Awakening of Spring - November 2024 to April 2025 Update

Hello! We hope this finds you well.

One day, we’ll get into the habit of consistent blogging—but until then, here’s a quick update on what’s been happening at the Castle since our last post. Apologies if we forget anything—we’ve been busy!

Walking the Road

Let’s start with something important: on August 24th, 2023, we launched a GoFundMe campaign titled "The Road to Restoration". Thanks to your generous support, the target was successfully reached five months ago, raising €1,000 to help address the condition of our long-suffering avenue.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the following supporters:

Jill Benes, Esmeralda Ireland, Mario Pons-Schmidt, Jo Rodgers, Orla Pendergast, Hannah Corble, David Wenger, Hazel Keegan, Thomas Freed, Katrina Prakhova, Kevin Dermody, Rosemary Fahy, Chelsey Keen, Fionnuala Wall, William Seaquist, Conor Ryan, Kevin McCabe, Simon Costello, Denise Rolla, Siobhán Scarlett, Ashley Ward, and several kind anonymous donors.

Your contributions helped us push back against the ever-persistent Pothole Goblins (as they’re affectionately known), if only temporarily.

Unfortunately, they have since returned, digging in—quite literally. We’re now considering raising the fundraising goal to continue the fight. A full restoration of the avenue remains beyond our current means, but we are exploring long-term solutions.

Once again, thank you for your ongoing support and solidarity. It means the world.

The Roof

In 2024, we were able to continue essential conservation work on the King’s Tower (also known as the Octagonal Tower) and the main roof of the Castle—a long-awaited step in safeguarding the structural integrity of the building.

As many of you know, roof repairs at Charleville are not only significant in scale, but crucial to the long-term survival of this extraordinary place. The King’s Tower, with its distinctive shape and historical prominence, presented particular challenges—requiring both time and expertise to address weather damage, aging timber, and structural wear that has built up over centuries.

Thanks to ongoing support and careful coordination with skilled heritage workers, we’ve been able to prevent further water ingress and stabilise key areas. These efforts are already making a noticeable difference—less moisture creeping into the upper floors means less damage to the interiors, and fewer emergency buckets during heavy Irish rains!

There is, of course, still a long way to go. These conservation projects are slow, expensive, and always a little unpredictable—but each step forward brings us closer to the goal of a fully restored and resilient Charleville Castle.

To everyone who has contributed time, funding, or good energy toward this work: thank you. You are helping us protect not only a historic structure, but a living, breathing community space full of potential.

Tourism and Events

From Spring to Autumn 2024, we intermittently opened our doors for guided tours of the Mezzanine floor, even as a major film project was underway—filming both at Charleville Castle and at other iconic locations across Ireland.

We can't yet reveal too much, but we can say this: it was once described as "Ireland's worst-kept secret"... so perhaps not for much longer. While we wait for official word, the estimated release is October 2025, just in time for Samhain (Halloween). Don’t quote us—but we’re fairly adamant that’s the goal. Expect a follow-up blog post when the time comes.

We also hosted several paranormal investigators—as is tradition—and Sure Look Productions, an award-winning film and television company, shot part of one of their upcoming short films here. We'll share more about that project in a future post. Check here for some teasers. https://www.instagram.com/dearg_film/

Spring 2025

Due to delays in our annual maintenance schedule, the Castle has been temporarily unable to accommodate guided visits this spring. We deeply appreciate your understanding and patience.

That said, with maintenance now nearing completion, we expect to reopen to the public in late summer 2025.

In the meantime, we’re thrilled to announce that two new film projects will be hosted at the Castle from April through June. These productions are not only exciting creative endeavours—they’re also vital contributors to the ongoing conservation of Charleville Castle, helping to secure its place in both our shared heritage and our evolving cultural landscape.

Thank you for taking the time to read our update.

We hope to welcome you to the Castle again soon.

Warm regards,

Michael Vance

For the Charleville Castle Heritage Trust