Historical Note
Galtee Castle, that was formed from Galtee Lodge, was built on the lower slopes of the Galtee Mountains as a hunting lodge for Robert 2nd Earl of Kingston in the late 18th century. George the 3rd Earl, later remodelled the lodge and its grounds adding an octagonal tower in the process, this was most likely during his building spree of the 1820s. During this time around 1860, it is believed the Loughananna House was significantly upgraded and the Victorian addition added. The Kingstons would have used this lodge for entertaining hunting parties and later also as a base for escorting privileged guests to the nearby Mitchelstown Caves, discovered in 1833. At this time, the castle enjoyed grounds of 20,000 acres within which stood Loughananna House. Later, much of the lands were sold to tenant farmers and the estate contained 2000 acres within the demesne. After the death of Nathaniel Buckley, the estate passed to an Abel Buckley, a Lancashire-based wealthy cotton mills owner. Galtee Lodge had been upgraded and extended to become a castle by this time. This was to be the golden age of Galtee Castle. Abel Buckley was extremely wealthy and during his tenure no expense was spared. They were amongst the first in the county to own a motor car, a hydroelectric system was installed to harness power, he was also a keen horse breeder and had his own personal race track on site. A lavish party took place for Abel Buckley Jr’s coming of age (21st Birthday) in 1897. Marquees were erected at Loughananna Park to cater for 1,500 people. Loughananna House was home to Catherine Kennedy until 1999 the daughter of the renowned artist Robert Gregory who was the son of the great historical Lady Gregory. The previous owners bought the property in 2000 and undertook an extensive restoration project taking great care and attention to detail to make Loughananna House into the wonderful family home it is today. Loughananna House was also the birthplace in 1816 of John O’Mahony who went on to found the Fenian movement in the United States of America.
