Desmond Hall

The following information is courtesy of Gaelscoil Ó Doghair NCW.

The Desmond Hall in Newcastle West is an imposing two-storey structure which dominates the towns square. Although some say it was built by Knights Templars, the Geraldines, who came to Ireland with Strongbow in the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169, built the castle in Newcastle West.
The first reference to the castle at Newcastle West was in the pipe rolls census, of July 1298.
The castle in Newcastle West was not one of the bigger Geraldine castles. It was probably built as a centre and a rallying point in the Geraldine territory of West Limerick, being approximately equal distance from the outline ring of manors at Askeaton, Croagh, Castletown, Abbeyfeale, Glin and Foynes. Tomas died at Newcastle West and his body was taken to Tralee and buried, alone.
On 22 August 1329, his son Maurice was raised from the rank of Lord to Earl and so became the first Earl of Desmond. By this time the Geraldines - Earls of Desmond - controlled all South Munster. Their land stretched from Dingle to Youghal.
One of the best Earls of Desmond is the fourth Earl, Gareth, always referred to as Gearóid Iarla. He was a very clever man and gained the reputation of being a magician. He was also a poet composing in Irish, French and English. There is a very fine sculpture of Gearóid Iarla in the grounds of the Desmond Hall. It is by clíodhna cussen, a native of the town.
History records that Gearóid Iarla died at Newcastle West in 1398. In Irish folklore there are many legends concerning his death. One is that he walked out into the garden near the castle in Lough G1584,ur. He disappeared and he and his followers now live in a castle beneath the water of the lake. From this castle, Gearóid Iarlu comes forth once every seven years, and for one night rides a white horse wearing silver shoes. When this happens Gearóid will rest in peace and Ireland will be free.
After the death of Gearóid Iarla the castle in Newcastle West has little history until 1569 when it and other castles were surrendered to the English.
In 1584 the last Earl of Desmond was murdered in Kerry. The vast estates of the Earl were divided amongst the English gentry. The castle at Newcastle West and a large amount of surrounding land were given to Sir William Courtenay, Knight of Powerham in Devonshire, on 23 September 1591.
The Courtenays still live in the Powerham Castle and hold the title of Earls of Devon. In December 1641 disturbances broke out in Newcastle West and the castle was burned down. It is unlikely that anybody lived in the castle after that date. The old castle house, which was adjacent to the castle, and where the agents for the Courtenays lived, was probably built around 1700. This house was burned down during the civil war in 1922.
In time the Courtenays were to become very, very big landlords, owning up to 85,000 acres in South West Limerick, the remaining lands of Newcastle West, and the surrounding countryside known as the Devon Estate until the first years of this century.
In 1908 under the 1903 Land Act, practically all the lands of the Devon Estate were sold and the town of Newcastle West was sold on 12 October 1910.
The last agents on the Courtenays in Newcastle West were the Curling family. They were agents from 1848 until the break up and sale of the Estate. After the break up of the Estate, they bought the castle building and some of the surrounding land from the Earl of Devon.
The last of the Curlings, Richard Curling, died on 28 September 1943. In 1944 his executors sold his house and castle grounds and so after nearly 850 years, the Geraldine Castle, in Newcastle West passed into Irish ownership.