A Brief History
  • John Kirwan bought CastleHacket Estate in the late 1600s
  • The Kirwan’s owned land that stretched from Beaghbeg to Cahermorris
  • J Kirwan was Mayor of Galway in 1686
  • CastleHacket House dates back to construction1703
  • Some time after 1703 The Kirwan’s changed from Catholic to Protestant.
  • In the early part of the last centaury, Major John Kirwan owned the estate. He was also the owner of the famous racehorse “The Friar”. (Another storey for another time.) The Major also had two sons, John the eldest who died at an early age and Denis born 1808 that went on to inherit the estate.
  • The Major was remembered for his generosity and the help he gave his tenants during the Famine, around 1820.
  • A Famine soup pot now part of a water feature in the Courtyard.
  • In 1843 Denis Kirwan, resigned from his position as bank manager for the Bank of Ireland Galway in order to devote himself full-time to his CastleHacket estate.... (I know the feeling, now devoted to CastleHacket upkeep...!)
  • Like his father before him, Denis came to the aid of his people in the Great Famine; he was also credited for securing the railway line to Tuam.
  • Denis Kirwan had a son John, who became an officer in the British Army, who died in the original CastleHacket House in 1875. He was 24, his younger sister then Mary Lissey became heir to the estate.
  • Mary Lissey later married Captain Denis Bernard son of the Protestant Bishop of Tuam. Mary also died young leaving behind 2 boys and 2 girls. Mary disliked pomp and ceremony during her life and wished to be buried in a simple coffin, no hearse, no flowers at her funeral....and that was the last of the Kirwan Family here.
  • One of Mary’s children was called Denis; he also joined the British Army and fought in the First World War. He rose in rank to become Lieut-General Sir Denis Bernard-Kirwan and was appointed Governor of Bermuda just before the outbreak of the Second World War.
  • Known as “The General” he came back to live in CastleHacket House.
  • In The Generals time, The original house was burnt down when the IRA blew the roof off in 1923. The English Government gave The General 30,000 English Pounds to rebuild CastleHacket House, he returned the sum of 1,000 pounds after refurbishments. In 1929.
  • General Bernard died in 1956 and had a simple funeral like his Mother Mary. His coffin was carried by tractor to his final resting place on Knockma.
  • The estate was passed onto his nephew Percy Paley. Who was also known for his kindness and when he died in 1985 the 300-year-old Kirwan line in CastleHacket came to an end.
  • The house has been in the hands of two different owners since then and purchased by Joyce Mc Donagh in 2016.