GLENGARRIFF CASTLE
GLENGARRIFF CASTLE, Co. Cork, was built in the 1790s by Colonel Simon White, brother of the 1st Earl of Bantry. The Earl's role was to lead the British forces against the French invasion force which attempted to land in Bantry Bay, in 1797. His job was to support the rebels against the crown. For his services against the 1798 rebellion, the first Earl of Bantry was awarded titles across West Cork.
It was built in the Gothic style, with a panoramic view of Glengarriff harbour. It is a partially castellated house. It has a long, two-storey range with shallow, curved bows and ogee-headed windows. At one end there is a square tower; the other end having a considerably loftier, battlemented round tower. The round tower joins the main block to a battlemented wing at an obtuse angle to its end.
The woodlands of the estate encompass a wide variety of trees including Oak, Beech, Japanese Red Cedar, European Larch, Chilean Pine and a variety of shrub and flora species. Wildlife to be seen include red squirrel, sika deer, seals, fox and pine marten.
During the 1970s Glengarriff Castle was an exclusive hotel extending hospitality to royalty, artists and writers, such as Yeats, Synge and Thackery and Shaw. Thackery wrote of his stay "there is a country, the magnificence of which no pen can give an idea. I would like to be a great prince, and bring a train of painters to make if they could… a set of pictures of the place.” When living in the area, George Bernard Shaw is said to have written his play St Joan here.
The actress Maureen O'Hara, who starred with John Wayne in The Quiet Man, for many years kept a holiday home adjacent to Glengarriff Castle.
In the late 1970s, a German buyer purchased the castle where he lived with his family. A local consortium purchased the hotel and then sold it six years ago to the current owner. It is currently under renovation.
During the 1970s Glengarriff Castle was an exclusive hotel.
It was built in the Gothic style, with a panoramic view of Glengarriff harbour. It is a partially castellated house. It has a long, two-storey range with shallow, curved bows and ogee-headed windows. At one end there is a square tower; the other end having a considerably loftier, battlemented round tower. The round tower joins the main block to a battlemented wing at an obtuse angle to its end.
The woodlands of the estate encompass a wide variety of trees including Oak, Beech, Japanese Red Cedar, European Larch, Chilean Pine and a variety of shrub and flora species. Wildlife to be seen include red squirrel, sika deer, seals, fox and pine marten.
During the 1970s Glengarriff Castle was an exclusive hotel extending hospitality to royalty, artists and writers, such as Yeats, Synge and Thackery and Shaw. Thackery wrote of his stay "there is a country, the magnificence of which no pen can give an idea. I would like to be a great prince, and bring a train of painters to make if they could… a set of pictures of the place.” When living in the area, George Bernard Shaw is said to have written his play St Joan here.
The actress Maureen O'Hara, who starred with John Wayne in The Quiet Man, for many years kept a holiday home adjacent to Glengarriff Castle.
In the late 1970s, a German buyer purchased the castle where he lived with his family. A local consortium purchased the hotel and then sold it six years ago to the current owner. It is currently under renovation.
During the 1970s Glengarriff Castle was an exclusive hotel.
