Castlemartin House and Estate
Castlemartin is the name of a townland, historic house and estate on the banks of the River Liffey in Kilcullen, County Kildare, Ireland. It is one of the principal homes of media magnate Tony O'Reilly[1], as well as comprising a major stud farm and cattle breeding operations.
Location
The estate lies immediately adjacent to the town, to the west, and largely west of the River Liffey, though some a small part of the land has for centuries lain east of the river. Main accesses, secured with gates and cameras, are from the Newbridge Road, on the approach to Kilcullen.
Elements
The estate includes the main house, St. Mary's Church, extensive lands of good quality, and a number of other houses.
Castlemartin House
Castlemartin House, in its current form a restored 18th century mansion, said to have around 28 rooms[2], is successor to a series of older dwellings, perhaps dating back to the 13th century. Key occupants have included members of the Eustace family, as well as the Boyle and Carter families. The house is located close to the Liffey.
St. Mary's Church
The church (sometimes, incorrectly, called "Castlemartin Chapel"), founded c. 1200, was a dependency of Kilcullen Church, founded c. 1200. Last constructed in the 15th century (around 1490[3]), it had fallen into ruin but was restored by Tony O'Reilly[4].
Gate Lodge and Grand Gate
The one-storey gate lodge dates from the 1820's, and was renovated around 1980. It features a pyramidal profile roof with slate, clay ridge tiles and a rendered chimney stack, as well as square-headed window openings and timber casement windows.
The adjacent "Grand Gate", a pair of decorative wrought iron open-work piers with cresting and iron double main gates with decorative panels and pedestrian gates, dates from c. 1750.
Appraisal This gateway, possibly originally fashioned for installment at alternative location, is an attractive, highly ornate composition that provides a fitting entrance to the Castlemartin (House) estate. The gateway forms part of a self-contained group with the gate lodge to north-west. The piers, gates and railings are fine examples of early surviving wrought iron work and include intricate detailing, which is of artistic interest. The gateway is a prominent and attractive feature on the side of the road leading out of Kilcullen to the west.
Lands
The estate lands of around 500 acres[5] are a mix of parkland and working areas, and both a stud farm and a cattle breeding operation are present.
Since the 1830s, a new main avenue has been made, though traces of the old remain, and much of the historic woodland has been removed, notably around the main house.
Entries in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage for Castlemartin note the survival of sections of wrought iron railings from around 1830, on rubble stone boundary walls.
History
A branch of the Eustace family, also of Ballymore Eustace, held Castlemartin since the 13th century.
In its current form, Castlemartin was built by a Dublin banker and Member of Parliament, Francis Harrison, in 1720. It is said stone from earlier contructions was reused in the process. In 1730 the house was sold to Captain Henry Boyle Carter.
In 1837, it was described as follows[6]:
Castle-Martin, the elegant residence of W. H. Carter, Esq., occupies the site of the ancient castle of the Fitz-Martins, near Kilcullen-Bridge: the present mansion was occupied by the king's troops as a barrack, in 1798; it is surrounded with a highly improved and richly wooded demesne
As noted, the house was commandeered during the 1798 rebellion as the headquarters of Sir Ralph Dundas, and the interior was badly damaged.
Castlemartin was sold to a T. Blacker in 1854. In 1967, Sheelagh Blacker, the widow of Lt. Col. Frederick Blacker, left the house to her great nephew, Grey Gowrie.
In 1972, Lord Gowrie sold the estate to the then Dr. Anthony O'Reilly, who spent millions on improvements to the house and on restoration of the church on the grounds. It was the principal home for O'Reilly and his family for some years, sharing this role with a home near Pittsburgh, and now that he is tax-resident in the Bahamas, is the second home for himself and his wife, Lady Chryss Goulandris, and the place where the whole O'Reilly family gathers for Christmas.[citation needed]
Sources
- Dublin, Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, entries including 11819040 and 11819041; although the core of the NIAH is filing, much is also published in County Books, and an amount available online, including at least five references to Castlemartin Estate (four under "Buildings" and one under "Gardens", although there was no formal or walled garden.)
- Dublin, 1752: "The County of Kildare", J. Noble and J. Keenan - Castlemartin Demesne shown.
- London, 1783: "A Map of The County of Kildare", A. Taylor, Lieut., His Majesty's 81st Regiment, London, 1783 (republished by the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 1983).
- Dublin, 1838: Ordnance Survey Maps - estate boundaries, main house and church ruins shown.
References
- ^ New York, New York: The New York Times, "Tony O'Reilly Astride Two Worlds; In Ireland, Publisher and Prospector", Steve Lohr, May 8 1988.
- ^ New York, New York: The New York Times, "Tony O'Reilly Astride Two Worlds; In Ireland, Publisher and Prospector", Steve Lohr, May 8 1988.
- ^ New York, New York: The New York Times, "Tony O'Reilly Astride Two Worlds; In Ireland, Publisher and Prospector", Steve Lohr, May 8 1988.
- ^ New York, New York: The New York Times, "Tony O'Reilly Astride Two Worlds; In Ireland, Publisher and Prospector", Steve Lohr, May 8 1988.
- ^ New York, New York: The New York Times, "Tony O'Reilly Astride Two Worlds; In Ireland, Publisher and Prospector", Steve Lohr, May 8 1988.
- ^ Dublin, 1837: Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, Samuel Lewis