Creagh Castle is in Doneraile,
Co. Cork, Ireland above the Awbeg River.
The
house, originally called Crogh or Castle Saffron, and
standing beside a well-preserved tower-house once the
stronghold of the Roche family, became a Creagh property
in 1788, when Dr. John Creagh leased it from Mr. William
Love. The original house was built by John Love before
1750 and is said to have contained rooms with
plasterwork by the Francini brothers. Creagh Castle, as
it became known was destroyed by fire towards the end of
the eighteenth century and was rebuilt in 1816 by
William Brasier-Creagh, incorporating the old front of
the original house, which gives the building a somewhat
earlier look. The two bay additions on the south side of
the house were built in 1911 to provide a larger drawing
room and in exactly the same style as the original
block. William's brother, George, also made many
improvements to the estate, including the spectacular
Gothic entrance gates and gate lodge, which were built
in 1827.
The Creagh family
has a long-standing connection with Doneraile.
They are
descended from the O'Neills of Thomond who in a battle
against the Danes in Limerick wore laurel branches to
their helmets, thus earning the name O'Craoibh (branch),
of which Creagh is the anglicized form. From the
eleventh to the sixteenth century the family was settled
in County Limerick, where, in 1312, John Creagh of Adare
was Mayor of Limerick. The date of arrival of the
Creaghs in Doneraile is not clear but one branch of the
family appears to have settled in County Cork by the
sixteenth century. Christopher Creagh was Mayor of Cork
in 1541, and a man of great influence and power amongst
the native Irish.
|