Tullynally Castle is a country house which was originally built in the mid 1650s. It is probably the largest castle in Ireland that is still used as a family home. That family's name is the Pakenhams, or the Earls of Longford.
Tullynally Castle
Tullynally Castle in County Westmeath has been home to the Pakenham Family for over 300 years.
Image courtesy of Tullynally EstateTullynally Castle
Image courtesy of Tullynally Estate
Image courtesy of Tullynally Estate
Tullynally Castle
Tullynally Castle in County Westmeath has been home to the Pakenham Family for over 300 years.
Image courtesy of Tullynally EstateTullynally is located 2 kilometres outside of Castlepollard in County Westmeath, close to Lake Derravaragh. Over the years, various sections of the castle have been rebuilt or added on, especially during the early to mid-19th century.
Famous architects such as James Shiel, Sir Richard Morrison and Francis Johnston have all worked on the design of Tullynally Castle. The castle is now over 2 acres in size and has over 120 rooms.
The Pakenhams
The history of Tullynally Castle is strongly linked to that of the Pakenham Family. The castle was first bought by Henry Pakenham in 1655. By 1740, Thomas Pakenham had married an heiress from Longford and with that, the family became the Earls of longford.
Their son, the 2nd Baron made major improvements to the house, including the installation of a central heating system. This was designed by his friend and famous inventor, Richard Edgeworth.
In the mid 19th century, the mansion was fortified by the 2nd Earl, who added four towers and a moat to the grounds of Tullynally. This was largely because of the poor relationship he had with Daniel O'Connell and his supporters.
The Pakenhams have lived at Tullynally for ten generations now and they opened the grounds up to the public in the 1960s.
Tullynally Gardens
The gardens at Tullynally are close to 30 acres in size. They were originally designed in the early 18th century but it was roughly a 100 years later that they were properly developed.
The gardens have various features such as a Grotto Path, a Walled Garden, two ornamental lakes, a Gingerbread House and a Kitchen Garden.
The Kitchen Garden is one of the largest in Ireland and includes tow hothouses which were used to provide peaches and grapes for the castle. There are also two friendly llamas there to keep on eye on the gardens.