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Rathfarnham Castle ( ga, Caisleán Rath Fearnáin) is a 16th-century fortified house in Rathfarnham,
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, Ireland. The earlier Irish castle was occupied by the Harold family, who held it as tenants of the le Bret family. It was replaced by the present building built on lands confiscated from the Eustace family of Baltinglass, to whom it had passed, because of their involvement in the Second Desmond Rebellion. The Geraldines defended the Pale from the Irish clans in the nearby Wicklow Mountains. It is believed the present castle was built around 1583 for Archbishop Adam Loftus. Originally a semi-fortified and battlemented structure it underwent extensive alterations in the 18th century. The castle consisted of a square building four stories high with a projecting tower at each corner, the walls of which were an average of thick. On the ground level are two vaulted apartments divided by a wall nearly thick which rises to the full height of the castle. On a level with the entrance hall are the 18th-century reception rooms and above this floor, the former ballroom, later converted into a chapel. Rathfarnham was described as a "waste village" when Loftus bought it. His new castle was not long built when in 1600 it had to withstand an attack by the Wicklow clans during the
Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...
.


English Civil war

Archbishop Loftus left the castle to his son, Dudley and it then passed to his son Adam in 1616. During Adam's ownership, the castle came under siege in the
1641 rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantation ...
. It was able to hold out against the Confederate army when the surrounding country was overrun. Adam Loftus opposed the treaty of cessation in order to stop the fighting between the Irish Confederates and the English Royalists. Consequently, he was imprisoned in Dublin Castle. During the subsequent
Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...
(1641–53), the castle changed hands several times. From 1641 to 1647, it was garrisoned by English Royalist troops. In 1647, Ormonde, commander of the Royalists in Ireland, surrendered Dublin to the English Parliament and Parliamentary troops were stationed at the castle until 1649 when a few days before the Battle of Rathmines, the castle was stormed and taken without a fight by the Royalists as part of the Siege of Dublin. However, the Roundheads re-occupied it after their victory at the Battle of Rathmines. It has also been reported that Oliver Cromwell held a council there during his campaign in Ireland before going south to besiege Wexford. Adam Loftus, who recovered his castle and lands under Cromwell, sided with the Parliamentarians and was killed at the Siege of Limerick in 1651. After the English Civil War, the Loftus family retained ownership of the castle. In 1659, Dr. Dudley Loftus, great-grandson of Archbishop Loftus, took over the castle. During his lifetime, Dudley held the posts of Commissioner of Revenue, Judge of the Court of Admiralty, Master in Chancery, representative for Kildare & Wicklow in the Protectorate Parliament and MP for Naas, Bannow and Fethard (Co Wexford). His body is interred at St. Patrick's Cathedral.


The eighteenth century

The property then passed by marriage to Philip Wharton. The young man lost his money in the
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and in 1723 the castle was sold for £62,000 to the Right Hon William Conolly, speaker of the Irish House of Commons. In 1742, it was sold to Dr.
Hoadly Hoadly is a surname, derived from the village of West Hoathly in Sussex. Notable people with the surname include: *Benjamin Hoadly (1676–1761), English clergyman * Benjamin Hoadly (physician) (1706–1757), English physician and dramatist *Charl ...
,
Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
, and on his death four years later it passed to his son-in-law
Bellingham Boyle Bellingham Boyle (1709-1771) was an Irish politician. Boyle was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. From 1731 until 1761, he was MP for Bandonbridge; and from 1761 to 1768 for Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, ...
. In 1767, Boyle sold the property to Nicholas Hume-Loftus, second
Earl of Ely Earl of Ely is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland for members of the Loftus family. This family descended from Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus, who was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Loftus, of L ...
, a descendant of Adam Loftus, the original builder of the castle. Nicholas died within a few years, probably as an indirect result of great hardships which he had suffered in his youth, and the estate passed to his uncle, Hon. Henry Loftus, who was created
Earl of Ely Earl of Ely is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland for members of the Loftus family. This family descended from Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus, who was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Loftus, of L ...
in 1771. In commemoration of regaining ownership, the Loftus family constructed another entrance for the castle in the form of a Roman Triumphal Arch. The arch can still be viewed from nearby Dodder Park Road. Henry Loftus, Earl of Ely was responsible for much of the conversion of the medieval fortress into a Georgian mansion and employed renowned architects Sir William Chambers and
James 'Athenian' Stuart James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...
to carry out these works. The mullioned windows were enlarged and the battlements replaced by a coping with ornamental urns. A semi-circular extension was added to the east side and an entrance porch approached by steps, on the north. The interior was decorated in accordance with the tastes of the period and leading artists, including
Angelica Kauffman Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann ( ; 30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered primarily as a history painter, K ...
were employed in the work. Writers of the period who visited the house have left extravagant descriptions of its splendour. Henry died in 1783 and was succeeded by his nephew Charles Tottenham. He subsequently became Marquess of Ely as a reward for his vote at the time of the Union.


