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Portlick Castle is the only Medieval castle in Ireland always
to have been lived in.
The Norman family of De Lion (later called Dillon), under the
charter of King John, built Portlick Castle in 1185. The family
were devout Catholics who fought in the Irish rebellion. Although
banished for a time to Connacht by Cromwell, they did not leave
their home for good until 1696.
The Dillions had been supporters of King James during the Jacobian
and Williamite wars, so the new monarch, King William, decided
to grant the property to someone more loyal to himself, a privy
councillor of Ireland named Thomas Keightly.
Keightly promptly sold his new home to William Palmer of Dublin.
The price tag was £365, £1 for every acre the castle
was attached to. Seven years later in 1703 Palmer then sold the
castle to the Rev. Robert Smyth for £885.
The Smyths like the Dillions before them were long-term and colourful
owners, although as early as 1782, their reign there looked destined
to have come to an end. The Rev. Robert Smyth's son, Ralph, had
just died and it was generally assumed that as a bachelor he had
no heirs. Jane Rogerson, Ralph's sister, prepared to take over
the castle. As was to be expected, distant relatives emerged and
began to lay claim to Portlick, insisting that they were the true
and rightful heirs. The future ownership of the castle was decided,
however, when a local woman came forward. Maggie Gerrily presented
her son, Robert, as Ralph's secret child and heir. A local clergyman
confirmed the story and the Smyth name was secured in Portlick
once more.
In 1812 the grand-daughter of the second Robert Smyth, Frideswide
Smyth, began courting a young navel officer by the name of Richard
Brydges Beechey. Beechey was at the time assisting in the preparation
of the Admiralty Chart of Lough Ree. It is because of this relationship
it is said that the Bay at Portlick received a lot more attention
in this report than other areas. The pair later married and their
son, RB Beechley, became known as one of Ireland's top three marine
painters.
A large part of the castle was gutted by fire in 1861, which destroyed
much of the Smyth family treasures including portraits and furnishings.
The last Smyth in Portlick was Harriet, a great great grand-daughter
of the second Robert Smyth. Her stepson was killed in World War
II and her husband, Norman Wallard Simpson, died in 1955.
In its near 1000 year history, Portlick Castle has witnessed civil
war, family disputes, devastating fire and the natural ravages
of time but, despite these, it is still as impressive and as well
preserved as ever. Now no longer a family seat, the story of Portlick
Castle enters a new phase as a country retreat, a deserved escape
from everyday routine and a chance to experience life, as it should
be, luxuriously.
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