon and across Leitrim on the day to defend the church, forcing Clements to back down.[7] The Nation noted at this time that Lord Leitrim was `already famous for such proceedings towards his tenantry as not many even of his own order dare imitate'.[7] By 1860 Sydney Clements had firmly abandoned the liberal cause which his brother and father had supported and had become a staunch supporter of the Conservatives. He became more reactionary against the many calls for land reform which dominated post-Famine Ireland. In 1870 he spoke out vehemently against William Gladstone's first Irish Land Act, believing it to be an encroachment on the rights of property owners.[7]

During the 1860s hatred towards Sydney Clements grew in the surrounding area and stories began to be told of his mistreatment of the wives and daughters of local men. In September 1860 James Murphy from Mohill fired a loaded pistol at him, two days after sending him a note challenging him to a duel to 'take satisfaction for your ruffianly conduct towards my wife'.[7] An additional attempt to shoot him followed in the 1860s. By the 1870s Lord Leitrim was arguably the most infamous landlord in Ireland, symbolising 'evil at its worst'.[8] In Donegal in particular Sydney Clements was the object of deep resentment and had to travel under armed military escort. In 1878 Sydney Clements engaged in a wholesale eviction of his tenants there, many of whom were starving as a result of the famine which hit northwest Ireland in 1878/79. On 2 April 1878 three men, Michael Heraghty, Michael McElwee and Neil Sheils, ambushed and killed William Sydney Clements, 3rd Lord Leitrim, at Cratlagh Wood near Milford, County Donegal.[8]

Leitrim's assassination received widespread publicity in Ireland and abroad, with proponents of land reform using it as evidence of the need to protect tenants from the abuses of tyrannical landlords. His funeral in Dublin was marked by further riots, while none of the three assassins were convicted of his death.[8]

Extension and refurbishment of the castle (1889)[edit]
The inheritor of the Lough Rynn estate was Sydney Clements' English-educated cousin who lived in Cavan, Colonel Henry Theophilus Clements, rather than the heir presumptive to the title who lived in England. This Colonel Clements embarked on an extensive expansion and refurbishment of the castle. He added a new wing, built a Baronial Hall designed by Thomas Drew with heavy plaster cornices, a large ornate Inglenook fireplace, and a fretted ceiling and walls wainscoted in solid English oak.[9] Upon its completion in 1889, the principal floor of the house contained a main hall, Baronial Hall, chapel, reception room, living room and dining room. Two pantries, a kitchen, study, smokehouse and store were accessed by a separate entrance. In the basement there were stores and a wine cellar. There were fourteen bedrooms and four bathrooms upstairs.[9]

By 1952, when Marcus Clements took over the Lough Rynn estate, most of it had been sold off to former tenants under the land acts of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Clements lived there until the 1970s. The estate remained largely empty until 1990 when it was purchased by an Irish-American investor, Michael Flaherty.[9] In the early twenty-first century Lough Rynn was purchased by the current owners, the Hanly family. They invested substantially in overhauling and modernising the house and estates. In September 2006 when Lough Rynn Castle finally opened as a hotel, the estate extended to three hundred acres. [10]


Castle[edit]
Lough Rynn Castle Hotel now has forty-two bedrooms, a baronial hall, a library named after John McGahern, drawing room, piano room, bar, the award-winning Sandstone restaurant, as well as conference, bar and wedding facilities for up to three hundred guests in an adjoining function room. It is fully wheelchair accessible.[11][third-party source needed]



Gardens[edit]
A four-hundred-year-old oak tree still exists on the grounds of the estate, as does a Bronze Age tomb named Cloch an Draoi ('Druid's Altar') on The Druid's Hill between Lough Erril ("Lough Errew") and Lough Rynn, which can be dated between 1900BC and 300BC

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Manorhamilton Castle

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Manorhamilton Castle & Heritage Centre[edit]
The ruins of Manorhamilton Castle[6] has recently been impressively renovated transforming it into a fascinating tourist attraction. The Castle was erected in 1634 by Sir Frederick Hamilton who was granted land in North Leitrim by the English government. The land had been confiscated from the O'Rourkes, the ruling clan of Breifne. Hamilton was a very unpopular overlord and faced frequent native rebellion before the Castle was burned by the Earls of Clanrickard (Burkes) in 1652. Manorhamilton Castle Heritage Centre hosts a permanent exhibition and offers guided tours of the Castle ruins and grounds.

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Parke’s Castle

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Parke’s Castle Rising three storeys tall, in an idyllic setting on the banks of Lough Gill, in County Leitrim, Ireland, is a plantation era castle. In 1610 Roger Parke completed his fortified manor house on the site of an earlier fifteenth-century O'Rourke (Uí Ruairc) castle. He kept the walls of the original bawn - a spacious pentagonal defensive area - and demolished the O'Rourke tower house in the centre. The stones of O’Rourke’s tower were used to build the three-storey manor on the eastern side, eventually adorned with mullioned windows and diamond-shaped chimneys.

