Knappogue Castle (
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
: ''Caisleán na Cnapóige''
) is a
tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
, built in 1467 and expanded in the mid-19th century, located in the parish of
Quin Quin may refer to:
* Quin (name), including a list of people with the name
* Quin, colloquially, one of a set of quintuplets, a multiple birth of five individuals
* Quin (Sigilverse), a fictional planet
* Quin, County Clare, a village in County ...
,
County Clare
County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...
,
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 has been restored and is open to guided tours.
History
The original castle was built in 1467 by
Seán Mac Conmara (anglicised as
MacNamara
Mac Conmara (anglicised as MacNamara or McNamara) is an Irish surname of a family of County Clare in Ireland. The McNamara family were an Irish clan claiming descent from the Dál gCais and, after the O'Briens, one of the most powerful famil ...
), son of Síoda Mac Conmara, and is a good example of a late medieval
tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
. The castle's name translates as "castle of the place abounding in little hills".
In 1571, the castle became the seat of the MacNamara (Mac Conmara) sept, the Earls of
West Clancullen.
Donnchadh Mac Conmara was a leader of the
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...
and Knappogue remained in MacNamara hands throughout the
Irish Confederate Wars
The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...
of the 1640s. After the
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or Cromwellian war in Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell invaded Ireland wi ...
(1649–53) it was confiscated in accord with the
Adventurers' Act
The Adventurers' Act is an Act of the Parliament of England which specified its aim as "the speedy and effectual reducing of the rebels in His Majesty's Kingdom of Ireland".
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 had broken out five months earlier, and ...
and its new owner was a
roundhead
Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...
, Arthur Smith.
Arthur Smith occupied the castle from 1659 to 1661. After the monarchy was
restored in 1660, Knappogue was returned to its MacNamara owners. Eventually, Francis MacNamara,
High Sheriff of Clare
The High Sheriff of Clare was a High Sheriff title. Records show that the title was in existence from at least the late 16th century, though it is not used today in the modern Republic of Ireland. The title existed within County Clare in the west ...
in 1789, sold the castle to the Scott family of
Cahircon in 1800; the latter carried out major restoration and extension work.
In 1837, the castle was owned by William Scott.
In 1855, the castle was acquired by
Theobold Fitzwalter Butler, 14th Baron Dunboyne. It became the family seat of the Dunboyne family. They continued the restoration work of the Scotts, adding a drawing-room, the long room and a west wing, including the clock tower and the gateway.
The remodelling was done by architects
James Pain
James Pain (1779 – 13 December 1877) was an English architect. Born into a family of English architects, his grandfather was William Pain, his father James Pain and his brother George Richard Pain. James Pain served as an apprentice to the ...
and his brother
George Richard Pain
George Richard Pain (1793 – 26 December 1838) was born into a family of English architects. His grandfather was William Pain, his father James Pain and his brother also James. George Richard served as an apprentice architect to John Nash of ...
.
During the
War of Independence
This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence.
List
See also
* Lists of active separatist movements
* List of civil wars
* List o ...
(1919–21), Clare County Council held their meetings at Knappogue Castle where they were guarded by the East Clare Flying Column. Michael Brennan, Commander of the East Clare Brigade also used the castle as his headquarters during that time.
Framed and Glazed photograph, East Clare Brigade
/ref>
In 1927, Knappogue demesne was purchased by the Irish Land Commission
The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to 'inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower t ...
and the castle became the possession of the Quinn family. The castle and lands were then purchased in 1966 by Mark Edwin Andrews, former Assistant Secretary of the United States Navy, from Houston, Texas. He and his wife Lavonne (a prominent American architect), in collaboration with what was then Shannon Free Airport Development Company (today Shannon Heritage
Shannon Development (legally the ''Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited'' formerly known as SFADCO) was an important regional development body for the Shannon Region of Ireland. Its area in the lower River Shannon basin comprised a ...
) and Bord Fáilte Éireann carried out an extensive restoration around 1969. This was intended to accommodate use of the castle as restaurant and private residence.
Their work returned much of the castle to its former 15th century state while encompassing and retaining later additions that chronicle the continuous occupation of the castle. The Andrews later leased part of the castle to the Irish Government as a cultural and tourist facility for a nominal rent.
Today
Shannon Development
Shannon Development (legally the ''Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited'' formerly known as SFADCO) was an important regional development body for the Shannon Region of Ireland. Its area in the lower River Shannon basin comprised a ...
purchased the castle in 1996. Today, the castle is used as a venue for weddings and medieval banquets and offers guided tours.
Dating from 1817, the garden is now restored to its former state. The walls of the garden have been refurnished with climbing roses, grapevines and many varieties of clematis
''Clematis'' is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners, beginning with ''Clematis'' × ''jackmanii'', a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars ...
.
There is also a whiskey named "Knappogue Castle
Knappogue Castle (Irish: ''Caisleán na Cnapóige'') is a tower house, built in 1467 and expanded in the mid-19th century, located in the parish of Quin, County Clare, Ireland. It has been restored and is open to guided tours.
History
The ori ...
" produced by the Castle Brands company, currently bottling liquor produced by 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 und ...
.
References
External links
Shannon Heritage.com
- official site
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage - Castle
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage - Gateway
{{Tourism in County Clare
Castles in County Clare
Historic house museums in the Republic of Ireland
Museums in County Clare
Gardens in County Clare