Restored Ballindooley Castle sells for €328,000

Galway City’s only inhabitable castle has sold for a song after three years on the market.

Ballindooley Castle was first put on sale at €795,000. That dropped to €595,000 a year later. According to the Price Property Register it has now sold for €328,000 – a discount of a whopping €467,000.

According to auctioneer Helen Cassidy the price does not include contents, which were also sold to the new owner.

Helen would not reveal who will be the new king or queen of the castle but confirmed they were not local.

Measuring 3,400 sq ft and sitting on half an acre of land, the castle was restored from a ruin more than two decades ago by an American lawyer who happened upon the magnificent building – on the edge of the city and overlooking a turlough – during a business trip.

Complete with murder hole, majestic flagstone hearth fireplaces and a living room spanning the length and breadth of the castle, the castle was one of the most unique properties on the market in the West of Ireland.

Mary Hegarty from Chicago took on the restoration as a project with her aunt, Margaret King, in 1988. She spotted a ‘For Sale’ sign up on it while driving to Galway from Ashford Castle where she was staying.

Auctioneer Helen Cassidy examines plans of Ballindooley Castle.

In the mid-80s, the City Council debated knocking 10 metres from the roof to ensure it did not fall onto traffic.

Mary spent almost €300,000 on its complete overhaul, overseen by architect Conor Kelly with Sean Stewart as contractor.

Six months into the project, work was stopped by the council after outrage over the plastering of the exterior. The choice of a lime render called harling was not popular as it looked like domestic plaster. However, it was deemed the best and most authentic choice to make a 15th century building weatherproof.

Mary recalls being asked if she was taking in washing such was the number of buckets she was purchasing at the local hardware shop to catch all the leaks.

For its first public outing in June 1990, a marquee was erected at the water’s edge and neighbours were invited to a champagne supper and a party which lasted long into the night with 400 people showing up – 320 more than were invited.

Mary stayed a few times a year for a holiday and offered stays in the castle as prizes for her favourite charities in Chicago. She decided to sell up after finding the place too lonely following the death in 2010 of her aunt, who was more like a sister.

The castle was built around 1480 by the DeBurgo Family. The first written record of ownership was to Redmond Regough Burke and was probably used as a guest castle by the Burke Family, one of the 14 ancient tribes of the city.

Locals believe it was shelled by the British Gunboat Helga during the 1916 Rising to disband rebels who were said to be gathering there to march on the city.