Offical news page of Charleville Castle

Celtic Awakening bring to you one of the best and most enchanting nights in the Celtic calendar, when dark and light come together in the winter solstice.

Charleville Castle will be alight thanks to the full moon. With the Celtic drummers, a night of fire and shamens with Mary Edwards connecting with spirit, working in the energies of healing and meditation. Charleville will host the most magical and mystical of the Celtic Calendar events of the year.

Touching roots with our ancient ancestors as you drive up the avenue of one of the most sacred oak druid forests in Europe. A very symbolic night. Tuesday the 21st of December at 7:30pm
is one not to be missed.

Refreshments will be given on the night and all you are required to bring is a pendulum.

Tickets are priced at €30 per person and can be booked via www.redmoonevents.org

Online payment is preferred and is accepted by Credit/Debit Card or via Paypal account.

Alternatively, payment can also be made at the door on the evening of each event. Please email info@redmoonevents.org detailing the number of individuals in your party and the name of each person.
Look forward to seeing you there!

View the Winter Solstice at Charleville Video

Its Heritage Week in your Castle

Charleville Castle is opening its doors free of charge to the general public again this year as a part the National Heritage Week. On Monday evening, August 23rd, renowned local historian, Michael Byrne will preside over a discussion on “The Fortunes Of The Charleville’s in the 19th Century”. Ciaran J Reilly will be bringing to the public for the first time revealing information the issues and challenges faced by the Charleville family in the lead up to and after the famine.

The 1820s and 1830s was the zenith for life and activity at Charleville Castle. It was a period which saw the designing and enlargement of the demesne and large scale agricultural improvements amongst other projects. At this time Charleville Castle was arguably the most prominent of the county’s numerous ‘Big Houses’. This lecture will examine the fortunes of the Charleville estate in the mid- nineteenth century by examining the role of Francis Berry, Lord Charleville’s land agent – while also highlighting the reasons for the decline of Charleville on the eve of the Great Famine. Ciarán Reilly is an IRCHSS Ph.D student at Dept of History, NUI Maynooth.

Every year millions of Europeans visit historical monuments and sites throughout Europe on European Heritage Days. These are a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union in which over forty countries participate each year. The main aim of European Heritage Days is to promote awareness of our built, natural and cultural heritage and to promote Europe’s common cultural heritage. In Ireland we celebrate European Heritage Days with a full week of events throughout National Heritage Week.

The Heritage Council coordinates National Heritage Week with support from the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government & Failte Ireland. The aim of National Heritage Week is to build awareness and education about our heritage thereby encouraging its conservation and preservation.

Each year many national and hundreds of local community organisations participate by organising events throughout the country. Many of the events that take place during the week are free and the program highlights the abundance of great work that is carried out in all communities in Ireland to preserve and promote our natural, built and cultural heritage. The Charleville Castle Heritage Trust has been supporting important research work in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. The Maynooth based Centre for Historic Irish Houses & Estates is focusing on three new lines of research namely; The Great Famine and the Irish Country House; Irish Country Houses and their Yorkshire Connections and Music and the Irish Country House. Charleville Castle is now top of the list and exciting new information is coming to the fore. The Monday night discussion will present these new findings. Very little has been published about the Charleville family in these contexts. There has been much conjecture and legend. The Maynooth research coupled with important Offaly Historical Research is helping to shine a new light on these parts of our history and cultural development. The Charleville Castle Heritage Trust is determined to, not only, preserve Charleville Castle, but also foster a better understanding of this part of our heritage and cultural development, and , as with the castle, share this with the public and the community.

Have you never had a guided tour of Charleville Castle? Well now is your chance! For two whole hours on Wednesday the 25th of August, volunteers at Charleville Castle are offering you a free guided tour (subject to numbers of course) between 2pm and 4pm. So Offaly will have a busy week with these and other attractions been thrown open to the public.

You are invited to:
An International Jazz, Soul and Blues Evening at Charleville Castle
Limited to 120 guests only

Violetta
 

Having “brought the house down” in a previous performance at Charleville Castle, Violetta is returning to enthrall Charleville Castle supporters in the acoustic perfection of the famous fan-vaulted gallery on June the 11th for that one special night only. Violetta has succeeded in enticing the great Michele Faber, “one of the most highly respected pianists of the Los Angeles jazz scene”. For the sax she has selected the Swedish saxophone player Fredrik Carlquist, along with two of Ireland’s new musical sensations, Dave Redmond on bass and Kevin Brady on drums.

This is a night to unite supporters of Charleville Castle and bring in more. Only 120 tickets are being printed. The idea is let the gallery of Charleville Castle show what it can do for such a wonderful contemporary music assembly. A sponsored wine reception with roaring fires, café-style seating and moody lighting are planned to let 120 people in on the secret of Charleville Castle’s unique design. This will be the night, in 2010, to truly appreciate the power in the heritage, which we are together saving for generations to come.

Stay and meet with the performers and other interesting people who will come. If you have far to travel, we will gladly assist you with local accommodation arrangements. The Tullamore Court Hotel is particularly supporting the evening with an impossibly large reduction on the cost of overnight accommodation with full breakfast and all the other perks – just prove that you are a guest of Violetta and you will be surprised with what will be offered you. On a peak Friday night you will have the possibility of enjoying Tullamore’s finest hotel arrangement for just €55 per person sharing.

This will truly be a night to remember, a night of great entertainment and art, and a night for new dreams, new ideas and friends.

We would like to thank Sandy Fitzgerald of the Grapevine, and City Arts Centre, fame for his loyalty and support over the years and for creating, through Violletta, this great feast of music and heritage which now awaits you!

Essential information:

* Charleville Castle is only a few minutes from Tullamore Train Station, connecting to Cork and Galway and only one hour from Dublin.

* Tickets are €20. They are strictly limited to 120 in number. It will sell-out. They are available from www.ticketmaster.ie or any ticketmaster outlet.

* Doors open 7pm. Performance commences 8pm sharp. Doors close 8pm Sharp.

* Don’t feel hurried after the event – there is nowhere better for an after performance chat. Leave your car at home and enjoy some sponsored beer and wine. Or just simply soak up the magical atmosphere.

* Offaly County Arts Office supports this event

* This event is in aid of Charleville Castle Heritage Trust – it is not just funding that matters – Charleville Castle needs its true friends – we also need more to understand the greatness of this masterful human construction but also to appreciate how this can be for all to share – now and long into the future.

Important Links On-line:

Violetta: http://www.myspace.com/violettacurry
Michelle Faber (USA): http://www.michelefaber.com/fla/default_eng.html
Fredrik Carlquist:  http://www.myspace.com/fredrikkronkvist
Kevin Brady:  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=16056
Dave Redmond:  http://www.kevinbrady.ie/images/KBT_2009.doc

Important Contacts:
Charleville Castle Heritage Trust: info@charlevillecastle.com
Dudley Stewart: 087 909 2593
Bridget Vance 087 766 4110
Tullamore Court Hotel: 057 934 6666