Gregans Castle

The house as it is today.

J.R.R. Tolkein at Gregans Castle in 1954 with owner Frank Martyn and his partner Suzette Crowe

Gregans Castle is a Georgian-style house in the Burren region of County Clare, Ireland, near the west coast village of Ballyvaughan. It dates from 1750 and is associated with the Martyn and O'Lochlainn families. The original residence, a 15th-century towerhouse, is across the road from the modern house, which is now a hotel.

Location

The house is located in the Burren, a unique region that contains grey limestone terraces, a very high concentration of alpine, mediterranean and arctic flowers, particularly orchids, ancient burial tombs, stone forts and ecclesiastical ruins. Nearby are the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher. Shannon Airport is only an hour away.

Current owners, Hoteliers Simon Haden & Freddie McMurray in the front garden of the house.

History of The House

The privately owned original Gregans Castle, a very interesting towerhouse of the 15/16th century, is across the road from the hotel. This tower house was the former residence of the chief of the Loghlens, Prince of Burren. Up to the end of the 16th century The Burren was known as the Barony of Gragans. Owney More O'Loughlen was proprietor of Gregans in 1641, but was dispossessed in the Cromwellian Settlement which followed 1654.

However the lands did not leave the O'Loughlen family: In 1632 Turlough O'Loughlen married Alice Martyn, daughter of George Martyn (Mayor of Galway 1632-1633), and it was their son, George Oge, using the name Martyn, to whom the lands were granted. (Though according to the Martyn family genealogy by Martin J. Blake,^[1] George Oge was the eldest son George Martyn, Mayor of Galway.) The Martyn family eventually moved across the road, probably enticed by the view, to a two storey house where the hotel now stands. An early member of the Martyn family is recorded as having been killed at the infamous Battle of Aughrim in 1691 at the end of the Jacobite wars. Later the family were prominent in the legal profession and lived mainly in Dublin. The house at Gregans seems to have been retained as a summer retreat in later years and most of the 2,000 acres (8.1 km²) of land were let. In 1866, after contracting a most profitable marriage, Capt. John Gregory Martyn J.P., came to live permanently at Gregans. Capt. Martyn was a supporter of Charles Stewart Parnell and Home Rule for Ireland. The house was extended considerably at this time. It was also the scene of grand social events and colourful gatherings.

After his death, his son Francis Florence Martyn remained at Gregans and farmed a much reduced estate. During these times of economic depression, the house fell into some disrepair and the unmarried Frank, locally thought of as an eccentric, died in 1956. In fact, in the 1940s, Frank even tried his hand at Innkeeping and obtained a bar license. After his demise, his housekeeper, Miss Crowe continued to live in the house and eventually, the trustees sold the house for conversion to an hotel. The oldest surviving feature of the house is the kitchen fireplace with family crest keystone in what is now The Martyn Suite. In 1967 the house opened as Gregans Castle Hotel. The towerhouse castle across the road known as Gragan Castle is privately owned but is usually open to the public during the months of May and June.

The Martyn Suite, the kitchen before the house was converted to a luxury hotel.

Coordinates: 53°4′36.36″N 9°11′3.56″W / 53.0767667°N 9.1843222°W

References

1. Blake, Martin J. Genealogy of the Family of Martyn of Gregans County Clare from 1613 to 1927.