Foulksrath Castle is a 13th-century Irish castle in Jenkinstown, County Kilkenny. In Anglo-Norman style, it was successively owned by the De Frene and Purcell families.
Foulksrath Castle is a fortified castle in the form of a 4-storey tower. A stone spiral staircase links the whole.
Surrounded by a moat, it was built for the De Frene family, who came from Great Britain during the Channel Invasions.
It didn’t pass into the hands of the Purcell family until the early 15th century. But Cromwell soon seized the castle and returned it to the family a few months later.
Several centuries later, the castle changed hands, and was long associated with the Swift family (Jonathan Swift’s parents). It was in 1857 that Godwin Meade Pratt Swift patented the first airplane in Ireland. Known as the “aerial chariot“, his invention was launched from the top of the castle using a catapult. His butler was at the controls of the plane… The result was most disappointing, and the aerial chariot immediately plunged to the ground, causing multiple fractures to the pilot.
After many setbacks and abandonments, the château was transformed into an inn, and is now privately owned. So it’s impossible to visit it from the inside…
Since 1992, there have been rumors that the château is haunted. In 1992, a BBC programme was even devoted to him, with a team of ghost hunters!
According to eyewitness accounts, the first apparition observed was that of a female ghost, who appeared at the tower’s window. According to local residents, she is the daughter of a former owner of the château, who was locked up by her own father. The latter would have liked to sequester her after discovering that she had a magnet. The poor woman then died of starvation and still haunts Foulksrath Castle today…
The second ghost appears every November 29. He is said to be a former guardian of the castle, who was thrown from the top of the tower for falling asleep on guard duty. He would watch over the castle ever since…
Adresse :
GPS :
Opening hours :
Visits are not permitted, as the château is privately owned.
4.00/5 (1 votes)
