I’ve visited a lot of ruins in Ireland. They seem to attract me but they also inspire ideas for my novels. I wrote about a few of these old houses before in ‘Scrapbook’ such as Moore Hall, Dunluce Castle, and also some of the more ghostly ones like Loftus Hall and Leap Castle, but if I were asked to pick a favourite ruin to walk around, I would have to choose Duckett’s Grove in County Carlow.
Family Stories at Curraghmore House
Mr Winterly and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a trip to Curraghmore House in County Waterford. This beautiful property is the home of the 9th Marquis of Waterford and has been in his family since the arrival of the de la Poers, who were Anglo-Normans, in the middle of the twelfth century. Over 800 years have gone into the creation of Curraghmore as it is today. The tour of the house was fascinating because it focused on what I like best: family history, with many stories of wild escapades and colourful characters.
Mystery room discovered at 800-year-old castle
Exciting news broke in August this year about 800-year-old Johnstown Castle in Co Wexford where a hidden room, previously unknown to historians and caretakers, was stumbled upon by a joiner conducting conservation work.
The revelation of the secret room occurred during repairs to windows inside the castle. Contractors knocked through a section of the wall, revealing a concealed space that had remained untouched for decades. Johnstown Castle, which dates back to Norman times, was owned by various aristocratic families before entering public ownership in the late 20th century.
Four haunted houses for Halloween
Halloween is a time for family and friends to gather around a crackling fire and share ghost stories. Apparently in Victorian times, spooky tales were more associated with Christmas but nowadays we savour them at the end of October. There is a limitless supply of ghost stories in Ireland where huge ruined castles loom on the landscape and the ruins of big houses lie abandoned at the end of long winding avenues. They have always fascinated me so, to celebrate the spooky season, I’ve found four tales of haunted houses.