Dungulph Castle
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History
Dungulph Castle is one of Wexfords few castles that has survived as a home to the present day. It has been involved in violent conflicts and seen many changes since it was first built in 1330 by Adam Whitty - according to an inscribed stone slab at the castle. However it is likely that the present castle was built in the 1500s on the same site.
The name Dungulph developed from the earlier name of Drumculip in the medieval era. The prefix drum, which may be druim, means "a ridge".
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Sequence of names associated with Dungulph Castle:
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. John Lynn came to Fethard before 1746, perhaps from Ulster and his first marriage was to Eleanor, daughter of Margaret Loftus. Lynn descendents from the U.S. visited Dungulph Castle recently.');){kind=link}
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. Their 9 offspring produced no issue so on the death of the last offspring, John, the property, including the cornmill was offered to his cousin Michael Cloney, also from Old Ross. Michael’s son, Sean, (an only child) took over Dungulph in 1945 and was a well known local historian. He married Sheila Kelly and died tragically in 1999. The present owner is their daughter Eileen.');){kind=link}
In 1642, the Whittys successfully defended the Dungulph Castle when soldiers from Duncannon Fort attacked it. 17 soldiers were killed and are buried in a field closeby.
In 1652, the Whittys succumbed to Cromwell and left the castle for good. Cannonballs which were fired at the castle during this conflict still survive today.
Tradition has it that two Devereux brothers living in the castle were active rebels in the 1798 rebellion. The military searched for them in vain and in retaliation burned Dungulph Castle.
In 1817 Thomas Cloney took title of the property when he married Eleanor Devereux (sister of the brothers who were in exile). The Cloney family lived in a house adjacent to the castle from then to 1917 when Michael Cloney made it habitable again. He was grandfather of the present owner.
Dungulph Castle and its present family were the subject of the 1999 movie "A Love Divided", about religious strife in Ireland in the 1950s. Sean Cloney died in Oct. 1999 following a tragic accident in 1995 which rendered him paraplegic. Contrary to the films portrayal of him as being a rather plain ordinary individual, he was actually a scholarly man of immense intellect.
Sheila Cloney has always been a hard working industrious woman and feels a little uncomfortable with the past.
