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CASTLEPOLLARD |
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Towards the northern end of Lough Derravaragh, CASTLEPOLLARD is the
most convenient base from which to explore the whole area, handily
placed right in the middle of all the attractions. It's not the most
exciting of villages, although it clearly sets great store by its
picturesqueness, with a vast triangular green surrounded by carefully
tended eighteenth- and nineteenth-century dwellings. Many of the
visitors are here for the fishing - mainly roach, pike and trout - on
Lough Derravaragh. There are a number of B&Bs , of which the Pollard
Arms (tel 044/61194; £55-70/69.84-88.88) is probably the most attractive.
The biggest draw in the immediate vicinity is Tullynally Castle (mid-June
to mid-Aug daily 2-6pm; £4.50/5.71; gardens May-Sept daily 2-6pm;
£3/3.81; tel 044/61159), whose entrance can be found half a mile from
Castlepollard down the road to Granard (alongside the gable of the
Derravaragh Inn ). From the gatehouse a drive leads across another half-mile
of rolling parkland to the castle itself. The home of ten generations of
the Anglo-Irish Pakenham family - the Earls of Longford - it's one of
the largest and most romantic of castles in Ireland, a vast
conglomeration of architectural styles (largely Gothic Revival) with
four towers and a long stretch of battlements.
Three hundred years ago the castle was no more than a tower house set
amidst the ancient oakwoods which grow around Lough Derravaragh. The
park was first laid out in 1760, very much along the lines you see today,
by the first Earl of Longford; his wife founded the family library of
more than eight thousand volumes which features on the tour. Their son
returned from the French wars to greatly expand the castle to the Gothic
designs of Francis Johnston , whose work crops up throughout Ireland.
The second earl's other claim to fame is to have refused his daughter
Kitty's hand in marriage to the young man later to become the Duke of
Wellington - they eventually married regardless. One of Kitty's brothers,
Edward, fought as Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in America in
1814, and died leading his troops in the attack on New Orleans. His body
was sent home pickled in a barrel of rum. In 1840 the third earl added a
further 600ft of battlements, a servants' hall for forty, and an immense
Victorian kitchen which will also make up part of your tour. Later
Pakenhams have been less militarily inclined than their forebears: one,
Charles Pakenham, forsook the army in the nineteenth century to found
the Irish Passionist order of priests; and the present Lord Longford is
well known in Britain for his liberal writings and involvement in prison
reform.
In the grounds in front of the castle, a garden walk leads to a spacious
demesne on the left, and the flower garden, River Sham pond and walled
gardens off to the right. Passing further to the right, between two
stone sphinxes, is the kitchen garden , one of the largest in the
country and still resplendent with its row of Irish yews. Slightly
further afield, the most rewarding walk of all is a forest path which
takes you around the perimeter of the spearhead-shaped demesne, with
excellent views back onto the castle.
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