Moydrum Castle
Encyclopedia
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
situated in the locality of Moydrum (Magh Droma in Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
), outside the town of Athlone, County Westmeath
County Westmeath
-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Background
The lands of Moydrum were granted to the Handcock family, originally from Devon, UK, during the Cromwellian plantations of IrelandPlantations of Ireland
Plantations in 16th and 17th century Ireland were the confiscation of land by the English crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from England and the Scottish Lowlands....
in the 17th century. From then on the family remained one of the most prominent landowning dynasties and landlords in the area.
Moving forward several generations, head of family William Handcock served as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) in Grattan’s Parliament
Henry Grattan
Henry Grattan was an Irish politician and member of the Irish House of Commons and a campaigner for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century. He opposed the Act of Union 1800 that merged the Kingdoms of Ireland and Great Britain.-Early life:Grattan was born at...
, representing Athlone until the parliament’s dissolution in 1800 following the Act of Union with the United Kingdom. Handcock had originally been an opponent of the Act, but was promised a peerage should he vote in favour of it. He duly succumbed and finally, in 1812, Handcock was created 1st Baron Castlemaine
Baron Castlemaine
Baron Castlemaine, of Moydrum in the County of Westmeath, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1812 for William Handcock, with remainder to his younger brother Richard Handcock. Handcock represented Athlone in Parliament and also served as Governor of County Westmeath...
.
The Baron decided to create an appropriate stately home on his lands at Moydrum, and therefore asked architect Richard Morrison to remodel and enlarge an existing house belonging to the family there. The resulting gothic-revivalist castle was completed in 1814 and was described as a "handsome residence" in Samuel Lewis' 1837 Topographical Dictionary Of Ireland, "a solid castellated mansion with square turrets at each angle, beautifully situated by a small lake, and surrounded by an extensive and richly wooded demesne
Demesne
In the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...
".
By the 1880s, and the time of the 4th Baron, the Barony of Moydrum comprised 11444 acres (46.3 km²).
Destruction
Growing tensions in Ireland ultimately led to the Irish War of IndependenceIrish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
of 1919 – 1921. The effects of the war were felt in the Irish midlands as much as anywhere else in the country. In early July 1921 British military forces burned several homes in south Westmeath and, incensed, local Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
(IRA) forces felt that this could not go unpunished. Moydrum Castle, given its status as the seat of a prominent member of the British House of Lords, was chosen as a suitably symbolic subject for their reprisals. On the night of July 3rd, 1921, an assembly of IRA members marched on the castle. The 5th Baron was out of Ireland at the time but his wife and daughter, together with several servants, were in residence and were woken from their sleep by knocking at the door. The Baroness and her daughter were given time to gather together a few valuable belongings before the building was set alight. The blaze completely destroyed the castle.
Following the establishment of the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
, much of the land belonging to the Barony was improved, divided and sold on by the Irish Land Commission
Irish Land Commission
The Irish Land Commission was created in 1881 as a rent fixing commission by the Land Law Act 1881, also known as the second Irish Land Act...
. The Baron, his wife and family were never to return to Moydrum.
Photographer Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, music video and film director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for more than a decade...
photographed Moydrum Castle for the cover of the Irish
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,...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band U2's
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
fourth studio album, 1984's The Unforgettable Fire
The Unforgettable Fire
U2 feared that following the overt rock of their 1983 War album and War Tour, they were in danger of becoming another "shrill", "sloganeering arena-rock band". The success of the 1983 Under a Blood Red Sky live album and the Live at Red Rocks video, however, had given them artistic—and for the...
and gave it a sepia tone. The photograph, however, was a virtual copy of a picture on the cover of a 1980 book In Ruins: The Once Great Houses of Ireland by Simon Marsden
Simon Marsden
Sir Simon Neville Llewelyn Marsden, 4th Baronet is an English photographer and author. He is known best for his uncommon black-and-white photographs of allegedly haunted houses and places throughout Europe...
, for which U2 had to pay compensation. It was taken from the same spot and used the same polarising filter technique, but with the addition of the four band members.
Other Westmeath Castles
- Ballinlough CastleBallinlough CastleSituated in an area of County Westmeath, near the rural town of Clonmellon is Ballinlough Castle. This old castle is perched upon a hill overlooking two of the Westmeath lakes. The 17th century castle is the home of Sir Nicholas and Lady Nugent....
- Clonyn CastleClonyn CastleClonyn Castle also known as Delvin Castle, is situated in Delvin, County Westmeath some 18 km from Mullingar, in Ireland along the N52. The first castle is believed to have been built in 1181 by Hugh de Lacy the Norman, Lord of Meath for his brother-in-law, Sir Gilbert de Nugent...
- Killua CastleKillua CastleKillua Castle, and the nearby Raleigh Obelisk, are situated near Clonmellon town, in north County Westmeath. The castle and the obelisk are separated by some 200 m to 300m, and belonged to the Chapman family more than two centuries ago, beginning with Captain Benjamin Chapman, patriarch of the...
- Knockdrin CastleKnockdrinKnockdrin is an area north of Mullingar, in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is home of the Westmeath Hunt, and its most notable building is Knockdrin Castle.-Castle:...
- Tyrrellspass CastleTyrrellspass CastleTyrrellspass Castle, dating back to circa 1411, is situated in the town of Tyrrellspass, Co. Westmeath, on the west side of the village. It is the only remaining castle of the Tyrrells, who came to Ireland around the time of the Norman Invasion....
- Tullynally CastleTullynally CastleTullynally Castle is a castle situated some 2km from Castlepollard on the Coole village road in County Westmeath, Ireland. The famous British Army general, Sir Edward Pakenham GCB, was born and raised in the house...