Picture this a Norman castle standing proudly in the Dublin suburbs. This is Drimnagh Castle. Its history is rich and fascinating. It’s the only remaining castle in Ireland with a flooded moat. This moat is fed by a tributary of the Camac River.
Drimnagh Castle has a long and storied past. Its earliest recorded owner was Sir Hugh de Bernival in 1216. His family the Barnewalls owned Drimnagh Castle for centuries. They first built a fortification here in the mid-13th century. The main structures we see today date to the early 15th century. The castle includes a 15th-century great hall and a 16th or 17th-century tower. A large early-20th-century stone building was once a stable a ballroom and a coach house.
By the mid-19th century the Marquess of Lansdowne owned Drimnagh Castle. Samuel Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary of Ireland described it as an “irregular pile”. In the early 1900s Joseph Hatch a dairyman bought the castle. He used the land for grazing cattle. He restored the castle making it a summer home for his family. The castle hosted his silver wedding anniversary and his daughter’s wedding in 1910.
After Hatch’s death in 1918 ownership passed to his son Louis. The Hatch family occupied the castle until the mid-1950s. Louis left Drimnagh Castle to Bishop Dunne who sold it to the Christian Brothers. They built a school next to the castle. They ran the school and lived there until 1956.
In 1978 the An Caisleán GAA club renovated the coach house. They made it into a clubhouse hall kitchen and changing rooms. By the mid-1980s the castle was a ruin. Peter Pearson an artist worked to restore it. FAS the state training authority helped with the conservation. The restoration involved handcraftsmanship including a medieval oak roof stone windows lime mortars and wood carving. A medieval-style garden was also created.
Drimnagh Castle reopened to the public in 1991. Further restoration continued into the 1990s. Today Drimnagh Castle offers tours to the public. It’s also a venue for weddings and other events. Dry stone walling courses are held there. Many movies and TV shows have been filmed at Drimnagh Castle including The Abduction Club Ella Enchanted and The Tudors. So step back in time and explore the fascinating history of Drimnagh Castle. It’s a unique piece of Dublin’s heritage.