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Howth Castle

📍 County Dublin, Ireland

4 ★★★★ 680 reviews

About

Howth Castle is a historic dwelling, originally of Norman origin, that lies by the village of Howth, County Dublin, Ireland; it is sited within a substantial estate. The castle was the ancestral home of the St Lawrence family that had held the area since the Norman Invasion of 1180, and the head of which held the title of Lord Howth, a feudal barony, until circa 1425, Baron Howth to 1767, then Earl of Howth until 1909. The castle and estate were held by distaff heirs, the Gaisford-St Lawrence family, from 1909 to 2019, when they were sold to Tetrarch Capital.

Home to the St Lawrence family since 1177, Howth Castle is one of the oldest continuously inhabited residences in Ireland. The original Norman fortress was remodelled over centuries, with notable work by Sir Edwin Lutyens in the 1910s. Legend says Grace O'Malley, finding the gates locked at dinner, kidnapped the heir until the family promised never to refuse hospitality.