One of two round flankers guarding the north side of the bawn forms one end of the manor. The other end has the gate building with an arched entrance leading into the enclosure. Inside the courtyard are many stone work buildings and a covered well. There are also a postern gate and a sally port; through there are no flankers on the lakeshore. This may be explained by the likelihood that the water level was 3 meters higher in the seventeenth century and would have lapped up against the bawn walls. These waters may have fed the moat that formerly surrounded the bawn. Excavations in 1972-73 revealed the base of the original O'Rourke tower house beneath the courtyard cobbles, and this is now exposed to view. It was in this tower house that Francisco de Cuellar, the shipwrecked Armada officer, was entertained by Brian O'Rourke. In later years, de Cuellar was to write of his host: "Although this chief is a savage, he is a good Christian and an enemy of the heretics and is always at war with them.” O'Rourke was eventually captured, indicted and executed for high treason in London in 1591. The Parkes, who subsequently acquired his confiscated property, remained at Newtown, or Leitrim Castle - as it was formerly known - until the end of the seventeenth century, when it was deserted.


The castle had extensive and sensitive restoration carried out at the end of the 20th century by the Office of Public Works. The window glazing was reinstated, and local artisans restored the timber stair and the mortise and tenon oak roof, using techniques of the 17th century.

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Bourchier's Castle

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Bourchier's Castle after Sir George Bourchier, the son of the second Earl of Bath,[2] it lies at the neck of the peninsula around which the lake washes. There is some other architecture dating from more recent times, with the ruins of an early Christian church by the road leading down to the lake.

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Black Castle

Black Castle,At the far end of the lake are the ruins of a Norman castle, ] which is reached by a hill-side walk along the east side of the lake. This is one of the keeps used during the Desmond Rebellions, and is probably the place where the Earl of Desmond secured his authority in 1573 after casting off his English apparel and donning Irish garments on his return to Munster from London.

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Castle Oliver

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Castle Oliver (also Clonodfoy) is a Victorian mock castle in the south part of County Limerick, Ireland. Built for entertaining rather than for defense, it has a ballroom, drawing room, library, morning room, dining room and hall which feature hand-painted ceilings, decorated ornamental corbels, superbly executed stained glass windows and stencil work. The castle stands on massive terraces and has a commanding view over much of its former 20,000-acre (81 km2) estate. The castle has Ireland's largest wine cellar, said to hold approximately 55,000 bottles. As of May 2014, Castle Oliver is open to the public in conjunction with Limerick city of Culture for House tours. The castle will be open from Saturday 31st May to Sunday 28th September 2014 for weekends and bank holidays only.

History[edit]
The lands where the castle stands were settled in about 1658 by Capt. Robert Oliver, one of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers. The present castle replaced the former Castle Oliver, which stood a thousand yards to the south-west and was the birthplace of Eliza Oliver, mother of the notorious Lola Montez, who became the lover and favourite of King Ludwig I of Bavaria.

The castle was for many years known as Clonodfoy, a contraction of an earlier Irish place name: Cloch an Otbhaidhigh, meaning 'the stone structure of Otway', Otway being an Anglo-Norman family name.

Capt. Robert Oliver's descendant Richard Oliver married a Yorkshire heiress through whom he inherited substantial wealth and property in West Yorkshire and moved away to live in Parlington Hall near Wetherby, leaving Castle Oliver to deteriorate in the hands of a bailiff. Their daughters, Mary Isabella and Elizabeth Oliver Gascoigne, both married members of the Trench family of Woodlawn, Galway. The younger sister, Elizabeth, married Frederic Mason Trench, 2nd Baron Ashtown in 1852. The sisters were highly accomplished artisans, designing and executing both the stained glass work and verre eglomise (back-painted glass panels) which ornamented the ballroom fireplace. Much of their work has survived. The elder sister, Mary Isabella, was a highly skilled wood-turner who published (under a male pseudonym) an authoritative book on the subject, "The Art of Wood-Turning", still a respected source of information on the subject.


The sisters commissioned the present castle in 1845. It was designed by the York architect George Fowler Jones in the Scottish Baronial style and built in a local pink sandstone, quarried on the estate. Fowler Jones had designed several substantial commissions for the sisters in the north of England, including almshouses and churches. Whilst Mary Isabella and her husband made their home in the Yorkshire seat of the Gascoignes (Parlington Hall), Elizabeth and her husband occupied Castle Oliver. The house was later inherited by Elizabeth's step-grandson, the Honourable William Cosby Trench.

The last member of the Trench family to live at Castle Oliver, Mrs Lynn Trench, sold the property to the racing driver Billy Coleman in 1978. After that the castle changed hands several times, eventually becoming the property of a local bank, who broke up the remaining land, farm and lodges into separate lots. The castle itself failed to find a buyer and languished into decay, falling prey to vandals and thieves. It appeared in the book "Vanishing Houses of Ireland", published by the Irish Georgian Society.

In 1988 it was purchased by the late Damian Haughton, who according to the subsequent owner, put a halt to most of the worst leaks in the roof. In 1998 it was purchased by Nicholas Browne, who continued the restoration work and transformed it back into a habitable residence. In 2006 it passed to the present owners Declan and Emma Cormack, who completed high-grade restoration work and have made the castle their home.

