Irish Castles. Orna Mulcahy
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Название: Irish Castles
Автор: Orna Mulcahy
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Учебная литература
Серия: Collins Little Books
isbn: 9780008378226
isbn:
Ballynahinch Castle
RECESS, CONNEMARA, COUNTY GALWAY
+353 95 31006 | www.ballynahinch-castle.com
Surrounded by woodlands in the heart of Connemara with a backdrop of the Twelve Bens mountains, Ballynahinch Castle was built in the eighteenth century by the powerful Martin family, who produced Humanity Dick Martin, an MP so named for his championing of animal rights, but also known as Hair-Trigger Dick for the several people he killed or wounded in duels.
The castle is set on the banks of the Owenmore river, renowned for its fly fishing, and it was this that attracted the Indian prince and cricketer Ranjitsinhji (“Ranji”), who fell for its romantic setting in the 1920s. He renovated the castle and built fishing huts and piers along the river, and he lived at Ballynahinch until his death in 1933. The castle has been run as an up-market hotel since 1946 and has recently been entirely refurbished by its current owner, the businessman Denis O’Brien.
TOMHAGGARD, COUNTY WEXFORD
One of a number of fortresses built in the fifteenth century by the Rossiter family who settled in Ireland following the Norman invasion, Bargy Castle was confiscated by Cromwell in 1667, in response to Rossiter’s part in the defence of Wexford. The castle was then granted to William Ivory, who sold it to the Harvey family. They held it until the mid twentieth century, when it was bought by General Sir Eric de Burgh, a former Chief of Staff in the Indian Army, and the grandfather of musician and songwriter Chris de Burgh. The singer lived there as a child with his parents Charles and Maeve Davison, who ran the castle as a hotel.
The castle is a private residence and cannot be visited.
Barmeath Castle
DUNLEER, COUNTY LOUTH
+353 41 685 1205 | www.barmeath-castle.com
Originally the site of a medieval tower house with sweeping views over Dundalk Bay, Barmeath Castle was enlarged in the mid eighteenth century, with the addition of a substantial residence that has been home to the Bellew family for generations. The impressive castellated façade was enhanced in the 1830s with the addition of a portcullis entrance, and a turreted curtain wall that encloses a large courtyard. The castle is surrounded by ten acres of the gardens originally laid out by English landscape architect and astronomer Thomas Wright. The gardens, which have been restored in recent years, include an eighteenth-century archery ground surrounded by Irish yew.
The castle is available to rent on Airbnb.
BALLYMORE EUSTACE, COUNTY KILDARE
+353 45 864 115 | www.barretstown.org
A tower house with a Gothic Victorian addition, Barretstown was first recorded in a 1547 inquisition held after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, when it was listed as the property of the Archbishop of Dublin. It was confiscated by the Crown and subsequently leased to the Eustaces, a distinguished family who had arrived in Ireland at the time of the Norman invasion and who gave their name to the town that grew up around it – Ballymore Eustace. The castle has had a number of wealthy international owners including cosmetics tycoon Elizabeth Arden and billionaire retailer Galen Weston, who gifted it to the Irish State. Since the mid 1990s, the 500-acre estate has been run as a camp and respite centre for seriously ill children and their families, by a charity founded by the late actor Paul Newman.
BARRYSCOURT, CARRIGTWOHILL, COUNTY CORK
A typical fifteenth-century tower house, Barryscourt Castle was for centuries home to the Norman De Barry family. There is evidence that this site has been occupied for as long as one thousand years. Phillip De Barry built a castle here in 1202, but the present tower dates from around the mid sixteenth century.
Belfast Castle
ANTRIM ROAD, BELFAST, BT15 5GR
+44 28 9077 6925 | www.belfastcastle.co.uk
The original Belfast Castle, built in the late twelfth century by the Normans, was located in the heart of the city, around Castle Place and Donegall Place. It was the stronghold of the first Baron Chichester (better known as Sir Arthur Chichester), but was burned down in 1708, leaving only street names to mark the site. The Chichester family decamped to the suburbs and today’s Belfast Castle was built in the mid nineteenth century by the third Marquess of Donegall, who designed it in the Scottish baronial style. The castle cost a fortune to build, and was designed by Charles Lanyon of the architectural firm Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon. After Lord Donegall’s death and the family’s financial demise, the eighth Earl of Shaftesbury, who had married into the family, completed the castle, which was subsequently presented to the city of Belfast. It is now used for civic functions and private events but it does have an interesting visitor centre telling the story of the surrounding area from Stone Age times. The grounds also include an adventure playground for children.
Birr Castle
TOWNPARKS, BIRR, COUNTY OFFALY
+353 57 912 0336 | www.birrcastle.com
In 1620, Sir Laurence Parsons built a new castle on the site of an older building, and then extensively refurbished it in the 1640s. The nineteenth century saw Birr become a great centre of scientific research, when William Parsons, the third Earl, built a great telescope in the grounds. His wife Mary, whose fortune helped him to build the telescope and make many improvements to the castle, was a keen photographer. Her perfectly preserved dark room is one of the many fascinating aspects of the castle’s superbly decorated interior. The castle grounds are open to the public and have been enhanced to include a Science Centre.
Birr Castle remains the private СКАЧАТЬ