Killeen Castle (Irish: Caisleán Chillín), located in Dunsany, near Killeen, County Meath, Ireland, is the current construction on a site occupied by a castle since around 1180. The current building, in the process of renovation as a luxury hotel, is a restoration of a largely 19th century construction, burnt out in 1981. Killeen was built as one of a pair of castles either side of a major roadway north, the other being the still-extant Dunsany Castle.
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The original structure at Killeen Castle is said to have been a Norman fortification, built for the de Lacy magnates, and held from 1172 by the Cusack family, beginning with Geoffrey de Cusack. The castle was then held from 1399 by successors by marriage (to Lady Joan de Cusack), the Plunketts.[1]
Killeen Castle was built by Geoffrey de Cusack around 1181.[1] The date is carved above the doorway.[2]
An early recorded description of the castle and its interior[2] reads - The date is Aug 1st (the feast of St. Peter's Chains). As we approach the castle we are faced by four tall battlemented towers with five stoteys of slit openings linking the curtain walls of the building. The castle is set on a slight mound. We enter by a steep wooden stairway, and find ourselves, having passed through the considerable thickness of the wall from the narrow doorway, into the Great Hall on the first floor. Rushes cover the stone flags, and besides the usual furniture, such as a trestle-table, benches and the straight-backed, carved, oaken armchair of the Lord of the Manor, we note on our left a heavy green and white curtain covering one wall of the Hall. Opposite us with its sloping stone hood is the fireplace with logs burning in the grate. The right hand wall is hung with the Lord's war harness, his morion, hunting trophies and feathered lure used in falconry. It is a costly piece with a perch and gilt borders.
In such surroindings the de Cusacks Lords of Killeen lived, made war, and expanded their fiefdoms for 225 years until the castle passed to the Plunketts through the marriage of Lady Joan de Cusack to Christopher Plunkett of Rathregan.
The first Plunkett to hold the castle, Sir Christopher, became the first Baron Killeen, and divided his estate between his eldest two sons, the second son taking possession of sister castle, Dunsany, and later becoming the first Lord Dunsany. The elder branch continued as Barons of Killeen, and later Earls of Fingall. The third, fourth and sixth sons founded other landed houses. An additional title, as Baron Fingall, in the United Kingdom peerage, was acquired in 1831. While the titles survived, the Killeens were the premier Catholic peers of Ireland.
The castle was developed over time, and by the fifteenth century, was a mid-size fortified tower house.
The two branches of the original family remained close through the centuries and during the worst of the Penal Law period, the Dunsany branch, having survived transportation to Connacht under Cromwell and other difficulties, converted to the Church of Ireland, and held Killeen in trust for the elder branch, which remained Roman Catholic. Unlike some arrangements of this sort, Killeen was formally returned.
The castle fell into disrepair in the late 17th century, was leased out, and was not restored until around 1779, when parts of the demesne were landscaped and some of the estate features were added.
Significant reworking was carried out from 1803 to 1813 under the supervision of Francis Johnston, and in 1841, much of the castle was demolished and rebuilt (using much existing material) by the 9th Earl, in the style of a small Windsor Castle. The two towers added have the dates 1181 and 1841 inscribed, and at the time of completion, it was said that Killeen had 365 windows.
The last Earl of Fingall sold Killeen Castle and Estate in 1951, to Sir Victor Sassoon. The Earl remained as manager of the stud farm established near the castle. In 1953, the Earl and Countess moved to a modern house built on the lands, and most of the house contents were sold. Sassoon died in 1961 and his heirs sold the estate on in 1963, to French art dealer and major racehorse owner, Daniel Wildenstein.
The last Earl moved from the estate to Corballis on the Dunsany estate, then The Commons. He died in 1984 and is buried at Dunsany Church.
In 1978, the castle and estate were sold to advertiser Basil Brindley, who continued the stud farm operation.
On 16 May 1981, the castle was burnt out in an arson attack, being left abandoned for many years.
The lands and buildings were sold again in 1989, to Christopher Slattery, who initiated the current development plans.
The demesne contains the castle itself, a substantial stable yard, a church (sometimes, incorrectly, called "Killeen Abbey"), a holy well (the "Lady Well") a pond, a walled garden and other features.
The church, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was erected around 1425, is in the Gothic style and has an adjacent cemetery. It is preserved as a National Monument.
In 1989, a new development plan was proposed, and later revised, with multiple applications for permission, including the conversion of the castle into a high-end hotel, the installation of a championship standard golf course and the construction of more than one hundred units of luxury housing on the estate. With successive modifications and discussions, plans were approved, with conditions to protect parts of the demesne landscape, and estate features, including a holy well. Work began in 2005.
In August 2006 it was announced that Killeen Castle would open in 2009 as a 179 room luxury golf and spa hotel under the Starwood Luxury Collection brand.[3] However in early 2009, Starwood withdrew from the project after plans were scaled down by developers Snowbury following a downturn in the tourism and leisure industry.[4]
On December 14, 2006, after over a year of bidding, Killeen Castle was chosen as the host venue for the 2011 Solheim Cup, the first time Ireland had ever hosted this event, despite the fact that the golf course had yet to be constructed.[5] The 18-hole championship course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 2008; it hosted the revived Ladies Irish Open on the Ladies European Tour in August 2010 and 2011 in the run up to the Solheim Cup.[6]
Dave Pelz Scoring Game School opened at Killeen Castle estate in June 2008, with a focus on the game within 100 yards (91 m) of the hole.[7]
The Kileen Castle estate contains seven lakes, that are stocked with rainbow and brown trout.[8]
Dunsany, County Meath, April 1991: Carty/Lynch - The History of Killeen Castle; Mary Rose Carty, ISBN (978)0-95173820-8