HISTORY...
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Mr Henry Foster, cousin of the late John Foster, was appointed their Trustee and Executor, and in 1808 he rebuilt Cormy Castle. In doing so he exhausted the personal estate of his ward Augustus, and incurred debts, which made it necessary for the castle and land to be sold.
At that time (1810) Colonel Joseph Pratt was the owner of Cabra Estate. Born in 1755 - he was the son of Rev. Joseph Pratt the second - referred to previously. His aunt, Ann Pratt, sister of Rev. Joseph Pratt, had married another Foster, and had lived at Cormy at a slightly earlier period - therefore there was a also link between the Pratts and the Fosters.
It also seems possible that Colonel Pratt lent Mr. Henry Foster money prior to his insolvency. There was an enquiry and Mr. Henry Foster was declared insolvent, and the remains of the estate were taken over by Mr. Augustus Foster, the rightful Heir.
Colonel Joseph Pratt bought Cormy Castle with about 400 acres of Cormy Land from Mr Augustus Foster in 1813, and moved from Cabra House (near the Wishing Well) to the castle in that year. For a few years he continued to use the original name of Cormy Castle for his new home, but later - in about 1820 - Colonel Pratt renamed it Cabra Castle, and it has been known by this name ever since.
Colonel Joseph Pratt had married Jamina, daughter of Sir James Tynte, and had ten children. The eldest - Mervyn, born in 1807, married Madeleline Jackson, only daughter and heiress of Colonel Jackson of Enniscoe, Co. Mayo. They inherited this property when Colonel Pratt died. He succeeded his father, Col. Joseph Pratt, as owner of Cabra in 1863, but from this time onwards the interests of the Pratt Family were divided between Cabra in Co. Cavan, and Enniscoe in Co. Mayo. Mervyn Pratt died in 1890 and was succeeded on his death by his eldest son - Major Mervyn Pratt, in 1927.
Major Mervyn Pratt was badly wounded in the Boer War and never married. He lived permanently at Enniscoe, and left Cabra unoccupied. His younger brother, Colonel Audley Pratt, was killed in the First World War and also was unmarried.
Major Mervyn Pratt died at Enniscoe in December 1950, and left Cabra to his nearest male relative - Mervyn Sheppard, a Malayan Civil Servant. The burden of death duties, taxation, rates, cost of repairs to the castle, and farm losses made it impossible for him to live there. In 1964, he reluctantly disposed of the property, 265 years after Cabra land first came into the family possession.
In 1964, a local family - the Brennan Family, bought Cabra Castle. They renovated the building and converted it into a 22 bedroom hotel.
It was in their ownership up until 1986, when it was then sold to a group
of Arabs. They closed down the hotel, finished off prebooked functions,
and then kept the building as a private house. Having closed the castle,
with view to retaining it as a private house, political and economic circumstances
in the Middle East prevented the new Arab owners from further enjoyment
and development of the property. It effectively lay idle until 1991, when
it was purchased by its present owners, the Corscadden Family, who re-opened
it as a hotel. Since then the property has been extensively refurbished
and expanded from 24 bedrooms, to incorporate the former Courtyard area
bringing the total number of bedrooms to 80. Previous
Page.
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