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Croom Castle

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Croom or Crom Castle, also called the Castle of Crom, is a historic castle in the town of Croom, County Limerick, that is notable for its occupation as one of the principal residences of the Kildare branch of the FitzGerald dynasty. Their ancient war cry and motto "Crom a Boo", or in Irish "Crom Abu", comes from the strategic fortress. Before the FitzGeralds it was the site of an earlier fortress of the O'Donovans.

It is located on a strategic bend in the River Maigue, from whence its name Cromadh, or "Bend in the River".

O'Donovan fortress[edit]
The territory in which Croom lies was up until the period of the Norman invasion of Ireland the domain of the ancient Uí Cairpre Áebda (Cairbre Eva), of whom the O'Donovans were the leading family until the early 13th century, when the MacCarthy line gained control of the sept. The Ui Chairpre were a member of the larger regional kingdom of the Uí Fidgenti, the remains of which were at this point sandwiched between the Kingdom of Desmond to the south and Kingdom of Thomond to the north, rivals of each other. The Uí Fidgenti were pressured by Domnall Mór Ua Briain in 1178,[1] but some O'Donovans remained in the area, and according to Samuel Lewis in his 1837 Topographical Description of Ireland, one Dermot O'Donovan erected the first known fortress at Croom sometime during the reign of John of England,[2] or perhaps shortly before. According to Lewis this was to secure the country which they had recently taken from the MacEnirys (their Ui Fidgheinte kinsmen). But the lineage of the O'Donovans is associated with Croom much earlier: in a manuscript dating from the 1130s, where they are mentioned in the Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil.[3] In this instance, an O'Donovan ancestor, Uaithne mac Cathail (circa 960 a.d.), is mentioned and associated with Cromadgh, the spelling for Croom in use in the mid-12th century.

Some O'Donovan oral traditions note that the O'Donovans of Carbery are descended from Crom Ua Donnabáin (died 1254), noted in annals as Ancrom, or "The Bent", and also associate him with the building of the Castle of Croom,[4] but this association of Ancrom with the Castle of Croom based on the similarities in name and spelling has been discredited repeatedly. [5]

An early account from around 1690 does not mention a builder of the castle by name:[6]

“ ... the O'Donovans, a family of royal extraction amongst the Irish. They came hither from Coshma, in the County of Limerick, and built there the famous Castle of Crome, which, afterwards, falling to the Earl of Kildare, gave him his motto of "Crome aboo," still used on his skutcheon. ”
One branch of the O'Donovans and a remnant of the UI-Fidgheinte has been resident in Croom almost continuously for more than eight centuries, with their current farm being held for more than three centuries, but have not occupied the tower castle since the Earls of Kildare established their residence there.

It is believed that the tower castle was built in the early 1200s, following earlier attacks on the town. One such attack was noted in 1151, when a great predatory excursion was made by Ruaidhri, son of Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair, into Thomond, and he carried away many cows, and burned Cromadh.[7]

Today, the castle is little more than a large, undistinguished ruin. Two walls of the tower remain standing, though both have collapsed to about half of their original height, with the other two walls of the tower collapsed into a very large pile of rocks and bricks.

[Fairlie]

Dromore Castle

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Dromore Castle is a house in Templenoe, County Kerry, Ireland, looking out over the Kenmare River. It was built in the 1830s for the Mahony family to a neo-gothic design by Sir Thomas Deane.

Contents [hide]
1 Building
2 History
3 Grounds
4 References
5 See also
Building[edit]
Dromore Castle was designed and built for Denis Mahony by the architect Thomas Deane, probably assisted by his brother Kearns Deane. Work began in 1831, although the account books show that only a negligible amount had been carried out before May 1834. Building work was completed in 1839.

The house is in the castellated Gothic Revival style, with an external finish of Roman Cement with limestone dressings. With the notable exception of the grand south facing window with its pointed arch, the windows consist of pointed tracery contained within rectangular frames, a style characteristic of Deane's domestic work. The entrance hall, which is in the form of a long gallery, takes up half of the area of the ground floor. The west wing of the Castle takes the form of a round tower, with a spiral staircase contained within an attached turret.

History[edit]
Although Dromore Castle appears to have been built on the instructions of Denis Mahony, his father John Mahony had made the decision to build a large home earlier in the 19th century, but apparently abandoned the attempt after his yacht, returning from London with lead for the roof and wine for the cellar, sank in the Kenmare River, in view of the site of the house. After this, no further work took place until Deane began building work for Denis Mahony in the 1830s

Denis Mahony was a minister of the Church of Ireland and a keen proselytiser. He is known to have set up a soup kitchen at Dromore during the time of the Irish Potato Famine, and preached in the chapel at Dromore to the hungry who came for food. His proselytizing activities did not make him a popular figure in the locality, and in 1850 he was attacked in his church at Templenoe. On returning to Dromore, he found a further angry group had uprooted flower beds, felled trees and were about to set fire to the castle; it is claimed that they were only stopped by the intervention of the local Catholic priest, Fr John O'Sullivan.

After Rev. Denis Mahony's death in 1851, the castle was inherited by his son Richard John Mahony, who successfully ran the estate in addition to farming oyster beds in the bay. When Richard Mahony died, the castle then passed in turn to his son, Harold Segerson Mahony.

