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CLONMELLON, COUNTY WESTMEATH

+353 46 943 3234 | www.ballinloughcastle.ie

Built in 1641, Ballinlough is the ancestral home of the Nugent family, who claim lineage back to Brian, the fourth king of Connacht. Legend goes that he had one daughter and 24 sons, twelve of whom are said to have been baptized by St Patrick. The coat of arms over the front door is that of the O’Reilly clan: the family changed their name from O’Reilly to Nugent to avail of a dowry in 1812. Since then several generations of Baronet Nugents have occupied the house, making them one of the very few seventeenth-century Irish Catholic families who still live in their original family home. The castle was extended in the late eighteenth century, when a new wing was added to the design of the talented amateur architect Thomas Wogan Browne, who was responsible for Malahide Castle on the outskirts of Dublin. Today Ballinlough is best known as the venue for the popular Body & Soul festival which takes place in the grounds in the month of June. The house is also available as a venue for weddings and events, and the extensive grounds are also open to the public.