The nineteenth and twentieth centuries

In 1812, the family leased the estate to the Ropers and removed their valuable possessions to Loftus Hall in Wexford. The lands and castle were then used for dairy farming and fell into disrepair. To quote a contemporary account from 1838:
''Crossing the Dodder by a ford, and proceeding along its southern bank towards Rathfarnham, a splendid gateway at left, accounted among the best productions of that species of architecture in Ireland, invites the tourist to explore the once beautiful grounds of Rathfarnham Castle, but they are now all eloquently waste, the undulating hills covered with rank herbage, the rivulet stagnant and sedgy, the walks scarce traceable, the ice-houses open to the prying sun, the fish-pond clogged with weeds, while the mouldering architecture of the castle, and the crumbling, unsightly offices in its immediate vicinity,…The castle, so long the residence of the Loftus family, and still the property of the Marquis of Ely, subject, however, to a small chief rent to Mr. Conolly, is an extensive fabric,.....The great hall is entered from a terrace, by a portico of eight Doric columns, which support a dome, painted in fresco with the signs of the Zodiac and other devices. This room was ornamented with antique and modern busts, placed on pedestals of variegated marble, and has three windows of stained gloss, in one of which is an escutcheon of the Loftus arms, with quarterings finely executed. Several other apartments exhibited considerable splendour of arrangement, and contained, until lately, numerous family portraits, and a valuable collection of paintings by ancient masters. But, when it is mentioned, that this structure has been for years a public dairy, and the grounds to the extent of converted to its uses, some notion may be formed of their altered condition.''
In 1852 it was bought by the Lord Chancellor, Francis Blackburne whose family resided there for three generations. The property developers Bailey & Gibson acquired the castle in 1912 and divided up the estate. The eastern part became the
Castle Golf Club A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...
, the castle and the southwestern portion were bought in 1913 by the Jesuit Order and the northwestern part was devoted to housing. The Jesuits are an order renowned for their education and one of them; Father O'Leary S.J. constructed a
seismograph A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The output ...
. This machine could detect earth tremors and
earthquakes An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
from anywhere in the world and for a time, Rathfarnham Castle became a source of earthquake information for the national media. Jesuits would spend their Tertianship at Rathfarnham. To the north of the castle was a long vaulted chamber formerly known as ''Cromwell''''’s Court'' or ''Fort''. This was apparently a barn or storehouse erected as part of the castle farm and had narrow loopholes in its thick walls. In 1922, it was incorporated into the new retreat house, to which it formed the ground story and its character concealed from the outside by a uniform covering of cement plaster. Not far from the Golf Club House was an attractive little temple built of stone and brick, another relic of Lord Ely's occupation of Rathfarnham. Although rather out of repair, if restored, it would have added much to the charm of this part of the links. Unfortunately, by decision of the committee, it was demolished in 1979. In 1986, the Jesuits sold Rathfarnham Castle but before leaving, they removed the stained glass windows, made in the famous Harry Clarke studios, from the chapel and donated them to Tullamore Catholic Church which had been destroyed by fire in 1983. The other windows were donated to Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross and Temple Street Children's Hospital, Dublin.


Preservation

The castle was sold to
Delaware Properties Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The s ...
in 1985 and it was feared that it was facing demolition. After immense public pressure to save the building, in 1987 it was purchased by the State and declared a
National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...
. Currently, the Office of Public Works is carrying out extensive refurbishment throughout the castle but it is still open to the public during the summer months (5 May - 12 October).Quick Guide to 2011 Opening Times
The Castle is presented undergoing active conservation, where visitors can see at first-hand tantalising glimpses of layers of its earlier existence uncovered during research.


References


External links


Rathfarnham Castle
- official site at Heritage Ireland

The Ely Papers, PRONI Much of the text in this article is taken, with permission, from
Rathfarnham On-Line
* https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/jorgenpfhartogs/Rathfarnham_Castle.html&date=2009-10-26+01:01:04 * ''South Dublin Libraries'' and ''Archeology, Early Christian Remains and Local Histories, Chapter 10, by Patrick Healy''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathfarnham Castle Rathfarnham National Monuments in County Dublin Castles in South Dublin (county) Museums in South Dublin (county) Historic house museums in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in South Dublin (county)