Harold Mahony was a successful tennis player, and indeed was the last Irish winner at Wimbledon. His tennis court can still be found in the gardens at the Castle. It was in the late 1800s, during Harold Mahony's time as head of the household, that Harold Boulton, best known for writing the lyrics of the Skye Boat Song, came to visit Dromore, and it is then that he is thought to have written the words to the popular song "The Castle of Dromore," published in 1892 in English and later translated into Irish.[1]

When Harold Mahony was killed in a bicycle accident in 1905, he left no heirs, and the castle was passed to his sister, Norah Hood. She in turn left the castle to her cousin, Hugh Bolton Waller, and the castle remained in the hands of the Waller family until 1993 when it was offered for sale. Dromore Castle is now owned by an investment company who are attempting to restore the house.

Grounds[edit]
Beyond the Castle's gardens and outbuildings, the majority of the Castle grounds are now owned by Coillte Teoranta, the Irish forestry board. The Kerry Way runs through the grounds, and there are various footpaths leading to the Kenmare River. Entrance to the grounds from the N70 road between Kenmare and Sneem is through a castellated gatehouse, also by Thomas Deane.

[Fairlie]

King John's Castle

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King John's Castle (Irish: Caisleán Luimnigh) is a 13th-century castle located on King's Island in Limerick, Ireland, next to the River Shannon.[1] Although the site dates back to 922 when the Vikings lived on the Island, the castle itself was built on the orders of King John in 1200. One of the best preserved Norman castles in Europe, the walls, towers and fortifications remain today and are visitor attractions.[2] The remains of a Viking settlement were uncovered during archaeological excavations at the site in 1900.[3]

Contents [hide]
1 Before the Castle
2 Early History
3 Siege of Limerick
4 2013 Redevelopment
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Before the Castle[edit]
The Viking sea-king, Thormodr Helgason, built the first permanent Viking stronghold on Inis Sibhtonn (King's Island) in 922. He used the base to raid the length of the River Shannon from Lough Derg to Lough Ree, pillaging ecclesiastical settlements. In 937 the Limerick Vikings clashed with those of Dublin on Lough Ree and were defeated. In 943 they were defeated again when the chief of the local Dalcassian clan joined with Ceallachán, king of Munster and the Limerick Vikings were forced to pay tribute to the clans. The power of the Vikings never recovered, and they were reduced to the level of a minor clan, however often playing pivotal parts in the endless power struggles of the next few centuries.

Early History[edit]
The arrival of the Anglo-Normans to the area in 1172 changed everything. Domhnall Mór Ó Briain burned the city to the ground in 1174 in a bid to keep it from the hands of the new invaders. After he died in 1194, the Anglo-Normans finally captured the area in 1195 under John, Lord of Ireland. In 1197, local legend claims Limerick was given its first charter and its first Mayor, Adam Sarvant. A castle, built on the orders of King John and bearing his name, was completed around 1210.
The castle was built on the boundary of the River Shannon in order to protect the city from the Gaelic kingdoms to the west and from any rebellion by Norman lords to the east and south.[citation needed] Under the general peace imposed by the Norman rule, Limerick prospered as both a port and a trading centre, partly due to the castle acting as a watchdog on any cargo passing through the port of Limerick.[4] By this time the city was divided into an area became known as "English Town" on King's Island, while another settlement, named "Irish Town" had grown on the south bank of the river. The town of Limerick became so wealthy during this era King John set up a mint in the North West corner of the castle, with pennies and half pennies from this time available to see in Limerick museum today.[4] A 1574 document prepared for the Spanish ambassador attests to its wealth:

Limerick is stronger and more beautiful than all the other cities of Ireland, well walled with stout walls of hewn marble... There is no entrance except by stone bridges, one of the two of which has 14 arches, and the other 8 ... for the most part the houses are of square stone of black marble and built in the form of towers and fortresses.[citation needed]
Siege of Limerick[edit]
The walls of the castle were severely damaged in the 1642 Siege of Limerick, the first of five sieges of the city in the 17th century. In 1642, the castle was occupied by Protestants fleeing the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and was besieged by an Irish Confederate force under Garret Barry. Barry had no siege artillery so he undermined the walls of King John's Castle by digging away their foundations. Those inside surrendered just before Barry collapsed the walls. However, such was the damage done to the wall's foundations that a section of them had to be pulled down afterward.


2013 Redevelopment[edit]
During the period 2011-2013 the castle underwent a massive redevelopment, with €5.7m being spent to improve the visitor facilities of the castle. The redevelopment was completed by the same people who did the Titanic Exhibition in Northern Ireland. Among the improvements were a brand new visitor centre, interactive exhibitions with computer generated animations, and a cafe with views onto the courtyard and the river.

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Rockstown Castle

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Rockstown Castle is a ruined Irish tower house from medieval times in County Limerick, Ireland.
It is a located near the village of Ballyneety,[2] 7 miles (11 km) from the city of Limerick.

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Springfield Castle,

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Springfield Castle, Broadford, is situated in the west part of County Limerick, Ireland, close to the town of Newcastlewest.

The castle is a group of buildings around a courtyard, comprising two stone keeps, or towers; one 15th-century, one 18th-century, a range of workshops and stables and the modernised remains of an 18th-century servants' wing.

