Ballynahinch Castle is a former Irish country house and estate, built on the site of a former castle, which is now a luxury hotel set in a private estate in the

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

region of

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ireland. The castle lies on the edge of

Ballynahinch Lake Ballynahinch Lake () is a freshwater lake in the west of Ireland. It is located in the Connemara area of County Galway. Geography Ballynahinch Lake measures about long and wide. It is located about east of Clifden and about northwest of Gal ...

and Ballynahinch River, and is directly overlooked by

Benlettery Benlettery () at , is the 259th–highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, ...

, one of the

Twelve Bens The Twelve Bens or Twelve Pins, also called the Benna Beola (), is a mountain range of mostly sharp-peaked quartzite summits and ridges in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The widest definition of the rang ...

mountain range. This detached three-storey country house was built 1754 and while the structure has been modified throughout its life, the castle still retains its architectural integrity. One of the former residents of Ballynahinch Castle was Richard Martin ( Humanity Dick, 1754–1834), founder of the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which was founded ...

and Member of Parliament for County Galway. Another owner was the Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanager ('Ranji'). Ranji decided to purchase the house, estate and its salmon and sea-trout fisheries from the Berridge Family in 1924.

Description

Ballynahinch Castle is located in the Connemara Region of

, Ireland, It lies close to the

N59 road N59 may refer to: * N59 road (Ireland) * N59 highway (Philippines) * , a submarine of the Royal Navy * Nebraska Highway 59, in the United States * Rosaschi Air Park, in Lyon County, Nevada, United States {{Road disambiguation ...

between

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

and

Clifden Clifden () is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". Frequen ...

, and on the southern shore of Lake Ballynahinch. set in an area of

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, ancient woodland is that which has existed continuously since 1600 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). The practice of planting woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 1600 i ...

surrounded by mountains, lakes and

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

land. The castle sits at the foot of the

mountain range. The current building dates to 1754 and has been altered several times since then. It is a three-storey country house, set in a former

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

estate featuring a river, small lakes, and woodland. The castle currently operates as a luxury hotel with a focus on outdoor activities such as guided walks, shooting and fishing.

History

The land on which the castle is situated was owned as early as the 14th century by the

Ó Flaithbheartaigh O'Flaherty ( , ; ; ) is an Irish people, Irish Gaels, Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Galway. The clan name originated in the 10th century as a derivative of its founder Flaithbheartach mac Eimhin. They descend in ...

(O'Flaherty) family, who controlled a large tract of land known as

Iar Connacht West Connacht (; Modern Irish: ''Iar Connacht'') was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Galway, particularly the area known more commonly today as Connemara. The kingdom represented the core homeland o ...

which stretched across much of the

and into

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

. The first known castle on the site was a small structure next to the lake, built by Dónal Ó Flaithbheartaigh in around 1546, one of several he built around Connemara. This was around the time of his marriage to

Grace O'Malley Gráinne O'Malley (, ; – ), also known as Grace O'Malley, was the head of the Ó Máille dynasty in the west of Ireland, and the daughter of Eóghan Dubhdara Ó Máille. Upon her father's death, she took over active leadership of the lords ...

, which united the O'Flahertys with O'Malley's powerful family and extended his land-holdings. O'Malley became the de facto head of the family at that time, as Dónal was not an effective ruler. In the mid 17th century, the castle was acquired by the Martins, an Anglo-Norman family and one of the fourteen

tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway () were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Brown ...

. The Martin family commissioned the building of the present castle building in 1756, originally for use as an inn. Richard Martin, known as "Humanity Dick" because of his commitment to

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

, converted the house to a private residence at some point, and lived for a considerable part of his life at the castle. Irish political leader

Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

stayed at the castle as a guest of the Martin family in 1843, while he was attending a meeting nearby. The castle was bought in 1872 by Richard Berridge, a brewer from London. Berridge owned large tracts of land across western Ireland as well as in the English counties of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

and

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. Berridge used the land in Ireland for leisure, and built several fishing lodges. In 1924 the castle was sold again, this time to

Ranjitsinhji Colonel Kumar Sri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was an Indian cricketer who later became ruler of his native Indian princely state of Nawanagar State, Nawan ...

, the ruler of the Indian princely state of Nawanagar. Ranjitsinhji was also a talented cricketer who played

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

for the

England national team Team England usually refers to the name under which athletes representing Commonwealth Games England compete. England team or Team England may refer to: *Commonwealth Games England *England national football team *England cricket team *England nat ...

. Initially he rented the castle, tempted by the fishing opportunities there, and he reportedly fell in love with it. Ranjitsinhji provided considerable support to the Connemara region, investing in

cottage industry The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work, like a tailor. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the p ...

and helping local business as well as employing more than fifty people on projects to improve the castle and estate. Ranjitsinhji continued to reside in India but spent time in the castle every year until his death in 1933. After Ranjitsinhji's death, his nephew sold the castle to the Dublin-based McCormack family, and in 1946 it passed into the control of the Irish Tourist Board who converted it into a hotel. It was sold back into private ownership in 1952, and has been owned by three different families since then. As of 2014 the castle and estate property is in the hands of

Denis O'Brien Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Digicel. He was listed among the World's Top 200 Billionaires in 2015 and was Ireland's richest native-born citizen for several years. His bus ...

who refurbished it and is running it as a hotel.

Awards

2020: * Voted as one of the "Top 10 Resort Hotels in the U.K. and Ireland" by Travel + Leisure. 2019: * Voted one of the "Top Hotels in Ireland: Readers' Choice Awards 2019" by Condé Nast Traveler * In the "Top 10 Resort Hotels in the U.K. and Ireland" by Travel + Leisure. * Best Destination Hotel 2019 Hospitality Ireland Awards 2018: * In the "Top 10 Resort Hotels in the U.K. and Ireland" by Travel + Leisure. * Best Destination Hotel 2019 Hospitality Ireland Awards

References

{{Historic Irish houses Hotels in County Galway

Description

History

Awards

See also

References