Dunsoghly Castle - St. Margaret's

Six of One

Mostly original 600 odd year old ceiling








There are stables built onto the side of the castle so the horses look in through the castle windows!

The Scientician

Aww raging I didn't see this sooner. Glad it went well and here's to you having more similar visits in the future.

Rudy Jakma

BollickyBill wrote: »

I was in Killarney recently and I visited Ross Castle which is a towerhouse like Dunsoughley. The guide there mentioned Dunsoughley and said it was the only one of these towerhouses with the original roof timbers still in place. I've never been in it so I can't verify that. To quote another poster, yes it is a pity that it is not open to the public. The place in Killarney makes a few bob from tourists. It's also a pity that the producers of Braveheart didn't leave the wattle village they built for the set of the film. That would definitely generate an income for someone.
Another little known fact about Dunsoughley is that the '80s group Cockney Rebel filmed a video there for one of their songs. It was either "Come up and see me-make me smile" or their version of "Here comes the sun", I'm not sure which but it was one or the other.
Regards,
BB.

The castle probably still is in good condition. The owners certainly do not seem to welcome visitors. But as a piece of useless information: When Bunratty Castle was bought and restored by Lord Gort in the fifties it was in very poor condition, nearly ruinous. What saved it was that nearly the entire structure, including the floors, was made of (very) solid stone.
The main part that was made of wood was the roof which had rotted away.
Dunsoghly Castle was the only castle with it's original medieval oak timbered roof still surviving. This served as a model for the reconstruction of the roof of Bunratty Castle

eddiethecastle

In answer to issues raised in these last posts.
1. The Cockney rebel song recorded on video at Dunsoghly Castle as "Here comes the Sun" See previous posts to get the YouTube link to the actual BBC video recording.
2. The "owners" of this amazing towerhouse are you and me and every other citizen of this state.Its in State ownership since 1914. The difficulty at Dunsoghly is that the surrounding land is privately owned. At present there are moves afoot and discussions taking place to agree a mutually acceptable solution so that this Medieval Towerhouse can be visited by all interested people. Dunsoghly is every bit as good as Bunratty, Blarney and many other such treasures and is deserving of every effort to ensure it can be enjoyed by all.
3. I wish all those involved, the OPW, National Monuments and the landowner all the very best wishes and hope their efforts bear fruit in the near future. Watch this space.

Eddiethecastle

Rudy Jakma

Hello "Eddie-the-Castle",
Thank you for all your information. I was not aware that Dunsoghly was state-owned. I was under the impression that it belonged to the people who own the land. This is unfortunately the case with many monuments, i.e. Lemanagh Castle in the Burren. OK, that is a ruin, a shell, but also on private land and the owners do not welcome visitors. At least, Lemanagh is close to the road.
Would there not a (legal) case to be made to oblige the owners of the land to give access? If my memory serves me well, e.g. in Spain beaches are public and if on private land access must be given. This means that, as long as the visitors respect the rights of the owners of the land, close gates behind them so animals do not wander off on the road and do not damage crops or property, the general public has "right of overpath" . A pity we do not seem to have the same laws here !

Rudy Jakma

eddiethecastle wrote: »

It is great to see so much interest in this fine old castle. You are perfectly correct in what you say.It is in great condition and in a natural surrounding not destroyed by commercial enterprise. On the down side, while the Irish taxpayers do in fact foot the bill for its upkeep, which is minimum , just enough to preserve it, access is denied as it is situated on private farmland.
Hopefully this will eventually be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties and the poublic will be able to enjoy this gem of Irish history on the doorstep of Dublin. You really have to get inside the tower to really appreciate it.

