Queens of the Castles: Two women share what life is like in historic homes

Dream of living in a castle? Two women who do, tell Jen Stevens what it’s like

Sun, 07 Aug, 2022 - 07:36

Jen Stevens

With fortresses and castle towers dotted all over the country, it’s easy to imagine what it would be like to live like ancient kings and queens.

But with special planning permissions, constant maintenance, and absolutely no plumbing, living and working in a historic home may not be for everyone.

Ballybur Castle

For Mhairi Gray, in Co Kilkenny, and Sonja Bergin, in Co Tipperary, it’s daily life.

Mhairi owns and runs Ballybur Castle just outside Kilkenny City. Her parents bought it in the 70s, and spent years renovating it and raising their family there. It was an idyllic childhood for Mhairi and her brothers, and she remembers summers spent climbing on piles of old slates and jumping across beams, as her dad rebuilt the ancient fort.

Mhairi’s dad, Frank, was an engineer, and her mum an artist, and, between them, recreated the castle that was first built in 1588 for the powerful Comerford family.

When they took it on, it had no roof — as local legend has it, Cromwell blew it off with a cannon at the end of Ballybur Lane.

Mhairi Gray at home in her castle: Her parents bought the castle in the 1970s.

“There was a ruin when they took it on. There was no water, no heat, no windows, nothing like that.”

Frank passed away in 2019, and while Mhairi kept things going for a while, she made the difficult decision to put the castle up for sale during the pandemic.

“When Dad passed away we took a little time off but we were open again through the summer, and then Covid hit the following March. Almost all of our business up to then had been American guests, really, with a trickle from the EU and the UK and then the very, very odd Irish guests. So when the pandemic hit, our business was more or less washed out of it straightaway.

Mhairi in one of the bedrooms of the castle.

“When it went [up] for sale, it would probably have ended up being bought by Americans for a second home. They might have been here for maybe two months in a year and you just can’t do that with a place like this. It would fall down.

“The maintenance on a place like this is huge, just the general upkeep is mammoth. We had to keep it all going during Covid even with no guests.

“You have to keep it heated if you don’t want it to crumble. You have to whitewash it every couple of years because the stone absorbs the moisture, and then it comes out in the summer. When it dries out, everything flakes off.

Mhairi Gray: As a child spent summers climbing on piles of old slates and jumping across beams.

“You even have to think of the enamel on the bath. There’s so much lime in the water in the area, and you have to get [it] re-enamelled every year. It really never stops.”

As it turned out, fate stepped in and Mhairi, who was never really sure about selling the place she had grown up in, found a local investor this year. She’s able to keep the castle that means so much to her, and work on plans that will develop the business. It’s a wonderful place to stay, and she has been working on small weddings and events, and is excited at what she and her new business partner will be able to do.

The Black Castle

Another woman who knows all about the hard work of castle restoration is Sonja Bergin, who owns The Black Castle in Co Tipperary with her husband Kevin.

Sonja Bergin owner of Tullaun Castle, Carrigagown North, Co Tipperary. Hadn't realised castles were for sale.

From Melbourne, in Australia, Sonja and Kevin found Tallaun Castle, which has been known locally as The Black Castle for years and dates back to 1570.

“We were living in a lovely, old, thatched cottage, but wanted to live in a more peaceful, rural location with countryside views, when we saw an advertisement for a small tower house for sale.

“We hadn’t realised that you could actually buy them, and although we didn’t pursue it at the time, it planted the idea. A few years later, just by chance, we saw another one for sale, which we fell in love with. We were outbid and so missed out, but that was the beginning of our castle quest.

“We bought ordinance survey maps — this was pre-Google Maps — and circled any ‘castles’ that looked in a good location. We checked their condition in a series of books we had by a fascinating man called Mike Salter, and started travelling all over Ireland.

Interior of Tullaun Castle, Carrigagown North, Co Tipperary.

“It took us another two-and-a-half years to find The Black Castle, and it wasn’t even for sale. A friend of ours had previously mentioned that he really liked it but we hadn’t done north Tipp yet. After we first saw the castle, it was love at first sight, but it then took nearly a year more to buy it.”

When Sonja and Kevin took it on, The Black Castle needed everything, it was a huge job.

“It was a roofless, floorless, damp, dark space. All the windows under the vault had been blocked up and it used to rain on the inside. The top floor was open to the elements, like a romantic but forgotten, neglected roof-top garden.

Tullaun Castle, Carrigagown North, Co Tipperary. When Sonja and her husband took on the castle it was a roofless, floorless, damp, dark space.

“The tower’s condition wasn’t too bad though, considering that it hadn’t been inhabited for over 350 years, the top was gone, and there were some large breaches in both the interior and exterior walls, but overall, it was manageable. We were lucky that quite a lot of the original cut stone was still in place, and in some places you can still see the stonemasons’ marks on the lower windows.

“Just after we bought the castle, the recession kicked in, so we couldn’t really do anything with it for nearly six years. Once we bit the bullet, the first step was getting planning permission, which was a very costly and slow process. Once we had that, before any work could commence, we had to reinstate the existing access, and then also get a track all the way up to the castle.

“Next task was to scaffold the tower. We had some contractors in for the heavy lifting initially, but then our funds ran out, and after that my husband, Kevin, did most of the work, including repointing the entire exterior of the castle, which took him about eight months.

“Once the castle was reroofed, work on the interior could commence. Our budget was tiny by this stage, so Kevin, sometimes helped by our very talented friend, Peter, did the remaining stonework. We had two great carpenters help us inserting the floors too.”

Initially, it was almost entirely American visitors who booked to stay at the castle, but Sonja says they are getting more Irish guests, which they love.

Sonja Bergin at home by the fire at Tullaun Castle.

A lot of tourists find the Black Castle through Celtic Castles, where Roger Masterson has been listing some of the some of the most unusual places to stay in Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, and France for almost 25 years. They are also listed on Host Unusual and Airbnb. The Black Castle isn’t open all the time for guests, but that helps keep some of the magic.

“We open up a very limited number of nights in the warmer weather each year, which helps us fund the upkeep, and we’ve met some fantastic people and had lovely feedback, so we hope people enjoy staying as much as we enjoy hosting.

“From the restoration works, the furnishings, and with only fire or candlelight, we try to offer the closest thing you can get to an authentic 16th century experience in The Great Hall, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s definitely unique.”

Although Sonja says that owning a castle is a “labour of love” and “not for the fainthearted”, the couple’s only regret is that they didn’t do it sooner, and that they could install a lift!

Ireland’s Best Castles to Stay In

If you like the idea of living in a castle but aren’t sure you’re up for the maintenance why not book a short stay instead?

Castle Hotels

Ashford Castle, Mayo, www.ashfordcastle.com

Dromoland Castle, Clare, www.dromoland.ie

Castle Leslie, Monaghan, www.castleleslie.com

Cabra Castle, Cavan, www.cabracastle,com

Waterford Castle, Waterford, waterfordcastleresort.com

Lough Eske Castle, Donegal, lougheskecastlehotel.com

Self-Catering

Cloghan Castle, Galway, www.cloghancastle.ie

Wilton Castle, Wexford, www.wiltoncastleireland.com