Galtee Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Galtee Castle |
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Drawing of castle c.1895
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| Location | Skeheenarinky, County Tipperary, Ireland. |
| Built | 18th and 19th century |
| Built for | Earl of Kingston |
| Demolished | 1941 |
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Galtee Castle was a very large house, or mansion, located near the beautiful Galtee Mountains in Skeheenarinky, County Tipperary, Ireland. It was about 10 kilometers from the town of Mitchelstown.
Contents
The Story of Galtee Castle
Galtee Castle wasn't a traditional castle with knights and moats. It was a grand country house built over many years.
How Galtee Castle Started
The first part of the house was built around 1780. It was a hunting lodge, a place for hunting trips, for the 2nd Earl of Kingston. An Earl is a noble title, like a lord, and the Earl of Kingston was a very important landowner. His son, the 3rd Earl, made the house even bigger around 1825.
In the 1850s, the Kingston family had money problems. They had to sell off huge parts of their landed estate, which means all the land they owned. This included the hunting lodge and about 20,000 acres of land around it. This land then became a new estate, and most of it was rented out to farmers who worked the land.
The house was changed and made even larger around 1892. This happened when a new owner, Abel Buckley, inherited the estate from his brother, Nathaniel. Abel had bought the full ownership of the estate in 1873.
Why Galtee Castle Was Taken Down
In the late 1930s, a government group called the Irish Land Commission took over the estate and the house. This commission helped to divide large land areas, giving some to farmers and some for planting trees.
After they decided what to do with the land, the house itself was put up for sale. A priest named Father Tobin from Glanworth, County Cork, made an offer. He wanted to use the stone and roof slates from Galtee Castle to build a new church in his area. So, around 1941, the large house was carefully taken apart, stone by stone.
What You Can See Today
Today, there isn't much left of the once-grand Galtee Castle. You can still see some of the very bottom parts of the old foundations. Nearby, there are a few small houses that were part of the estate and two gatehouses. The woods and paths around where the castle once stood have been turned into a public area called Galtee Castle Woods, which people can visit and enjoy.
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