The Fitzgeralds & The Wizard Earl

Kilkea Castle was built in 1426 and is a claimant to being the longest continuously inhabited castle in Ireland. This was originally the site of a motte and bailey built in 1181 by the Anglo-Norman Walter de Riddlesford. Walter’s granddaughter ended up marrying Maurice Fitzgerald, 3rd Baron of Offaly, and so the castle came into the possession of the powerful Fitzgerald family. It remained as their family home for the next 700 years when the 18th Earl made Carton House their new seat of power in 1840. One of the interesting characters of Kilkea was ‘The Wizard Earl’, who lived here in the mid-1500s. He was a colorful character who was fond of dabbling in magic and the story goes that one day, to try and convince his wife of his magic powers, he was going to turn into a bird. He said however that she must not get startled, otherwise he would disappear forever. As promised, he magically turned into a bird, and she showed no emotion until a cat wandered into the room and sprang for the bird. She screamed, and the Wizard Earl disappeared forever!  It is said that he returns as a ghost to the same room every 7 years on a white horse! Kilkea is now one of Ireland’s great historic hotels and a 5* golf course.