Dromoland Castle, Lord Inchiquin’s historic seat at Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co.Clare, was one of the few big houses to escape destruction what they facetiously call “The Trouble” in Ireland. This was lucky, because it is one of the show places in the South. Lord Inchiquin is a Senator of the Irish Free State and was elected in…
Although the family’s good reputation saved the castle during the revolution, the later loss of income after the forced sale of the tenant farms made the castle and the 2,000+ acre estate increasingly difficult for the Inchiquins to keep. After the death of the 15th Baron of Inchiquin in 1929, Dromoland was supported mainly by…
The present main building of Dromoland Castle, with its high Gothic-styled grey stone walls, was rebuilt and designed by the Pain brothers, famous architects of that period. The castle was built by the then Lord of Dromoland, Sir Edward O’Brien, 4th Baronet, at great expense. The cost of cutting and hauling its stone from a…
The wealth of the Barons of Inchiquin dwindled after a series of Land Acts started in the 1880s. During this time, landlords were compelled to sell their tenanted farmlands, thus the Inchiquins lost their main source of income. They still considered themselves fortunate, as their castle had survived the troubled times of Ireland’s revolutionary war…
Dromoland Castle was the birthplace and boyhood home of William Smith O’Brien, M.P. Despite his aristocratic background, Smith O’Brien fought militantly for the rights of oppressed Irish Catholic peasant farmers and led the Young Irelanders rebellion against the British authorities in 1848. He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered, later exiled instead to…
The second castle/house at Dromoland was built; it was more residential in appearance with a design of the Queen Anne period. The Queen Anne Court, the charming quadrangle of 29 guestrooms, is a century older than the rest of today’s castle. It was rebuilt inside and redecorated in 1963 when the castle was redesigned as…
A consortium of mainly Irish American investors purchased the castle and estate. Through their continued investment and management, the castle has enjoyed a worldwide reputation for excellence and is regarded as one of the great resorts in Europe.
Lord Inchiquin sold the castle, along with some 330 acres of surrounding land, and the hunting and fishing rights to Mr. Bernard McDonough, an American industrialist, whose grandparents were born in Ireland. Conor O’Brien, the 18th baron, and his family live in Thomond House and continue to farm and run part of the estate as…
