Dromoland Castle
Hotel
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--Dublin
and an Irish Castle
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Coast & Castles
Irish Tourist Board
Rated
5 Star
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call toll-free 1-800-876-5084
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History
"It is built entirely
of dark blue limestone, and in fine chiseled workmanship; the
ornamental grounds and woods extend over more than 1,500 acres
of land.from some of the eminences there are views of the Shannon
and Fergus, which, at this part of the country, resembles a large
inland lake with island, making Dromoland one of the most beautiful
and desirable residences in Ireland."
- Burke's "Visitation of Seats", 1855.
Dromoland Castle, one of the most famous baronial castles in
Ireland, was the ancestral home of the O'Briens, Barons of Inchiquin,
who are one of the few native Gaelic families of royal blood
and direct descendants of Brian Boroimhe (Boru) High King of
Ireland in the eleventh century.
1002-1014
Brian Boru ruled Ireland as High King from his throne in Killaloe.
1014
Donough O'Brien, a son of Brian Boru, controlled Dromoland when
it was a defensive stronghold. It was similar in structure to
Bunratty Castle, which was also an O'Brien stronghold at that
time. For the next 900 years a branch of the 0'Briens lived and
ruled from Dromoland Castle.
1651
The Chief of the Clan O'Brien, Morrough, 57th King of Thomond,
was forced to surrender his royalty to King Henry VIII, thus
becoming the Baron of Inchiquin and First Earl of Thomond. Records
show that the castle was rebuilt during this period.
1660
Sir Donough O'Brien moved the most powerful branch of the OBriens
to Dromoland in the late 17th century. He was an astute man and
managed to avoid declaring for either King James II or King William.
He was at that time reputed to be the richest man in Ireland.
1730
Sir Edward O'Brien, the 2nd Baronet, was revered as a famous
racehorse owner and trainer. He built the Turret on the hill
opposite the entrance to Dromoland Estate, from where he would
observe his horses race. He once gambled the estate on a horse
race; mercifully, Sean Buis won the race and saved the estate.
Sean Buis is buried under the Temple, 100 yards from the old
entrance to the castle.
1700-1730
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 an
hotel.
1800-1836
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 nearby quarry on the Dromoland Estate alone was
more than £80,000, a huge amount in Georgian times.
1803-1864
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 Tasmania for his
role in the revolt . He returned to Ireland in 1856; there is
a statue of him in O'Connell Street, Dublin. He died in 1864.
1880-1921
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 against Britain. The homes of many
landlords in Ireland were left in ruins during the Irish Republican
Army's war against the British forces in 1920 and 1921.
1921
The IRA leaders in Dublin marked Dromoland Castle for destruction.
However, sabotage orders were reversed at the last minute at
the urgent request of local IRA leaders in County Clare, who
argued that the Inchiquin Lords had been fair and benevolent
in dealing with their tenant farmers. Sir Lucius O'Brien, the
13th Baron of Inchiquin (brother of Sir William Smith O'Brien),
was remembered respectfully by the people of County Clare for
his relief work in the famine years of the 1840s.
1922-1940
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 personal wealth of his widow, Lady Ethel Inchiquin,
an heiress, whose portrait, painted by Herbert Draper, hangs
near the staircase in the castle's hall.
1940-1962
After Lady Ethel's death, her oldest son, Sir Donough O'Brien,
the 16th Baron of Inchiquin, and his wife, Lady Anne, daughter
of Viscount Chelmsford, a Viceroy of India, managed to maintain
Dromoland Castle as a traditional ancestral home for more than
twenty years. Lord Inchiquin tried to make the estate self-supporting
as a dairy farm, but by 1948 was so financially hard pressed
that he began to take in tourists as paying guests.
1962
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 a sporting and leisure estate. The pedigree of the
Dromoland O'Briens is kept in a vault at Lloyds in London and
is 36 feet in length.
1962
The castle underwent major renovations to transform the ancestral
home into a luxury hotel. When the castle was officially reopened
as a Resort Hotel, visitors who remembered it from the days of
the Inchiquins marvelled at the preservation of its stately,
warm and cheerful baronial country house atmosphere. The public
rooms on the main floor of the castle look very much the same
now as when Lord Inchiquin's family lived there, although the
Lord's octagonal shaped study, under the round tower, is now
a pleasant cocktail bar, and his library is now part of the dining
room.
1987-Present
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. |
