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CASTLE COOTE HOUSE, ON THE RIVER SUCK
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Castlecoote House is an early Georgian Palladian mansion built
within the romantic ruins of a 16th castle, overlooking the beautiful River Suck. . In the basement tower rooms, musket
chambers still overlook the entrance steps. It is
surrounded by woodland and the pastoral countryside of County Roscommon,
Ireland.
Built circa 1690, in 1989 it was destroyed by fire. Since 1997 it has been lovingly restored by some of
Ireland's finest craftsmen.
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History Castlecoote House is
situated on the site of a medieval castle, thought to have been built between
1570 and 1616. It was a strategic site, and may have been the base of the
Chieftains of Fuerty, the MacGeraghty clan. In 1616 it fell into the hands of
Sir Charles Coote, who improved and refortified the castle. The castle was
attacked three times by the confederate forces in the 1640's. In the 18th
century the property passed into the ownership of the Gunnings, rumoured to have
won it in a poker game. The two Gunning sisters, who were later to become the
Duchesses of Hamilton and Argyll, were renowned for their beauty. Their
portraits, painted by Joshua Reynolds, can be viewed in the main hall. An
impatient Duke of Hamiliton wedded the youngest of the sisters at half-past
midnight, with a ring torn from the bed curtains. In the 20th century, the house
was owned by Henry D. Strevens, a noted equestrian.
For more on the Gunning Sisters click here