In 1280 the Norman Fitzgerald family settled at the site, then known as Gort na Tiobrad. The Fitzgeralds married into the local ruling class, the Gaelic O'Colleains and assumed the title Lords of Claonghlais. During the 15th century their descendants built a stone keep. Though unrestored, the keep is largely intact and contains a fine example of a mural staircase (stone steps built within the thickness of the external wall).

During the mid-17th century the Fitzgeralds gave shelter and patronage to the Irish poet Dáibhí Ó Bruadair (1625–1698), who wrote an elegy about the family, as well as recording their lives and exploits.[1]

As the family prospered, a second keep was built during the 18th century to garrison soldiers.

In 1691, following the confiscation of their lands by the King of England, the Fitzgeralds left Springfield and returned to France. The property was bought by William Fitzmaurice, a younger son of the 20th Lord Kerry. His son, John Fitzmaurice, built a large three-storey mansion in Early Georgian style, adjacent to the 13th-century keep, which survived until the Irish Republican Army burnt it down in 1921.

In 1780 Ann Fitzmaurice, sole heiress, married Sir Robert Deane, 1st Baron Muskerry. Following the fire in 1921, Sir Robert Deane, 5th Baron Muskerry rebuilt the Georgian mansion's servants wing and renovated parts of the other buildings. It is these parts of the complex, with 200 acres (81 ha) of land and several lodges, which are today inhabited by his descendants. The castle is owned by Robert Deane, 9th Baron Muskerry.

[Tricia]

Some great reading in these castles thanx for posting Fairlie.

[Fairlie]

Castle Bellingham

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Castlebellingham (Irish: Baile an Ghearlánaigh) is a village and townland in County Louth, Ireland. The village has become a lot quieter since the construction of the new M1 motorway which bypasses the village. Because of its proximity to Dublin and Dundalk, the village has seen an influx of new inhabitants and construction.

Contents [hide]
1 History and Features of Note
2 Transport
3 References
4 External links
5 See also
History and Features of Note[edit]

Castle Bellingham, Co. Louth
The castle of Castlebellingham has served as one of the ancestral homes for Bellinghams since the 17th century. It was purchased and built somewhere around 1660 by a Henry Bellingham who was a cornet in the Army during the Civil war. He purchased the lands of Gernonstowne, Louth, from a fellow soldier who had been granted them in lieu of arrears of pay. The purchase was confirmed by King Charles II.[1][2]

There is some variation on the spelling of Gernonstowne. On various maps and other documents it is spelled Gernonstowne, Gernonstown, Gernon's-Town, Gormanstown, Germanstown, Garlandstown, Garland, etc. Irish road signs show the English as Castlebellingham while the Irish translation still refers to baile an Ghearlanaigh - or Gernonstown. It was not called Castlebellingham for at least forty years after the purchase. The name does not appear on any document before the year 1700. About 1710 it began to appear in journals and other sources to be called Castlebellingham.[2]

The castle was occupied by troops and burned down in the autumn of 1689 by King James II in revenge for Colonel Thomas Bellingham being a guide for William III, prior to the Battle of the Boyne.[2] It is said that King William's armies camped the night before the Battle of the Boyne in the grounds of the castle.[3]

Over time Castlebellingham became known as an important gathering point in the county. Fairs were held there every year. A church was constructed next door to the castle and graveyard with a family vault was built. The Bellinghams became one of the most powerful and influential family in the county. For over a hundred years a Bellingham held the seat in Parliament for county Louth.[2]

Records also note Castlebellingham for having "the best malt liquor" in Ireland. Apparently a brewery was built on site about 1770 and belonged to an O'Bryen Bellingham. For a number of years a brewery partnership ran their liquor business.[2] The brewery is still there but now houses the "button factory" or Smallwares Ltd. The brewery was the main supplier of drink to the Boer War troops.

A history of the parish, dated 1908, states that the impressive Calvary standing close to the Castle was erected by Sir Henry Bellingham as a monument to the memory of his first wife Lady Constance.[3] A collection of inset religious panels is to be seen on the upper facades of many of the village buildings. These are also a reflection of Sir Henry's religious sentiments, and they are unique in Ireland. In addition to the many panels, there are biblical quotations cut into the stone window sills of some buildings. North of the castle is a carefully preserved group of "widows dwellings", built from charitable motives by Sir Henry.

Castlebellingham was the ancestral home of the Baronetcy until the late 1950s. It was purchased by Dermot Meehan in 1958 from the Irish Land Commission for £3,065.00. Meehan spent several years converting the house into the Bellingham Castle Hotel, which remains today. Meehan sold the hotel and 17 acres in 1967 for £30,636.61. The hotel, including the 17 acres, was offered for sale at €1,500,000 in 2011. The last Bellingham to live there was Brigadier General Sir Edward Bellingham, born in 1879, who was the last Lord Lieutenant and Guardian of the Rolls (Custos Rotulorum).[3]

In December 2012, it was announced that the Corscadden family, who own and run Cabra Castle Hotel in Kingscourt, Co Cavan and Ballyseede Castle Hotel in Tralee, Co Kerry, purchased Bellingham Castle. They are currently renovating the property and will transform the 19-bedroom castle into an exclusive hotel and wedding venue. It will open for business in January 2014.

