Manderley Castle ( ga, Caisleán Mhanderley), formerly "Victoria Castle" and "Ayesha Castle", is a large

castellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

Irish mansion built in Victorian style, in

Killiney Killiney () is an affluent seaside resort and suburb in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It lies south of neighbouring Dalkey, east of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill. The place grew around the 11th century Killiney Churc ...

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is currently owned by the singer

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

Features

From the roof of the

crenellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

of the castle, it is possible to see beyond the Irish coast as far eastward as

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The building is surrounded by of gardens which had a number of woodland walks. A "secret"

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

at the bottom of the garden originally gave access to

beach but now is sealed off. According to blueprints submitted in 1988, the owners sought permission to convert the existing stable house into attached living quarters. Permission was granted and the stable became an attached guest house, art room, exercise room and lounge area complete with staff quarters. According to the same submission, Manderley Castle sits at 1021.336 sq. meters, or 11,000 sq. feet in combined floor space.

History

Judge Robert Warren built Victoria Castle in 1840 to commemorate

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

's accession to the throne. The interior was gutted by fire in 1928, then restored by Sir Thomas Power of the

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ...

distillery family. He renamed the mansion "Ayesha Castle", after the goddess who rose from the flames in

Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform t ...

's novel ''

She She most commonly refers to: *She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English. She or S.H.E. may also refer to: Literature and films *'' She: A History of Adventure'', an 1887 novel by H. Rider Hagga ...

''. In 1995, the Aylmer family decided to turn Ayesha Castle into a place of tourist interest, "conver ing existing stables to a ground floor apartment and a first floor craft room". The Stable Gallery was established there, and a number of artists displayed their pictures. Irish musician

bought the castle in 1997 for €3.8 million, reportedly outbidding

Michael Flatley Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an Irish-American dancer. He became known for Irish dance shows '' Riverdance'', '' Lord of the Dance'', '' Feet of Flames'', and '' Celtic Tiger Live''. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 mi ...

, who also viewed the house. Based on her interest in

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geo ...

's '' Rebecca'', Enya renamed the castle "Manderley" for the fictional house that plays a central role in the 1938 novel.

Security

Because of threats from stalkers,

reinforced the security of the castle, installing new solid

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

entrance gates, raising the surrounding of stone wall to more than , and placing railings atop some sections.Living: Quiet life next door to Enya
/ref> Despite these changes, around mid-August 2005, there were two separate security breaches while Enya was at the castle (her security system includes a

panic room ''Panic Room'' is a 2002 American thriller film directed by David Fincher. The film stars Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart as a mother and daughter whose new home is invaded by burglars, played by Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight Yoaka ...

).Enya's castle invaded by stalker
/ref>

References

{{Enya Buildings and structures in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Enya Houses in the Republic of Ireland Castles in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Killiney Manderley is also a Company in the Netherlands Ootmarsum