CIE Tour - Highlight -Knappogue Castle Medieval Banquet

Knappogue Castle Medieval Banquet

The Knappogue Castle & Walled Garden, built in 1467, is located in County Clare, Ireland. It was built by Seán Mac Conmara, and is a good example of a medieval tower house. It has a long and varied history, from a battlefield to a dwelling place. In 1571 the castle became the seat of the Mac Conmara (McNamara) sept ~ Earls of West Clancullen. Donnchadh Mac Conmara was a leader of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and Knappogue remained in Mac Conmara hands throughout the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s. However, after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649-53) it was confiscated by Oliver Cromwell's parliament and granted to a ‘Roundhead’, Arthur Smith. However, after the monarchy was restored in 1660, Knappogue was returned to its Mac Conmara owners. The Mac Conmara sept sold the castle to the Scotts in 1800; the latter carried out major restoration and extension work. In 1855, the castle was acquired by Lord Dunboyne, who continued the restoration work. The castle’s history is imaginatively related on colorful panels throughout its rooms.