Castlegarde Castle
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History
Castlegarde, Cappamore, County Limerick The oldest inhabited in Ireland built in 1198 by the O’Briens. A Geraldine towerhouse used as a late-medieval fortress by the Earls of Desmond until the confiscation of their palatinate. Castlegarde known under different names through the centuries (Garth, Kass, Lannengard, Castlegarre) changed hands many times. It was owned by Deputy Murrough Keogh in the mid 16th Century, then Sir George Boucher (1588), Henry Early of Bath (1654), Henry Bally (1659), his son John and his decedents over the next century, although there is still some confusion as to the name of the owner in the late 17th century. The honourable Waller O’Grady acquired Castlegarde in 1820 – (he was the son of an eminent lawyer Standish O’Grady, 1st Viscount Guillamore) he appointed the famous architects ‘the Pain Brothers’ to design an enlargement and restoration programme for the Castle in baronial style. Pictured: castellated gatehouse post and pre restoration The castellated gatehouse in the form of a round tower and a three-story enlargement to the castle was built with a gothic facade. The windows of the Norman tower were enlarged and modified allowing the tower rooms to be used as part of the family…
A History of Castlegarde Published Articles by David Thompson u0026#038; Daniel Grace
A History of Castlegarde – Part 1
A History of Castlegarde – Part 2
A History of Castlegarde – Part 3
A History of Castlegarde – Part 4
A History of Castlegarde – Part 5
A History of Castlegarde – Part 6
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Restoration Programme
I, David Hugh Thompson inherited the farm in 1973 (as Ireland joined the EEC) and later the castle in 1998. It was 2000 before my wife Hazel (nee Jackson Co. Kildare) moved to live in the castle. We called in architect Brian Grubb to assess the building – he found that if we did not repair the roofs within 6 months they would fall in and Castlegarde would be Irreparable. We decided to put all our funds into preserving this unique historical castle for future generations by keeping the water out. This has been partially successful. We planned a restoration programme. Phase 1 – Preserve – keep the water out – roofs and walls. Phase 2 – Restore the rooms and windows. Phase 3 – Outdoor restoration of the round towers, coach houses, forge, moat, garden etc. Phase 4 – Research the history, display artefacts and set up activities to provide money to cover maintenance costs. Pictured: Restoration Work on Castlegarde Pictured: A Tigress shot by Col. Oliver Thompson, India – 1932, now on display in Castlegarde Today we have almost succeeded in keeping the water out; we have restored some of the rooms. We are working on the round…
Contact Us
Contact: David Thompson, Castlegarde, Cappamore, County Limerick E-mail: dandhthompson@gmail.com Telephone: +353 (0) 61-381435
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