Carton House

Located 14 miles west of Dublin, in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland, the historical 1,100 acre (4.5 km²) estate comprises Carton Demesne, one of Ireland's greatest stately homes and one time ancestral seat of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster.

With a history spanning more than eight centuries, Carton Demesne has seen many changes in its lifetime. The Carton Estate first came into the ownership of the FitzGerald family shortly after Maurice FitzGerald played an active role in the capture of Dublin by the Normans in 1170 and was rewarded by being appointed Lord of Maynooth, an area covering townlands which include Carton.

His son became Baron Offaly in 1205 and his descendant John FitzGerald, became Earl of Kildare in 1315.Under the eighth earl the FitzGerald family reached pre-eminence as the virtual rulers of Ireland between 1477 and 1513.

But the eighth earl’s grandson, the eloquently titled “Silken Thomas” was executed in 1537, with his five uncles, for leading an uprising against the English. Although the FitzGeralds subsequently regained their land and titles, they did not regain their position at the English Court until the 18th Century when Robert, the 19th Earl of Kildare, became a noted stateman,

The first record of a house at Carton was in the 17th Century when William Talbot, recorder of the city of Dublin was given a lease of the lands by the 14th Earl of Kildare and is thought to have built a house here at this time. The house and lands were forfeited to the crown in 1691 and in 1703 sold to Major General Richard Ingoldsby, Master General of the Ordnance. In 1739, the lease was sold back to the 19th Earl of Kildare who employed Richard Castles to build the existing house. Castles was also responsible for some other great Irish Houses including Westport House, Powerscourt House and in 1745, Leinster House which he built for the FitzGeralds.

In 1747 James the 20th Earl of Kildare and from 1766 first Duke of Leinster, married Lady Emily Lennox, daughter of the Duke of Richmond and great–grand-daughter of the English King Charles II.

Lady Emily played an important role in the development of the house and estate as it is today. She created the Chinese room (bed-room to Queen Victoria) and decorated the famous Shell Cottage on the estate with shells from all round the world. One of Emily’s 23 children was the famous Irish Patriot Lord Edward FitzGerald, leader of the 1798 rebellion.

Carton remained unaltered until 1815 when the 3rd Duke decided to sell Leinster House to the R.D.S. and make Carton his principle residence. He employed Richard Morrison to enlarge and re-model the house. Morrison replaced the curved colonnades with straight connecting links to obtain additional rooms including the famous Dining room. At this time the entrance to the house was moved to north side.

Carton remained in the control of the FitzGeralds until the 1920s when the 7th Duke sold his birth right to a money lender Sir Harry Mallaby Deeley in order to pay off gambling debts of £67,500.

He was third on line to succeed and so did not think he would ever inherit, but one of his brothers died in the war and another of a brain tumour and so Carton was lost to the Fitzgeralds.

Lord Brockett purchased the house in 1949 and in 1977 his son David Nall-Cain sold the house to its present owners Lee and Mary Mallaghan

Since 1977, Carton estate has been the property of, and nurtured by, the Mallaghan family. Ever mindful of preserving the estate's essential beauty and maintaining its breathtaking vistas, stunning landscapes and history, they have turned Carton into a glorious golf and leisure venue. Carton House is now home to Carton House Golf Club which comprises two internationally acclaimed championship courses designed by Mark O'Meara and Colin Montgomerie.

The Montgomerie course was recently ranked 10th in Ireland by Golf Digest magazine, the world's largest golf publication. This year the magazine introduced its Planet Golf rankings in which it lists the top courses in 184 countries. The magaizine develops its rankings through a panel of more than 800 raters, evaluating categories such as shot values, design variety, conditioning and aesthetics.

Carton House Golf Club has been confirmed as the venue to host the Nissan Irish Open in 2005 and The Montgomerie is the course on which the championship will be played. This is a fantastic achievement for The Montgomerie course as it has only been open for play since June 2003.

Future developments at Carton will include the construction of the Golfing Union of Ireland Head Office, National Golf Academy and a magnificent 160 bedroom luxury hotel, due to open in Spring 2006.