The town is home to the Gaelic football team the O'Connell's. In 2012, the team had resounding success winning their first Intermediate Championship. After victories over Laois and Meath opposition, they narrowly lost to Monasterevin of Kildare in the Leinster final.

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Castle Roche

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Castle Roche ("Castleroche") is a Norman castle located some 10 km (7 miles) north-west of Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. It was the seat of the De Verdun family (also spelt De Verdon), who built the castle in 1236 AD. [1]

It is built upon a large rocky outcrop and commands extensive views of the surrounding country. Together with a deep moat its strong walls rendered it virtually impregnable. A secret passage once connected the castle to a round tower outpost. St. Ronan's Well lies nearby.

History[edit]
The De Verdun family of Belton, Leicestershire and Alton, Staffordshire had a history in the region, Bertram de Verdun arriving as part of John's first expedition to Ireland. By 1185 he had erected a manor house at Castletown Mount and subsequently obtained the town's charter in 1189.

Bertram's granddaughter Rohesia de Verdun[2] from Alton, England was married to Theobald le Botiller, 2nd Chief Butler of Ireland. After her husband’s sudden death whist travelling in Poitou, France, she moved to her lands in Ireland. She immediately set about fortifying the land with a castle. However, her quick tempered reputation deterred all potential architects. She then offered her hand in marriage (and thereby a share in her wealth) to the man who would build the castle to her liking. Local legend has it, after their wedding banquet in the newly completed castle, she invited her husband to the bridal suite and urged him to view their estate from the large bedroom window. Taking no chances with the castle’s secrets, she promptly pushed her new husband from the window, where he plummeted towards his death. [3] The window was known thereafter as the Murder Window. Rohesia became a nun in Gracedieu Priory, Leicestershire, died there in 1247 and was buried in nearby Belton parish church where her effigy may be seen. Although it is generally accepted that Rohesia originally commissioned the castle, much of it is thought to have been added by her son by Theobald; John. [4]The name "Castle Roche" is thought to be derived from Rohesia's Castle.

The site of the castle held a strategic position on the frontier between the (then) exclusively Gaelic province of Ulster, and the Anglo-Norman territory known as The Pale and controlled the pass into what is now South Armagh. The de Verdon family held the site for many years. Nicholas de Verdon (who died in 1316) was in charge during the Bruce Invasion by Edward Bruce, brother of Robert the Bruce. A hosting of all English forces in Ireland took place here in 1561 but the castle was finally laid to ruin in 1641, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

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Darver Castle

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Darver Castle is a fortified tower and manor house located in Readypenny, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland dating back to the 12th century. The name "Darver" is derived from the Gaelic word "Dairbhe" meaning "Oakwood."

History[edit]
Following the second stage Norman invasion of Ireland in 1171, Henry II of England granted 500 acres of land to Patrick Babe, who erected a fortified tower on some high ground within the land granted to him. The original buildings on the site of Darver castle would have been wooden; the stone tower visible today was added circa 1432. Despite preparations for the possibility of a siege, there is no record of any siege being attempted at Darver castle.

In 1740 the Babe family sold Darver castle to Ranfal Booth and Booths descendants lived at Darver until 1980. In 1997 the castle was sold to the Carville family, who have renovated and refurbished it, turning it into a luxury hotel, wedding venue and restaurant.[

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Aghalard Castle

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Aghalard Castle (Irish: Caislen Aghalard) is a ruined tower castle south of Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. Built in c.1490 by the descendants of the McDonnells of Knocknacloy who had become Gallóglaigh to the Burkes of Mayo. The castle consisted of a three-storey tower with square turrets, enclosed by a bawn. The castle was captured in 1596 by Edward Brabazon, 1st Baron Ardee, Ulick Burke, 3rd Earl of Clanricarde and James Riabhach Darcy, however it was evacuated shortly afterwards upon hearing of the approach of Hugh Roe Ó Donnell. It remained in possession of the McDonnells until bought by Sir Benjamin Guinness in the 19th century.

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Ashford Castle

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Ashford Castle is a medieval castle that has been expanded over the centuries and turned into a five star luxury hotel near Cong on the Mayo-Galway border, on the shore of Lough Corrib in Ireland. It is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World organisation and was previously owned by the Guinness family.

Contents [hide]
1 Early history
2 Victorian rebuilding
3 Hotel
4 2011 public right of way controversy
5 Notes and references
6 External links
Early history[edit]
A castle was built on this Monastic site in 1228 by the Anglo-Norman House of Burke.[1]

After more than three-and-a-half centuries under the de Burgos, whose surname became Burke or Bourke, Ashford passed into the hands of a new master, following a fierce battle between the forces of the de Burgos and those of the English official Sir Richard Bingham, Lord President of Connaught, when a truce was agreed. In 1589, the castle fell to Bingham, who added a fortified enclave within its precincts.[citation needed]

Dominick Browne, of the Browne Family (Baron Oranmore) received the estate in a Royal Grant in either 1670 or 1678.[2] In 1715, the estate of Ashford was established by the Browne family and a hunting lodge in the style of a 17th-century French chateau was constructed. The double-headed eagles still visible on the roof represent the coat of arms of the Brownes.[1]

