Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Ireland / Recess / Ballynahinch Castle
Ballynahinch Castle
Recess, County Galway, Ireland · Independent · High Luxury
Ballynahinch Castle's main house dates to 1754 in Connemara, County Galway, where Richard 'Humanity Dick' Martin, a co-founder of the RSPCA, once held the estate. Indian cricketer Maharaja Ranjitsinhji bought it in 1923 and owned it until his death in 1933, before the Irish Tourist Board held it from 1946 to 1952. Businessman Denis O'Brien acquired the 48-room Relais & Châteaux country house in 2014.
- 48 rooms
- Neighborhood: Ballynahinch
About Ballynahinch Castle
- The main house dates to 1754, and its early history is tied to Richard 'Humanity Dick' Martin, a co-founder of the RSPCA.
- The property later passed to the Irish Tourist Board from 1946 to 1952, before returning to private hands and eventually being bought by businessman Denis O'Brien in 2014.
- Ballynahinch Castle operates today as a 48-room country-house hotel in Connemara, County Galway.
- The castle stands on 700 acres of riverside woodland in Connemara, with a fast-moving river through the estate for fishing.
- The Owenmore restaurant overlooks the water; some rooms open onto a shared lawn.
History
The main house at Ballynahinch went up in 1754 in Connemara, on the Owenmore, in the year Richard 'Humanity Dick' Martin was born. He became a co-founder of the RSPCA and the estate's great character. In 1923 the Indian cricketer Maharaja Ranjitsinhji bought the castle and held it until his death in 1933. The McCormacks followed, then the Irish Tourist Board from 1946 to 1952.
Private hands took it back in 1952 as a country-house hotel. Denis O'Brien bought the 48-room Relais & Châteaux house in 2014. Seven hundred acres of riverside woodland wrap the Owenmore; the restaurant looks at the water.
You sleep in a 1754 Connemara house that once belonged to a cricketing prince.
Restaurants and bars
- The Owenmore — Restaurant
Amenities
- 700 acres of riverside woodland
- Fine dining
Open Ballynahinch Castle in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.