Rathfarnham Castle stands high above the road separating it from the village which shares its name, writes Sylvia Thompson.
It looks a little pale these days, its white façade slightly faded against the Irish skies whose rain clouds often surround it. But it remains an oasis of calm in an increasingly busy Dublin suburb; and it holds a wealth of history and intricate craftwork ready to be discovered by both locals and visitors.
The three-storey castle was built by Adam Loftus in 1583, two years after Loftus was granted the lands of Tallaght, Rathfarnham, Whitechurch and Cruagh following the Desmond Rebellion. An ambitious Yorkshire clergyman, Loftus had come to Ireland as chaplain to the Lord Deputy in 1560. Moving quickly through the ranks, he became Archbishop of Dublin in 1567, Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1581 and the first Provost of Trinity College in 1592.
Fiercely ambitious and grandiose in style, Loftus had the castle built so he could move from the Archbishop's Palace in Tallaght, which was constantly being raided by the O'Byrne's and O'Tooles of Wicklow. It was designed to provide both a luxurious residence for Loftus and his family (he and his wife, Jane, had 20 children) and as a strong defence against the Irish clans which remained allies of Viscount Baltinglass, who previously ruled the territory.
With its four bastion shaped flanker towers, Rathfarnham Castle was the first and largest fortified house built in the Italian military style in Ireland (others included Kanturk Castle, Portumna Castle and Raphoe Castle). Its owner entertained lavishly and wrote to his friends that he hoped to make his house the most remarkable in Christendom.
Loftus died in 1605. Throughout the 17th and 18th Centuries, Rathfarnham Castle passed out of and then back into the Loftus family as royalists and parliamentary forces laid claim and counter-claim on it. Mr Speaker Connolly bought the property for £62,000 in the early 1700s, but never resided there - presumably preferring his primary residence of Castletown.
From this time onwards, the castle underwent a series of remodellings. Henry Loftus used the services of two eminent architects - William Chambers and James "Athenian" Stuart - to change the Elizabethan castle into a splendid Georgian house.
He had the battlements taken off and the small Elizabethan windows replaced with large Georgian ones. The interior was decorated in the Roman and Greek classical style with paintings by Angelica Kauffmann. The triumphal arch (now standing forlornly on Lower Dodder Road) was built as a grand entrance to the castle in the 18th century and Nutgrove House (no longer standing) was the dower house to the castle during these times.
By the late 1700s, the castle was again renowned for its luxury and its collections of furniture and works of art, yet these were soon dispersed to other family properties, notably Loftus Hall in Wexford and Ely Lodge in Fermanagh.
Rathfarnham Castle's second golden age had passed and it really never regained such prestige.
The 19th-century owners modernised the castle, adding bathrooms and rebuilding the front steps but it was the changes in the next century - carried out by the Jesuits who owned the place from 1913 to the early 1980s - that many people will still remember. The Jesuits added two large wings during the 1920s to accommodate a hall of residence for the seminary, as well as a retreat house and chapel. Some visitors to this day share anecdotes with the tour guides about their time spend at Rathfarnham Castle on retreat.
With only six men still living in the castle, the Jesuits decided to sell it and for a time there was great concern in the area that it might be demolished. These fears were relieved when Rathfarnham Castle was declared a national monument in 1986 and purchased by the State in 1987. At the same time, Dublin County Council - now South Dublin County Council - acquired the grounds.
Since then, Rathfarnham Castle has undergone some restoration works and heating, lighting and a security system has been installed. Visitors can examine the fine rococo ceiling in the drawing-room and exquisite paintings depicting the four seasons in the breakfast room but much restoration work remains to be done (for instance, the layers of history remain exposed in the 17th, 18th and 19th-century stonework and wood panelling in the dining-room).
A dedicated and enthusiastic team of guides will bring members of the public through the castle any day of the week until October 31st (enquiries to 01-4939462). Today and tomorrow, to mark Heritage Week, members of the public can see artist and tour guide Brian Breathnach working on portraits of Adam Loftus.
In the longer term, much work is needed if the Office of Public Works is to achieve its aim of turning the castle once again into a living, breathing place filled with laughter and music.