Dromoland Castle

Dromoland Castle is a castle, now a luxury hotel with golf course, located near Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare, Ireland. Its restaurant, the Earl of Thomond, was awarded a Michelin star in 1995. The present building was completed in 1835. However the first building constructed here seems to have been a 15th or early 16th century tower house and is recorded as being erected by Thomas, the son of Shane Mac Anerheny. There were at least three houses on the site, at various times, called Dromoland. While Dromoland later became residence of eight generations of the O'Brien family, early records suggest that the area was also occupied by other local Gaelic families, such as the McInerney family during the 16th century. According to the historian James Frost, Dromoland translates as the "Hill of Litigation".