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Glin Castle
Glin, Co. Limerick
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| Glin Castle , home of the Knight of Glin, his wife Madam FitzGerald, stands on the banks of the River Shannon amidst a 500 acre demesne. There are 15 individually decorated bedrooms each with its own private bathroom, these can be reserved on an individual basis. The richly decorated ceiling, Irish furniture and paintings show the original splendour of the castle interior. The Reception Rooms consist of a sitting room (or Smoking Room) where one can sit and chat over a drink before or after dinner. The Library with its broken pedamented mahogany bookcase is situated below the rear flying staircase. Guests can relax in the splendid Drawing Room with its Rossi marble mantelpiece - elegant surroundings in which to have morning coffee, afternoon tea or to enjoy coffee and liqueurs. Glin Castle food is Irish country house cooking at its best. Dine off freshly caught fish and locally reared beef and lamb. Vegetables and fruit are grown in the castle's organic walled garden. Sit down at a well laid table covered in crisp Irish Linen, and family silver in the knightly splendour of the old dining room, with its rows of ancestral portraits. Some background to the family: The romantically-titled Knights of Glin, a branch of the great Norman family, the FitzGeralds or Geraldines, Earls of Desmond, were granted extensive lands in County Limerick in the early 14th century by their Desmond overlords. The FitzGeralds came to Ireland from Wales in the 1170s as mercenaries, at the request of King Dermot MacMurrough, to help him with his wars to subdue his subjects. Three of the cadet branches of the Desmond lordship were known as the White Knight, the Knight of Glin and the Knight of Kerry. These strange titles are anomalies and are more akin to Gaelic Chieftainships, demonstrating the Gaelicisation of this Norman sept. The last White Knight, Maurice Og Fitzgibbon, died in 1611 and the title is now, sadly, extinct or dormant, although there have been several claimants to it. The Earls of Kingston descend in the female line from Maurice Og - his niece married Sir John King, 1st Lord Kingston. A full-length portrait of the 1st Lord Kingston in armour hangs on the left hand wall of the hall. Just beyond it hangs a portrait of Lord FitzGerald and \'esey, another claimant to the title. The Knight of Kerry now lives in England . Maurice's son, Thomas FitzMaurice FitzGerald, was granted Shanid in West Limerick in 1197 where he built a polygonal keep, on a motte, in about 1200. 'Shanid Abu' translated means 'Shanid for ever' and was always the Desmond Geraldine's' war-cry. Their war-cry can be seen on the back of the hall chairs on the coat-of-arms on the ceiling and on the many pieces of silver in the house.
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| Each bedroom has its own unique bathroom. The castle has four Deluxe rooms, six Superior rooms and five Standard rooms. Superior and Standard rooms are situated in either the old Castle Wing or the third floor. There is no lift at Glin Castle . All of the bedrooms and their bathrooms differ from each other in layout, style and decor. The Castle Gardens provide an environment in which visiting gardeners can investigate and examine the flowers, plants and trees. The walled garden has fresh fruit and vegetables for the kitchen, and there are opportunities for walking, croquet and tennis. Glin Castle welcomes horticultural groups and societies. |
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