Читать книгу Irish Castles - Orna Mulcahy - Страница 13

Ardo Castle

ARDOGINNA, COUNTY WATERFORD

www.ardmorewaterford.com

Ruined and romantic, Ardo Castle stands on a clifftop, looking out to sea, near the pretty seaside village of Ardmore in County Waterford. Dating from the seventeenth century, its eclectic collection of towers, walls, gates, and turrets matches its string of owners and their fortunes. The first owner mentioned was a Fitzgerald, of Norman stock, whose heir, it is said, was caught stealing a gold cup and hanged. In the eighteenth century, the castle was owned by a Jeremiah Coughlan, whose wife is said to have supported her extravagant lifestyle by helping local smugglers. The ownership passed to Marshal McMahon who was President and Marshal of France in 1873. Finally, the castle was purchased by the McKenna family, who lived in it for some years until the end of the First World War, after which it was abandoned.