Page 75 - Our Wexford

THE HISTORY OF JOHNSTOWN CASTLE

Resting six kilometres south of married Mary Reynolds and in 1692 PLAN A VISIT
the centre of Wexford town is the he became the sole proprietor of the The wonderful gardens at Johnstown
lush Johnstown Castle Estate and castle having purchased the other Castle and the Irish Agricultural
Gardens. Sitting in the epicenter of two-thirds of the estate from his Museum will ensure a spectacular
the 1,000-acre estate, the doors of sisters-in-law. family day out. Daniel Robertson
the ornate Norman Castle remain The property remained with the laid out the castle’s stunning gardens
closed. Grogan family until 1945, apart between 1844 and 1851 and to this
The ancient heritage of Johnstown from a brief period during the 1798 day they retain their early design and
Castle begins in 1169, the same year rebellion. beauty. A lakeside walk lined with
the Normans first arrived to Ireland The last private owner, the late Lady statues offers a perfect vantage point
(via Wexford) at the request of Maurice Fitzgerald, a descendent of to take in the panorama of the castle
Diarmait Mac Murchada, the ousted the Grogan family, willed the estate with its turrets and battlements.
King of Leinster. The castle was to her grandson Captain M.V. Lakin The parklands are home to a
first built that year by the Esmonde in 1942. In 1945 he generously variety of trees, including Japanese
family. Local legend has it that the gifted the estate to the nation and cedar, golden Lawson cypresses
place is named after King John the Department of Agriculture and Atlantic blue cedars as well as
who stayed overnight on his way to under the ‘1945 Johnstown Castle a number of towers and waterfalls.
Wexford about 40 years after Robert Agricultural College Act’ and A wonderful walled garden and an
Fitz-Stephen and the other Anglo- undertook to maintain but not ornamental garden are gems not
Normans arrived at Bannow Bay alter ‘the ornamental nature of the to be missed and in the grounds’
some 20 miles away. 120 acres of gardens and pleasure centre you’ll find a traditional Irish
The Castle was confiscated from grounds of the estate’ and to this day farmyard and courtyard which is
the Esmonde family by Cromwell Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food also home to a café offering lots of
and given to Lieut. Col. Overstreet Development Authority have been local produce and, fittingly, the Irish
in settlement for arrears of pay. doing just that. Having operated Agricultural Museum. This houses a
Overstreet’s widow married Edward their offices from the castle for a vast collection of old farm tools and
Withers and with no children of this number of years, Teagasc have taken machinery and is a must visit for any
marriage, the estate was bequeathed the job of custodians very seriously, family.
to local merchant John Reynolds, his maintaining the gardens and grounds www.irishagrimuseum.ie
wife and three daughters, Mary, Jane to a high level and ensuring the
and Susan. John Grogan of Wexford careful preservation and restoration
of the estate infrastructure itself.

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JOHNSTOWN CASTLE 75