Gormanston Castle

Gormanston Castle, County Meath
Photo © Kieran Campbell, 7 October 2007

Built in early years of 19th century by Jenico Preston, 12th Viscount Gormanston, on the site of an earlier house. Work stopped in 1820 when his wife died and the overall design was never completed. Sold in late 1940s and now a school run by the Franciscans.

Gormanston Castle and the Prestons

Gormanston (Irish: Baile Mhic Gormáin) is a village in County Meath, Ireland, near the mouth of the River Delvin, and the border with the Fingal part of old County Dublin.

Gormanston Castle was, from the 14th century to the 1950s, the seat of the Preston family, who managed to hold onto their estate lands through the centuries despite being staunch Catholics. The head of the family is known as Viscount Gormanston, premier Viscount of Ireland. The current holder of the title is Jenico Preston, 17th Viscount Gormanston who resides in London.

The family sold the castle in the 1950s, when it was acquired by the Franciscan Order of Friars who then established a boarding school for boys in the grounds, known as Gormanston College.

Tradition ordains that when the head of the family is in his final hours, the foxes of County Meath, except for nursing vixens, emerge from their earths and make their way to the door of Gormanston Castle to keep vigil until his Lordship has passed from this life. This tribute is in thanksgiving for the deliverance and protection from maurauding predators of a vixen and her young by a previous Lord Gormanston. This strange phenomenon has been witnessed many times over the last century but no reputable sources claim to have witnessed it in over 30 years.