Eddie

"EddietheCastle",
Do I understand that you have written a book about this (Dunsoghly) castle and that there still may be a few copies available?
I am a "Dublin and Environs" tour guide and just love to have some information on hand that is not widely known or available.
Let me know please if you can help me.

eddiethecastle

Hi Rudy

yes, I researched and wrote the history of Dunsoghly castle and the Plunkett family who rsided there. Its entitled "If a Towerhouse could Talk"
I have some copies left but you can also purchase it at the Dublin Tourist centre at St Andrew AStreet in Dublin City Centre. They have a few copies on their shelves, last time i was in there.
If there are none left, let me know and I can arrange to get you one.
Thanks for the interest and spread the word about this amazing historical treasure on the doorstep of Dublin.

Cheers

Eddie

Rudy Jakma

Aw chucks !
Eddie, I was to-day right beside the tourist office. Only after I got home did I see your reply.
Next time I will see if there are still copies. Am getting ready to begin a tour again. Actually two because the day I finish one I will have to go straight to Shannon to pick up another group so I will be away for two weeks.
Well, the remaining copies will not fly out of the door.. will they ?

kieranw1986

Hi Eddie,

I'd love to be able to get hold of a copy of your book for my father. Is there a website I could purchase it from?

My family lived in the cottages in Newtown and my Grandmother, Gretta Walker was the keyholder alluded to in previous posts.

Many thanks,

Kieran

eddiethecastle

Hi Kieran

thanks for the interest, and yes you can get the book directly through the publishers website originalwriting.ie
I have some here myself but I dont think i can give you my phone number or address on Boards, not sure but i will try anyway. Call me at 0868189501 and we will try to arrange getting you as copy.
I am most interested in the details of your grtandmother's keyholding arrangements etc. Can you advise me on how long she did it and what were the conditions attached if any by the OPW? Id really love to know and include her in my knowledge of the castlke as she obviously played a major role in its recent history.
Hope you can get back to me soon

Kind regards
Eddie

Rudy Jakma

For general info: I recently bought the book about Dunsoghly Castle in the tourist office in Suffolk Street, Dublin (the old church). It was on the shelf, far right beside cashier's desk. There were still a few copies left.

kieranw1986

Thanks for your swift reply Eddie.

I've found the website now so I will try to order it from there.

My knowledge of the key holding arrangement is pretty vague, although I'm pretty sure she had them during the production of Braveheart. I'm sure at this time it was possible to enter the castle grounds.
I will speak with my Dad and try to find out more, although I'm unsure how much he will know as he moved to Jersey in the 70's and only visitied home periodically .
My Grandmother passed away in 1997 and I'm uncertain who took over the responsibilities after that. I may be wrong but I'm sure something changed pretty quickly after this period that prevented people from entering the castle grounds, it possibly had something to do with the building of the motorway.

I'll try get back to you as soon as possible with any extra details and I look forward to reading your book.

Kieran

Rudy Jakma

Hi Kieran,
Good to see you can order the book. It is interesting. Remember it was on the shelf in Dublin only a few weeks ago, in June 2012 !
If it were possible to get entry: Maybe a few people could get together if the owners were kind enough to allow this.
We (those who want to join) might want to sign a declaration indemnifying the owners. Many things in this country are now impossible due to the risk of lawsuits. It now is apparently even illegal to photograph children without express permission from the parents (no, nothing "perverted", just normal kids out in the street !). Politicians, bankers and lawyers are ruining this country ! Sorry if some readers feel offended but this is just my opinion !

Beasty

Rudy Jakma wrote: »

It now is apparently even illegal to photograph children without express permission from the parents (no, nothing "perverted", just normal kids out in the street !). Politicians, bankers and lawyers are ruining this country ! Sorry if some readers feel offended but this is just my opinion !

