Lismore Castle
On a cliff near the Blackwater river, rises the ancient, charming and impressive Lismore castle, one of Ireland’s finest, and home to many famous dwellers. The castle has a splendid view of the Blackwater Valley and the Knockmealdown Mountains, and is less than a kilometre from the Heritage Town of Lismore, County Waterford.
While the Gaelic name (Lios Mor) means “big fort”, the original seventh-century dwelling was in fact an ecclesiastical seat of learning, and still had this function when England’s Henry II stayed here in 1171. In 1589, Sir Walter Raleigh bought the castle, having leased it for some time. When imprisoned in the Tower of London for high treason in 1602, Raleigh sold Lismore along with 42,000 acres for £1,500 to Richard Boyle, who had arrived in Ireland with only twenty-seven pounds, but was eventually to become one of the country’s richest men – and Earl of Cork.
His son, Robert Boyle, father of modern chemistry, was born in Lismore in 1626. The castle passed to the Cavendish family, Dukes of Devonshire in 1753, when the daughter and heiress of the fourth Earl of Cork married the fourth Duke of Devonshire. Their son, the fifth Duke (1748-1811), carried out many improvements, and successive renovations and embellishments have sine been undertaken out by the Dukes of Devonshire, who still own the castle.
In 1932, Fred Astaire's sister Adele married Lord Charles Cavendish and lived in the Castle until 1944, when her husband died. Adele returned to America but continued to visit Lismore during summers, often with Fred accompanying her.
The current owner is Peregrine Andrew Morny Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire, and the castle now provides holiday accommodation – to those who can afford it! Unfortunately, the castle is not open to other visitors, save for its unspectacular gardens, for which there is a entry fee.