Ashford Castle is a mainly Victorian and medieval castle near Cong on the County Mayo–Galway border in Ireland. The castle has been expanded over the centuries and turned into a five star hotel. It is located on the County Galway side of Lough Corrib and was previously owned by the Guinness family.

History

Early history

A castle was built on the perimeter of a monastic site in 1228 by the Anglo-Norman House of Burke.

After more than three-and-a-half centuries under the de Burgos, whose surname became Burke or Bourke, Ashford passed into the hands of a new master, following a fierce battle between the forces of the de Burgos and those of the English official Sir Richard Bingham, Lord President of Connaught, when a truce was agreed. In 1589, the castle fell to Bingham, who added a fortified enclave within its precincts.

Browne family ownership

Dominick Browne, of the Browne family (Baron Oranmore and Browne), received the estate in a Royal Grant in either 1670 or 1678. In 1715, the estate of Ashford was established by the Browne family and a hunting lodge in the style of a 17th-century French chateau was constructed. The double-headed eagles still visible on the roof represent the coat of arms of the Brownes.

Victorian rebuilding

Ashford Castle, viewed from Lough Corrib.|thumb|left

The estate was purchased in 1852 by Sir Benjamin Guinness from Dominick Browne, 1st Baron Oranmore and Browne via the Encumbered Estates' Court. He added two large Victorian style extensions. On Sir Benjamin's death in 1868, the estate passed to his son Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, who expanded the building further in the Neogothic style. and was later sold in 1939 to Noel Huggard.

upright=1.45|Main gate at the entrance to the castle grounds|thumb

In 1951, the film director John Ford came to the west of Ireland to film The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. The grounds of the castle, as well as nearby Cong, formed the backdrop for much of the action in the film.

In more recent years the castle has been used as a set for "French Court" in The CW's hit medieval drama Reign. The castle and surrounding grounds figure prominently in the first three seasons of the drama, with the cast and crew returning on a yearly basis to film on the estate.

In 1970, the castle was bought by John Mulcahy, who oversaw its complete restoration and expansion, doubling its size with the addition of a new wing in the early 1970s, building a golf course and developing the grounds and gardens. In 1985, a group of Irish American investors, which included Chuck Feeney and Tony O'Reilly, purchased Ashford. The castle was sold by these investors in 2007 for €50 million to Galway-based property investor Gerry Barrett and his family. While some of Barrett's extensive property loans were to be managed by the Irish National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), Ashford was financed by Bank of Scotland (Ireland), who placed the property in receivership in November 2011, though the hotel continued as a going concern, run by the Tifco Hotel Group, an Irish hotel management company. In September 2012, it was voted the best resort in Ireland and the third best in Europe by Condé Nast Traveler. Niall Rochford, long-time manager of the property, has said that staff accepted a 20% to 30% pay cut to ensure the hotel's survival.

In August 2015, Ashford Castle was voted world's best hotel by Virtuoso Travel Week; and in July 2015, third best world hotel by Travel + Leisure magazine, US.

Today, most of the guests come from the United States (60 percent; 30 percent from Ireland; 10 percent from elsewhere), with Californians accounting for the largest share.

The castle re-opened in April 2015 following major refurbishment. All 820 windows were replaced, a new lead roof installed, and its stonework repointed. Around €47m was spent on restoring the property.

In its time the castle has played host to many notable guests, including the Prince of Wales (later King George V) and his wife, the future Queen Mary; John Lennon; George Harrison; Oscar Wilde (whose father, Sir William Wilde, had an estate adjacent to Ashford, where the writer spent much of his childhood); President Ronald Reagan; Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; US Senator Ted Kennedy; John Wayne; Maureen O'Hara; Robin Williams; Brad Pitt; Pierce Brosnan; and Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his wife, Grace Kelly. Professional golfer Rory McIlroy married Erica Stoll there on 22 April 2017.

2011 public right of way controversy

In September 2011, Gerry Barrett ordered that electric gates be installed, and subsequently shut, blocking a centuries-old public right of way over a bridge near the castle. The road is used daily by families living on the estate as well as local residents. After a letter to castle management asking for the right of way to be re-established was ignored, a group of 150 concerned locals and Ashford residents protested against the blocking of the right of way. The group was joined by local councillors and Éamon Ó Cuív, T.D. Barrett had earlier attempted to block the protest by taking out a High Court injunction.

References

  • Ashford Castle in the Irish Tourist Association Survey of 1945