Dowth Manor & Castle

Dowth has always been an important place of significance through the millennia. The passage grave in the field beside Netterville House has withstood time for 5,000 years. Not only has it seen Viking raids, but a group of English Israelites searching for the Ark of the Covenant paid a visit in the 1930's - less conscientious than other archaeologists they used an unsubtle form of excavation: Dynamite!!

Dowth Castle is the ancestral home of the Anglo-Norman Family of Netterville. The Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Hugh DeLacy, granted it to the Nettervilles in the thirteenth century. During the next 600 years it remained in the hands of this distinguished family, playing a prominent role in the history of Dowth.

In 1641 during the civil war, Viscount Nicholas Netterville offered his services to the crown but was turned down. He took umbrage at his rejection and joined the Confederates instead. this had the effect of His Majesty declaring him an outlaw and depriving him of his estates. It took ten years before he was pardoned by Oliver Cromwell's Government.

Sir John Netterville, Knight, was imprisoned in Dublin Castle as a traitor in 1655. He sent the King a petition claiming he was held against his will by insurrectionists who forced an entry into Dowth Castle. He cheated death and consequently obtained his freedom. The sixth Viscount Netterville, John, was bequeathed a large sum and built Dowth Hall in the Mid 18th Century, The eccentric Lord moved out of the Castle and into the Hall in 1780 leaving the Castle to become ruinous for a number of years. He built a tea house on top of the passage grave mound and "went to mass" with the assistance of a telescope to a nearby church. He also designed elaborate gardens, ramparts and walks around the House and Castle. He died in 1826 and in his will he left the Castle to be fitted up as an alms house for aged women.

William David O'Reilly was a Master of the National School which was part of Dowth Castle, and his son John Boyle O'Reilly spent the first eleven years of his life in Dowth Castle. He became a Fenian and famous poet and eventually ended up as an editor for the "The Boston Pilot". There is a ceremonial tribute to him in the graveyard beside the Castle. At his memorial Statue every August there is a memorial service.

Netterville House itself was built in 1877 by George C. Ashlin. During the early 1960s the house was the headquarters and domestic base of Newgrange excavations. These excavations were run by Professor M.J. (Brian) O'Kelly of University College Cork. The prominent author on passage graves Martin Brennan, stayed in the early 80s. Until recently it was owned by an American heiress - of the Hearst Family and for some time was occupied by a group of Buddhists.

No Trip to Netterville is complete without climbing to the top of the Castle (presently closed for renovations) to admire the idyllic prospect across County Meath. The spectacular view sweeps west along the Boyne picking out Newgrange, Knowth, Tara and the hill of Slane in a superb panoramic vista.

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