Dungiven Castle, in

Dungiven Dungiven () is a small town, townland and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is near the main A6 Belfast to Derry road, which bypasses the town. It lies where the rivers Roe, Owenreagh and Owenbeg meet at the foot of the ...

, County Londonderry,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, is the historic seat of the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

Ogilby family dating back to the 17th century, although most of the current building dates from the 1830s. Following a mixed history, which saw it hosting housing the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

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, and later being used as a

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and cities in ...

during the 1950s and 1960s, the castle fell into such a state of disrepair that the local council decided to demolish it. A local pressure group fought these plans and in 1989 Glenshane Community Development bought the lease, planning to redevelop the property. Funding was sought and provided by various bodies, including the

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, Limavady Borough Council and the

International Fund for Ireland The International Fund for Ireland is an independent international organisation established in 1986 by the British and Irish governments with the objectives of promoting "economic and social advance and to encourage contact, dialogue and reconcilia ...

. In March 2001 Dungiven Castle was re-opened to provide budget accommodation. In 2009 Dungiven Castle underwent a complete redevelopment and redecoration of the entire property. It now houses the second Irish-language-medium secondary school in Northern Ireland, ''Gaelcholáiste Doire''.

References

External links

Official site
Castles in County Londonderry Grade B1 listed buildings Dungiven {{Londonderry-geo-stub