In
1835, the original building was unsafe and a distinguished Irish architect, William Vetruvius Morrison, was called in to
survey the building. He perceived the problem as sinking foundations and the building was demolished. It was rebuilt and the castle, as we know it, was completed in 1837. The male line of the Vernons failed and the estate was passed on to George Oulton, through one of John Vernon's nieces. JG Oulton took over the Vernon estate and became President of the Clontarf Cricket and Football Clubs. He had five children, two of whom are still alive and living in England. He died in the castle on April 17th 1952 and the castle was left to his son, Desmond Oulton, who sold it to pay death duties and other debts. The building was vacant for a number of years until 1957 when Mrs. Egan bought it. She sold it to Eddie and Gerry Regan in the 1960's.
The
Regans extended the castle to cater for the wedding trade and growing cabaret
trade, which was run throughout the year. In 1972, Gerry and Carmel Houlihan
bought the castle and ran it as one of Ireland's best cabaret venues until
April 1997, when the last cabaret show was staged. The castle was reopened
in June 1998 as a superb four star hotel. In 2006, the hotel underwent a €10
million extensive refurbishment to include all bedrooms, conference and banqueting
facilities, restaurant and bars. << Previous Page
