A Future for Irish Historic Houses - Irish Heritage Trust

Dunsany Castle, Dunsany, Co. Meath.
Dunsany Castle is located outside the village of Dunsany, Co. Meath. It is presently
owned by Edward Plunkett, Lord Dunsany:
- Dunsany is one of the oldest surviving country houses in Ireland and
probably the oldest one in Ireland associated with a single family. It was
originally a castle founded very late in the twelfth century by Hugh de
Lacy which in 1403 passed by marriage to Sir Christopher Plunkett whose
second son was later to become 1 st Baron Dunsany.
- Through successive generations, Dunsany was modified and remodelled.
Some of the most significant changes took place in the 1840s under the
renowned architect, James Shiel.
- Because Dunsany has survived for over 800 years and because it has been
reshaped down through the ages, it provides a microcosmic insight to the
changing tastes and fashions of country house owners from the beginning
of such houses right down to the present day.
- Its present architectural features include a late eighteenth-century entrance
hall, which is rather less dramatic than that of most great houses. The
blend of the old with the modern is very striking in this hall. Beyond the
entrance hall is a very dramatic late nineteenth-century three-storey
staircase. The plasterwork on some of the ceilings is the work of Michael
Stapleton. The library, designed by Shiel, is characterised by Gothic
bookcases.
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