In the late 18th-century a branch of the family inhabited the castle. In the early 19th-century, one Thomas Elwood was agent for the Brownes at Ashford and was recorded as living there in 1814.[3]

Victorian rebuilding[edit]

The estate was purchased in 1852 by Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness from the Encumbered Estates' Court.[4] He added two large Victorian style extensions.[1] He also extended the estate to 26,000 acres (110 km2), built new roads and planted thousands of trees. The castle was drawn for Sir William Wilde's book about County Galway.[5] On Benjamin's death in 1868, the estate passed to his son Lord Ardilaun who expanded the building further in the neogothic style.[4]

Lord Ardilaun was an avid gardener who oversaw the development of massive woodlands and rebuilt the entire west wing of the castle, designed by architects James Franklin Fuller and George Ashlin. The new construction connected the early 18th-century part in the east with two de-Burgo-time towers in the west. Battlements were added to the whole castle.[1]

He also subsidised the operation of several steamboats, the most notable of which was the Lady Eglinton, which plied between the villages of the Upper Lough Corrib region and Galway City, thus opening the area to increased commerce. In a time of agitation by tenant farmers in the Land Wars of the late 19th century, epitomised by the action of tenants at nearby Lough Mask House (home of Captain Charles Boycott), he was considered by many to be an 'improving' landlord. Some of his efforts were unsuccessful, particularly the Cong Canal, also known as 'the Dry Canal', which was built to link Lough Mask and Lough Corrib but was a failure, due to its inability to hold water. Despite such setbacks, the love borne by him and his wife Olive, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Bantry, for the castle and the estate was deep and best epitomised by that fact that when he was ennobled in 1880 he derived his title from the island of Ardilaun, which formed part of the estate on Lough Corrib.[citation needed]

Hotel[edit]

Autumn Leaves at Ashford Castle
The Castle passed to Ardilaun's nephew Ernest Guinness.[citation needed] It was sold to the Irish government in 1939.[4]

Noel Huggard opened the estate as a hotel, which became renowned for the provision of its country pursuits, such as angling and shooting. Noel Huggard's parents had been in the hotel business in Waterville, County Kerry, since 1910 and his grand daughters, Louise and Paula, run The Butler Arms Hotel there to this day.[citation needed]


Main gate at the entrance to the castle grounds
In 1951, the film director John Ford came to the west of Ireland to film The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. The grounds of the castle, as well as nearby Cong, formed the backdrop for much of the action in the film.

In 1970, the castle was bought by John Mulcahy, who oversaw its complete restoration and expansion, doubling its size with the addition of a new wing in the early 1970s, building a golf course and developing the grounds and gardens. In 1985, a group of Irish American investors, which included Chuck Feeney and Tony O'Reilly, purchased Ashford. The Castle was sold by these investors in 2007 for €50 million to Galway-based property investor Gerry Barrett and his family.[6] While some of Barrett's extensive property loans were to be managed by the Irish National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), Ashford was financed by Bank of Scotland (Ireland),[7] who placed the property in receivership in November 2011,[8] though the hotel continued as a going concern, run by the Tifco Hotel Group, an Irish hotel management company.[9] In September 2012, it was voted the best resort in Ireland and the third best in Europe by Condé Nast Traveler.[10]

In October 2012, the hotel was put up for sale and was valued at around €25 million, half of what Barrett paid in 2007. The hotel currently has 83 bedrooms, six of which are suites. Barret's plan to add another 13 penthouse bedrooms and 30 lodges in the castle grounds has not gone through.[11] In May 2013, the hotel was bought by Red Carnation Hotels, a group which owns several other boutique hotels, for €20 million. The new owner plans a major refurbishment and the sale is expected to preserve the roughly 160 jobs (high season, dropping to 120 in low season)[12] at the property. According to the receiver, Ashford Castle was profitable even during the period of receivership.[13] Niall Rochford, long-time manager of the property, has said that staff accepted a 20% to 30% paycut to ensure the hotel's survival.[12]


In January 2014, the new owners acquired neighbouring Lisloughrey Lodge, with plans to add it to the resort. Ashford Castle itself was scheduled to reopen on 14 March after major refurbishment that began in early January.[14][15]

Today, most of the guests come from the United States (60 percent; 30 percent from Ireland; 10 percent from elsewhere), with Californians accounting for the largest share.[12]

In its time the castle has played host to many notable guests, including: King George V and his consort Queen Mary; John Lennon; George Harrison; Oscar Wilde (whose father, Sir William Wilde, had an estate adjacent to Ashford, where the writer spent much of his childhood); President Ronald Reagan; Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; US Senator Ted Kennedy; John Wayne; Brad Pitt; Pierce Brosnan; and Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his consort, Princess Grace.

