Kinnitty Castle
Encyclopedia
Kinnitty Castle is a castle in Kinnitty
(Cionn Eitigh), County Offaly
, Ireland
. It is located north of the Slieve Bloom Mountains
on the R421
regional road
between the villages of Kinnitty and Cadamstown
.
The castle is built on the site of St. Finnian's monastery, the high cross of which is still situated nearby. Later, a pyramid was built by the Bernard family who resided in Kinnitty Castle,
From 1955 to 1985, Kinnitty Castle hosted a Forestry Training College. It was purchased by the Ryan family of Luimneach in 1994. They developed it to a 4 star getaway and it became a leading venue for weddings. However, a deal to sell the venue to the Hanly Group fell through in 2006 resulting in a court action. Then in October 2008 the KBC Bank Ireland seized the property and appointed a receiver to the property, FGS Partnership. A protest against the bank from the local community then followed, after which the bank all but closed the property. This led to the bank failing to respect weddings already booked for 2009/10 and many disappointments, where the bank placed the blame unfairly on the Ryan Family.
The Ryan Family then sued the bank for appointing a receiver with a conflict of interest in that a senior partner of the receivers office had showed interest in the property himself, before the bank foreclosure.
Since the foreclosure the receiver has been attempting to run the property.
After numerous management changes in the last two years, they have recently appointed a management company. The story continues.
Kinnitty
Kinnitty is a village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is located 13 km east of Birr on the R440 and R421 regional roads.The village derives its name from the myth that the head of an ancient princess is buried beneath the village, Ceann being Irish for head and Eitigh being the name of the...
(Cionn Eitigh), County Offaly
County Offaly
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It is located north of the Slieve Bloom Mountains
Slieve Bloom Mountains
Situated close to the geographical centre of Ireland The Slieve Bloom Mountains rise from the central plain of Ireland to a height of 527 metres. While not very high, they are extensive by local standards...
on the R421
R421 road
The R421 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs southwest-northeast from the N62 in Roscrea to the N52 just south of Tullamore.The route is long.-See also:*Roads in Ireland*National primary road*National secondary road-References:...
regional road
Regional road
A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route , but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three digit route numbers, prefixed by "R" A regional road in Ireland is a...
between the villages of Kinnitty and Cadamstown
Cadamstown
Cadamstown, historically called Ballymacadam , is a small village in County Offaly, Ireland. It lies on the R421 regional road, just north of the Slieve Bloom Mountains. It is about 20 km from Tullamore and 6 km from Kinnitty.-Features:...
.
The castle is built on the site of St. Finnian's monastery, the high cross of which is still situated nearby. Later, a pyramid was built by the Bernard family who resided in Kinnitty Castle,
From 1955 to 1985, Kinnitty Castle hosted a Forestry Training College. It was purchased by the Ryan family of Luimneach in 1994. They developed it to a 4 star getaway and it became a leading venue for weddings. However, a deal to sell the venue to the Hanly Group fell through in 2006 resulting in a court action. Then in October 2008 the KBC Bank Ireland seized the property and appointed a receiver to the property, FGS Partnership. A protest against the bank from the local community then followed, after which the bank all but closed the property. This led to the bank failing to respect weddings already booked for 2009/10 and many disappointments, where the bank placed the blame unfairly on the Ryan Family.
The Ryan Family then sued the bank for appointing a receiver with a conflict of interest in that a senior partner of the receivers office had showed interest in the property himself, before the bank foreclosure.
Since the foreclosure the receiver has been attempting to run the property.
After numerous management changes in the last two years, they have recently appointed a management company. The story continues.