Huntington Castle, also known as Clonegal Castle, is a castle in Clonegal, County Carlow, Ireland, built in 1625.
The structure was originally a "plantation castle",[1] used for defensive purposes during the plantation of the area in the early 17th century. The original tower house, which served as a garrison, was built in the 15th century as a stronghold for the Caviness family, an old Irish clan. Due to the strategic importance of the village of Clonegal during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland because of its location on the road between Dublin and Wexford, the castle was captured by Oliver Cromwell as he marched on Kilkenny[2] in 1650.
It is now a private house open to the public for guided tours throughout June, July, August and September. It was the setting for Stanley Kubrick's film Barry Lyndon. Its basement has been the base of a religion, the Fellowship of Isis, since 1976,[3] The castle hosted the Solas Festival in August 2008.[4] co-founded by Olivia Robertson, her brother Lawrence Durdin-Robertson and his wife Pamela. The castle is now owned by Alexander and Claire Durdin Robertson.
- ^ Williams, Jeremy (1994). A Companion Guide To Architecture in Ireland 1837 - 1921. Irish Academic Press. p. 39. ISBN 0-7165-2513-5.
- ^ Heron, Marianne (1999). The Hidden Houses of Ireland. Gill & Macmillan Ltd. pp. 28–30. ISBN 0-7171-2730-3.
- ^ Rowan Kelleher, Suzanne (2004). Frommer's Ireland 2004 (14 ed.). John Wiley and Sons. pp. 177. ISBN 0-7645-4216-8.
- ^ Newenham, Pamela (18 August 2008). "Bad weather, mess and muck 'but the vibe was great'". Irish Times. Retrieved 12 June 2009.