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Deel Castle

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Deel Castle (Caoslean na Daoile in Irish) was built in the 16th century by the Bourkes and later renamed Castle Gore. It is located near the town of Crossmolina, County Mayo, in Ireland
History[edit]
As the name suggests, the translation means "the Castle of the River Deel". Deel Castle is a 16th-century tower house of the Bourkes which is close to the northern end of Lough Conn. After Col. Thomas Bourke had fought on the side of King James in the Williamite Wars, the property was forfeited and given to the Gore family, afterwards Earls of Arran, who renamed it Castle Gore. The tower house had a large 18th-century wing with a handsome rusticated doorway added to it; possibly incorporating a 17th-century range. They also acquired the Manor of Belleek from the O'Haras, Barons Tyrawley, and owned estates in county Donegal. The castle along with other lands was leased to James Cuff, Lord Tyrawley towards the end of the 18th century. Occupied by the Cuff's steward for part of the 19th century. James Cuff, Lord Tyrawley, built a house beside the Old Bourke Castle in 1791. The house was burnt in 1922 and not rebuilt. The old castle, which was still intact in the early 20th century, is now a ruin

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Doon Castle

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Doon Castle (Westport) There is little remaining of Doon Castle (Irish: Caisleán an Dúin, meaning "Fort Castle"), situated on a hill in the townland of the same name, in the parish of Aughagower approximately four miles from Westport in County Mayo.

In 1133 Cormac MacCarthy and Conor O'Brien invaded Connaught and plundered much of the county, destroying Dún Mughdhord (Doon Castle) and Dunmore.[1]

The Norman Castle of Doon appears to have been built on the site of the old Irish Dún Mughdhord.[2] The castle has almost disappeared.[2] The castle is in the townland of Dooncastle.[2] According to local accounts, the stones of the castle were used by Lord Sligo in the building of Westport House.[2] The castle is on a hill 150 feet in height and gave excellent views to the east and southeast to Islandeady and Aille, where the other McPhilpin castles were.[2] The space on the hill is in the shape of an ellipse 40-60 yards x 20 yards.[2] The castle was rectangular and measured about 40 feet x 27 feet.[2] The space between the main castle and the outer fortifications was not great.[2]

According to Knox, the McPhilpins held the castles of Ayle and Aghle and Doon in the Barony of Burrishoole and Bellabourke and the New Castle near Castlebar in the Barony of Carra.

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Rappa Castle

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Rappa Castle is a ruined castle located in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland.
History[edit]
Rappa Castle was held by the Bourke family and was granted to a Cromwellian soldier named Crofton.[1] In the 17th century William Knox of Castlerea (born 1630) married a Crofton of Rappa Castle. The castle remained the home of the Knox family until the 1920s.[2]

Francis Knox, 3rd son of Francis Knox of Moyne Abbey and his wife Dorothy Annesley, was born 1726 and married Mary Gore of Belleek, heiress of Rappa, in 1761. He settled there and was High Sheriff of Mayo. Rappa passed in 1818 to his son Annesley Gore Knox (1768–1839) who was high sheriff in 1825 and father of eight sons. The next occupant, the latter's eldest son Annesley (1798–1878), was high sheriff in 1829.[3] He was survived by three sons, of whom Annesley Arthur succeeded to the estate.[4] He was high sheriff in 1884.

The Knox family left the castle after the Irish War of Independence and the it came into the possession of William Gillespie. The Gillespie family which included 13 children lived in the castle until the upkeep became too much. William Gillespie built a new home for the family in front of the house where the family lived until 2001. The remains of the castle stand behind the house.

The castle is a listed protected structure

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Rockfleet Castle,

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Rockfleet Castle, or Carrickahowley Castle (Irish: Carraig an Chabhlaigh), is a tower house near Newport in County Mayo, Ireland. It was built in the mid-sixteenth century, and is most famously associated with Gráinne O'Malley, the pirate queen and chieftain of the clan O’Malley.[1]

Rockfleet Castle has four floors and is over eighteen metres in height. It can be open to the public year round. If the huge doorhandle on the heavy wooden door cannot be opened, the key can be borrowed and returned to the nearby farm. The tower house castle is built in the sea and at high tide the water makes it very difficult to get into or out of the door without getting wet. Some years ago the castle was restored by its American owner who used traditional building methods and materials throughout to restore the castle back near to its original condition, as it would have been in the 16th century.[citation needed] There is no charge to visit. There is an unusual ladder from the ground floor to access the first floor from where the visitor must use the precariously narrow and steep stone spiral stairwells to get to all the other floors, which are floored with oak beams. The door to the very top storey is padlocked for reasons of safety.

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Shrule Castle

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Shrule Castle (Irish: Caislen Sruthair, English: Castle of the River) is a ruined tower castle near Shrule in County Mayo, Ireland. The castle was built in c.1238, near the Black River at the County Mayo and County Galway border by the de Burgh family. It was given to John de Burgh in 1308 by his father Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster.

The castle was captured in 1570 by a strong force led by Sir Edward Fitton, President of Connaught and Vice Treasurer of Ireland and consisting of McDonnells of Knocknacloy gallóglaigh. Mac Uilliam Ochtair, Lord of Thomond, the de Burghs of Mayo and McDonnells of Mayo led a force to retake the castle however the castle was not retaken. The chief of the McDonnells of Knocknacloy Calvagh McDonnell was killed on 18 June 1570 and during the battle Edward Fitton was unhorsed and severely wounded in the face.

William Burke occupied the castle, and passed to his son John Burke in 1574 and in 1610, Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde leased the castle and lands to Pierce Lynch of Galway.