Clifden Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Clifden Castle |
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Clifden Castle
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| General information | |
| Location | Clifden, County Galway, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°29′30″N 10°03′24″W / 53.49178°N 10.05673°W |
| Construction started | around 1815 |
| Completed | c. 1818 |
| Client | John D'Arcy |
Clifden Castle is an amazing old ruined house located west of Clifden town in the Connemara area of County Galway, Ireland. It was built around 1818 for John D'Arcy, who owned a lot of land nearby. The castle was designed in the Gothic Revival style, which was popular back then. After 1894, nobody lived in it, and it slowly started to fall apart. By 1935, a group of local people owned it together, and it quickly became the ruin you see today.
Contents
History of Clifden Castle
Building the Castle
John D'Arcy (1785–1839) was the person who started the town of Clifden. He built Clifden Castle for himself and his family while he was also busy developing the town. The castle was finished around 1818 and was the main home for the large D'Arcy family for many years. John D'Arcy also worked hard to improve the land around the castle, making it good for farming.
The Great Famine and Changes
In 1839, John D'Arcy passed away, and his oldest son, Hyacinth, took over the family's land and properties. However, Hyacinth (1806?–1874) wasn't as good as his father at managing everything, especially with the people who rented land from him.
Then, a terrible event called the Great Famine began in 1845. The potato crop, which many people relied on for food, failed. This caused widespread hunger, sickness, and many people had to leave Ireland to find food and work. Because of this, the D'Arcy family's income from rents dropped sharply. On September 21, 1846, many of Hyacinth D'Arcy's tenants came to his castle, asking for work or food.
Eventually, the D'Arcy family's estate ran out of money. Clifden Castle and other D'Arcy properties were put up for sale on November 18, 1850. Two brothers, Thomas and Charles Eyre from Bath, England, bought the castle, most of the town, and the surrounding lands for 21,245 pounds. They had already lent money to the D'Arcy family since 1837.
The Eyre Family's Time
The Eyre family used Clifden Castle as a holiday home. In the 1850s, they put on a new roof and changed the outside of the castle to match their own style. Thomas Eyre later bought his brother Charles's share. On July 16, 1864, Thomas gave the castle and the Clifden lands as a gift to his nephew, John Joseph Eyre, who lived in London.
The Eyre family didn't live at the castle all the time. They owned it until John Joseph died on April 15, 1894. After his death, a special group was set up to manage his properties, which included a lot of land in Britain and other places. This group managed the estates, and John Joseph's six children and their families received money from them.
After 1894, there wasn't one single owner living at the castle. Agents managed the Clifden estate. The castle started to fall apart, and the land around it was rented out to local farmers for grazing animals because no one could buy the property. Most of the land, except for the castle grounds, was eventually bought by government groups like the Congested Districts Board or the Land Commission.
A Local Dispute
In 1917, a local butcher named J.B. Joyce bought the castle and its lands. This sale caused a big argument. The castle lands, called the Demesne, were about 200 acres. Many local farmers who had bought their small farms wanted this land to make their own farms bigger. In 1913, the land was offered to the Congested Districts Board, but no decision was made.
When Joyce bought the land in 1917, the local Catholic priest, Canon Patrick McAlpine, started a strong campaign against the sale. He said that Joyce had bought the land unfairly. The whole town of Clifden turned against Joyce. Farmers even drove Joyce's cows off his land and put their own animals there. They also blocked the gates. A town meeting about the issue turned into a fight, with stones thrown at the police.
Legal action continued until January 1920, when a judge said that Joyce was the rightful owner. However, the farmers still didn't accept this, and his cows were driven off again. Finally, a local court set up by Sinn Féin suggested an agreement in September 1920. Joyce agreed to sell the land for 2,300 pounds, plus legal costs and 150 pounds for damages. The land was bought by people who wanted to create a 'Clifden Cooperative'. The agreement said that the woods and castle should be kept for the people of Clifden.
The Castle Becomes a Ruin
The cooperative was officially started in November 1921. Even though the cooperative owned the land, the local farmers actually divided it up among themselves. In May 1935, the Land Commission bought the land from the Cooperative. They then gave ownership of Clifden Castle to the local people, to be held together.
Before this, everything inside the house had been sold off. Now, the roof, windows, wood, and lead were taken away from the castle. Without a roof to protect it, Clifden Castle quickly became the ruin we see today.
Architecture of Clifden Castle
The castle faces south and looks out over Clifden Bay. It was built in the Gothic Revival style, which was popular in the early 1800s. The castle originally had a round tower on the southeast side, a square tower, and an entrance tower with two small round towers. However, most of the fancy decorations you see now were added by the Eyre family in the 1850s and 1860s.
The estate also has a large gateway, built in 1815, which looks like something from medieval times. John D'Arcy also had several tall standing stones placed on his property. Four of these stones are still there along the winding path between the gateway and the house. One of them might even be a very old stone from prehistoric times, brought from somewhere else.
To the west of the castle, a large enclosed farmyard was built. This area included a place to store grain, small houses for workers, stables for horses, and a coachhouse for carriages. Next to it was a walled garden, with a well and a pond nearby. On the castle grounds, there are also the remains of a 'marine temple' made of seashells, located by a stream to the east of the castle. Close to the road to the north, there is a small children's graveyard. It was originally for three Eyre children who died in the 1880s.
Clifden Castle Today
The old castle grounds and the castle itself are now owned by several families. You can see the main gateway from the Sky Road. To reach the castle, you go through this gateway and follow a path that winds across the hillside. The grassy areas around the castle are home to grazing cows, sheep, and horses. Part of the castle ruins is even used as a pen for cows.
Images for kids
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Clifden Castle viewed from the west with the gateway in the background.
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The Eyre family crest on the entry tower.
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The ruins of the enclosed farmyard.