It may be your "opinion", but it's off-topic for this forum

Thanks

Beasty

seberrynugent

Hi was Gretta your gran mother ? if so you and i are cousins, your dad will know who i am ,
Robert Nugent, you can get me at <mod snip - PM only>
Bye for now,
Bob,

Walkergwen

Hi my mother was Greta Walker and my sister with her till her death in 1998. She will have all the information on when the key was turned back in. You may have this information already. My brother Pat showed me your book and I too would like to get a copy of it. We played in the castle as young children. Glad I found this site. Gwen Walker (Canada)

eddiethecastle

Hi Gwen

great to hear from you.
Yes I would love to contact your sister and get any details that she may have regarding the keyholder over the years.
My book is still available through the publishers on line if you are interested.Their name is Original Writing and you can check out their site. I am still optimistic that the castle will eventually be open to the public. I understand some progress has been made and discussions are ongoing, so watch this space.

best wishes and thanks for the interest

Eddie

Rudy Jakma

Hi Eddie,
Your last entry was already a long time ago.
Do you know if any progress has been made ?
I'd love to have a look inside the castle.
It has my interest, especially as I am working as a tourist guide and have often brought groups to Bunratty.
And as you know, this castle was re-roofed in the '60's using the construction methods of Dunsoghly Castle as a template.

Rudy

Walkergwen

Hi Robert, hope you still check the site. I'm trying to get information regarding my mother and the key. Can't wait to see the book.

cs5

I got a copy of 'If A Towerhouse Could Talk' for Christmas and I'm already stuck into it. Great read. I'd love to take another look inside the castle. It must be 30 years since I last walked around the inside of it.

eddiethecastle

Hi there cs5

thanks for the nice comments on my book, its good to get feedback and if it helps to increase interest in this wonderful historic monument then I feel I have been somewhat successful.
To update you and all others with an interest in Dunsoghly, I did attempt another group visit during the summer but came up against new requirements from the National Monuments service. As it is not officially open to the public they were willing to allow a group visit subject to me providing Public Liability Insurance. Otherwise I could have been liable for any accidents or claims and this I was not willing or in a position to provide. It was a great pity as the landowner had agreed to a date and was accommodating as always but unfortunately no more unofficial group visits.
I can fully understand the requirement for insurance with all the claims and litigation these days and I was not surprised when it arose. I suppose all along i knew someday it would arise. At least over the last few years we did manage to get a series of visits and several hundred people were treated to this historical gem in Dublin. Great while it lasted.

Some good news. I was informed by the land owner recently that some considerable progress has been made between all parties concerning the future of Dunsoghly Castle and the surrounding land. I am not yet in a position to divulge any further information or details, as discussions are ongoing and I dont want to prejudice any outcome or put a spanner in the works , but I would certainly be optimistic that a successful outcome is near at hand. Just watch this space and I will update any news as I hear it.
Thanks to all on this forum and I wish all you fans of Dunsoghly Castle a wonderful Christmas Season and peaceful 2014.

Eddie

chughes

Thanks for the update Eddie. How do I register an interest in attending a future visit to Dunsoghly?

cs5

Thanks for the update Eddie. Here's hoping that any progress made so far does turn into something more.

cs5

Drove down on Sunday and was so tempted to cross the field and walk up to the castle but of course thought better of it. Very tempting though. Just took some photos from afar.

eddiethecastle

Nice photo CS5
No new develoments to report as yet but still optimistic
keep watching this space and keep up the interest

regards
Eddie

FunkyDa2

Here's a picture that I took of the castle, back in the '70s

cs5

Wow. Great photo. I really want to take a look around the castle again.

Kintarō Hattori

I took a wrong turn on the way home last night and spotted this place. Wow, it's stunning. I do hope some day that an agreement/arrangement can be arrived at between the state and the landowners. It's a fantastic looking building, so close to town yet out in the countryside.

cs5

Passed by today. Striking castle. I see new modern gateway has been put in place at the entrance to the castle grounds but alas still no access.

eddiethecastle

Hi folks, for anyone interested in this amazing Towerhouse at Dunsoghly, my book is now available again as an EBook.Title is the same "If a Towerhouse could Talk" and is available through publishers Smashwords.com
I have started a petition on line through Facebook Change.org to try to get some progress on opening up this gem to the public who actually own it. I have also set up a Facebook page where I will regularly post photos and updates on Dunsoghly Castle Thanks for reading
Eddie