Charleville Forest Castle is a castle located in the centre of Ireland, bordering the town of Tullamore, near the Shannon River. The castle is situated in Ireland's most ancient primordial oak woods, once the haunting grounds of Ireland's druids. In the 6th century it was part of the ancient monastic site of Lynally, which itself was in the ancient Durrow monastic settlement. Later, in the early days of Ireland's colonization when the city of Dublin felt threatened by the wild tribes of the West, these lands became the focal point for the first Stuart, and later more violent Elizabethan, plantations. By the mid-fifteen hundreds, the Moores were securely "planted". From this point on a dynasty was established which endured into the late nineteenth century. Charleville Castle grew from paper doodles in early 1798 to grandiose plans by the end of that very eventful year in Ireland. It owes its "Tin Soldier Fortress" look to the celebration of victory over the third French revolutionary expedition to Ireland - the first decisive victory by Britain over the revolutionary republican movement, which was sweeping across the monarchies and their colonies at that time. It took fourteen years to complete this gothic dream, a monument not only to a now forgotten power, but also to the people who made it possible, the Irish craftsmen and impoverished people. It is today Ireland's most important example of gothic revival architecture - the leader of the Francis Johnston School of Architecture - his masterpiece. Its restoration is now on-going. The castle remained uninhabited from 1912, during the difficult years of the independence war and the long years of economic severity which followed. By 1968 the roof had been removed. It had become a part of "Vanishing Ireland" until finally work on its restoration was commenced by Michael McMullen in 1971 and later by Constance Heavey Seaquist and Bonnie Vance. A Charitable Trust has been formed to help with the restoration.
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Additional information
The castle itself was built between 1798 and 1812, by Charles William Bury, and as mentioned above, was designed by the architect Francis Johnston (who also designed the General Post Office in Dublin), who was one of the leading architects of the day. The castle also had to be temporary closed at times, due to the castle owners living beyond their means. However, each subsequent re-opening was usually marked by a suitably flamboyant gesture, which included engaging the talents of William Morris, who designed the ceiling within the dining room. Additionally, Charleville is said to have helped start a craze of building castles within Ireland. The castle has also has played host to Lord Byron, who held many parties here. In fact, whenever he visited Ireland he always went to the castle. This was due to the castle owner's eccentricity. The castle itself is designed with a gothic revival architecture, and is now considered to be Ireland's most important and finest example of such.
Present Day
Currently, the Charleville Castle Heritage Trust is managed by Dudley Stewart. The day to day running is handled by volunteers, who come from countries including France, Canada, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, as well as other parts of Ireland to help out at the castle. The castle itself is reputed to be haunted, with it appearing on Living TV's Most Haunted and Fox's Scariest Places On Earth. It has also been visited by numerous paranormal investigators and psychics. Guests of the castle have reported strange goings on at the castle as well. The castle has been photographed by Sir Simon Marsden and appeared within his collections. The castle has been host to multiple events, including "fright nights", an auction and a play by the English Chamber Theatre called Dearest Nancy, Darling Evelyn. More recently, it has played host to the Mór Festival, and its successor, Castlepalooza. The castle has also been investigated by many paranormal investigation groups from around the world, though it seems that only within the past 2-3 years that it has been investigated by Irish paranormal groups.
References
- "Charleville Castle Website - History Page" Accessed 8th August, 2005
