Derryquin Castle facts for kids

Derryquin Castle was an old stone house built in the 1700s. It was located on the Parknasilla estate in Sneem, County Kerry, in the Republic of Ireland. You could find it along the famous Ring of Kerry route, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Killarney.

The castle was designed by a local architect named James Franklin Fuller. It had a main part with three floors. A tall, eight-sided tower rose four stories high in the middle. There was also a two-story wing that was partly curved. The building even had cool features like battlements and machicolations, which are like defensive parts of a castle.

This sketch shows Derryquin Castle around 1870. The artist's mother, Letitia Bland, was born at the castle.

The Story of Derryquin Castle

Who Owned Derryquin Castle?

The land where Derryquin Castle stood was first bought by a man named James Bland. He was an Englishman who came to Ireland in 1692. He worked as a chaplain, which is like a religious advisor, for the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. James Bland sold his properties in England in 1717.

After James Bland passed away, the property went to his son, Judge Nathaniel Bland. Then it passed down through several generations of the Bland family. Each owner was a son of the previous one. Some of them, like Francis Christopher Bland and James Franklin Bland, were High Sheriff of Kerry. This was an important local official role.

The Castle's Later Years

In 1891, James Franklin Bland sold Derryquin Castle to the Warden family. They lived there until 1922. Sadly, the castle was burned down that year during a time of conflict in Ireland. It was one of many historic houses damaged at that time. Colonel Charles Wallace Warden owned the castle when it was burned.

The building was finally taken down in 1969. Today, the place where Derryquin Castle once stood is part of the Parknasilla Resort Hotel. The Bland family actually built this hotel in the 1890s.