With a rich history dating back to the 16th century, Dromoland Castle Hotel is the perfect historical site to visit. This famous baronial Irish castle hotel was the ancestral home of the Barons of Inciquin, who are one of the few native Gaelic Families of Royal blood and direct descendants of Brian Boru, the last high king of Ireland in the 11th century.
In 1014, Donough O’Brien, a son of Brian Boru, controlled Dromlalnd when it was a defensive stronghold. For the next 900 years a branch of the O’Briens lived and ruled from Dromoland castle.
In 1660, the most powerful branch of the O’Briens was moved to Dromoland. Between 1700 and 1730 the second castle and house was built. Between 1800 and 1836 the main building was rebuilt, designed by the famous architects of that time, the Pain brothers. The cost of cutting and hauling its stone from a nearby quarry on the Dromoland Estate alone was more that €150,000 – a huge amount in Georgian times.
Starting in the 1940’s, Sir Donough O’Brien, the 16th Baron of Inchiquin, and his wife Lady Anne, managed to maintain Dromoland castle as a traditional ancestral home. By 1948, they began to take tourists as paying guests. In 1962 Lord Inchiquin sold the castle along with some lands to Mr. Bernard McDonough who renovated and transformed the castle into the world famous luxury hotel it is today.