![Ardgillan castle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Ardgillan_castle.jpg)
Ardgillan Castle is a country house near
Balbriggan
Balbriggan (; , IPA: bˠalʲəˈbʲɾʲɪɟiːnʲ is a coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland, approximately 34 km from Dublin City. The 2016 census population was 21,722 for Balbriggan and its environs.
...
,
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
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, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It is set in the Ardgillan Demesne, a public park in the jurisdiction of
Fingal County Council
Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolit ...
.
Features
Featuring castellated embellishments, the building overlooks Barnageera Beach, the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
and
Balbriggan
Balbriggan (; , IPA: bˠalʲəˈbʲɾʲɪɟiːnʲ is a coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland, approximately 34 km from Dublin City. The 2016 census population was 21,722 for Balbriggan and its environs.
...
. The castle consists of two storeys over a basement, which extends under the south lawns. When occupied, the ground and first floors were the living accommodation while the west and east wings were servants quarters and estate offices. The basement was the service floor, the kitchen and stores. The castle has now been restored and is open to visitors.
Ardgillan Demesne is open to visitors, with a mix of woodlands and large grass open spaces. The park contains a walled herb garden, rose garden, Victorian conservatory or glasshouse, tea rooms and an
ice house. A children's playground was built in 2006.
Facilities and activities for visitors
![Ardgillan Castle Greenhouse Observatory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Ardgillan_Castle_Greenhouse_Observatory.jpg)
The ground floor rooms and kitchens of the Castle are open to visitors for guided tours. Tea rooms are located off the main reception area and are open during the Castle opening times. Upstairs, the former bedrooms are used for classes and exhibitions, including a permanent exhibition of the "
Down Survey
The Down Survey was a cadastral survey of Ireland, carried out by English scientist, William Petty, in 1655 and 1656.
The survey was apparently called the "Down Survey" by Petty, either because the results were set down in maps or because the su ...
" colour maps and text. Rooms are also available for small group meetings and workshops.
In 2005 the estate was host to a number of open-air concerts in the summer time. Pop artists who have played here include
Moby
Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
,
REM,
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...
and
Status Quo
is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...
. No more concerts have been held at the venue since and it still remains to be seen if
Fingal County Council
Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolit ...
plans to host any in the future.
Paws at Ardgillan (formerly)
From 2016 to 2019, ''Paws at Ardgillan'' was open on the castle's gardens. Housed in the former gardener's cottage, it was'' "a new café that gives dog walkers the opportunity to dine with their dogs"''. The dog-friendly facility was one of the first in Ireland and was the first feature of its kind in a municipal park in the country. This initiative meant that dog walkers could sit with their dogs at a café table while dining.
This café was not profitable and was shut down in 2019 due to food safety concerns.
It has since re-opened but does no longer accommodate dogs.
History
![Ardgillan Castle - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Ardgillan_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_490661.jpg)
The previous owner of the land was Robert Usher a wine merchant from
Tallaght
)
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, image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin
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. When Reverend Robert Taylor bought the land it was quite a wooded area so he employed some out of service soldiers from Bangor Co. Down and paid them 1d and a meal per day as well as bed every night: they also received a tot of Irish whiskey from
bushmills
Bushmills (From Irish ''Muileann na Buaise'') is a village on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Bushmills had a population of 1,295 in the 2011 Census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under ...
which was brought in for 2 shilling 2 pence a gallon.
The house was built by the Reverend Robert Taylor in 1738. The house remained in the Taylor family until 1962 when the estate was sold to Heir Henrich Potts of Westphalia.
In 1982 the estate was sold to
Fingal County Council
Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolit ...
who with the help of Fás renovated the house and it was officially opened to the public in 1992 by then president
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
.
In 2020, the park was temporarily closed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Republic of Ireland, it has resulted in 1 ...
.
Ghost of "The Lady's Stairs"
According to local folklore, the ghost of a woman was believed to haunt the bridge (known locally as "The Lady's Stairs") that exists over the Dublin to Belfast railway line at the end of the property near the Irish sea. It is said that the lady's husband was a frequent swimmer, and when he did not return one night, the lady went to the bridge to await his return. However, her husband had died while swimming, and she stayed at the bridge hopelessly awaiting his return until she herself died. An additional local story claims that if a person were to go to the end of the bridge at midnight on
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
, the lady's ghost would appear and throw them to their death in the ocean.
The more accepted version of the story is that : Lord Langford of Summerhill House in Co Meath brought his recently wed wife to Ardgillan Castle while he went hunting in Scotland. Against the advice of the household, she went swimming (in November) and was drowned. Lord Langford himself died a short while later. The ghost reportedly seen on the bridge is Lady Langford in her wedding dress coming up to search for her husband in the Castle.
The bridge was damaged by a truck strike in 2005
and was eventually renovated and reopened in 2007.
Dublin to Belfast railway line
The Dublin to Belfast railway line passes the demesne, and the trains passing include the Enterprise, Dublin Commuter, Freight, and some out-of-service intercity trains.
The "Lady's Stairs" bridge links Ardgillan Demense with the coast over the R127 (Skerries to Balbriggan) road. The bridge can be entered by concrete stairs, a short walk from the estate's car park number one and a long walk from car park number two. The bridge has high metal fencing with small holes. The railway line can also be seen from the top of the hill near the playground.
References
External links
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Castles in Fingal
Museums in Fingal
Historic house museums in the Republic of Ireland
Parks in Fingal
Buildings listed on the Fingal Record of Protected Structures