Castlemacgarrett is just outside Ballindine on the road to Claremorris.
When it was owned by Lord Oranmore & Browne, many local people were employed to work there.

Old Castlemacgarrett This is the ruins of the first castle dating back to Norman times. It became unsafe, so Geoffrey Browne and his wife Mary Prendergast built a new castle in 1694.

The new castle was destroyed by fire in 1811 but it was rebuilt.

Castles were first built in Ireland by the Normans, who arrived in Ireland in 1170. Geoffrey Browne's wife, Mary Prendergast,
was a descendant of Maurice de Prendergast who came to Ireland with Strongbow during the Norman invasion in 1169.
Castlemacgarrett Old was once the ancestral home of the Prendergast Family, but a large part of the property of
Castlemacgarrett had been in the possession of the Brownes for over 5 centuries before Geoffrey Browne married into the
Prendergast family. The old house became unsafe, so Geoffrey and his wife Mary Prendergast built a new house in 1694.
This new home lasted for several generations until it was destroyed by fire in 1811.
The ruins of the old castle can still be seen on the estate. (see above)

Geoffrey Browne, born 1664, came to live in Castlemacgarrett when he married Mary Prendergast. He was the first to
plant trees in the grounds and he is buried in a vault in the All Soul's Church in Crossboyne.

However part of the Castlemacgarrett estate has been in the possession of the Brownes for 800 years, long before
Geoffrey married Mary Prendergast. The Brownes can trace their ancestry back to one of the tribes of Galway.
The archway in Eyre Square, Galway, inscribed 1627 was the doorway of the Galway Town House of the Brownes.

Dominic and Geoffrey were great names in the Browne family all down the line. One of them, Geoffrey, who became
MP for Tuam in 1661, (and Mayor of Galway from 1668-1690), was made an Envoy for the Confederate Catholics
to Queen Henrietta Maria and the Duke of Lorraine.
After Geoffrey comes the colourful Colonel Dominick, born 1635, who commanded a regiment in the army of
James the Second, and was defeated at Aughrim.

As mentioned above, the original castle of the Prendergasts became unsafe in 1694 so Geoffrey Browne built a
new home. This new home lasted for several generations until it was destroyed by fire in 1811.
The family had to convert out-offices into a make-shift residence until the new Castle was built.

After the fire of 1811, Dominick Browne, (1787 - 1860), built the part of the present castle with its tower,
on the right hand side of the main entrance.
He became the first Lord Oranmore and Browne, the title Oranmore being taken in view of the family lands
and property at Oranmore, Co. Galway. The Browne family were the largest landowners in Connaught at that time.
The Brownes had 13 country houses throughout Connaught, including Ashford Castle at Cong. They owned 54,000 acres.

He was made a Privy Councillor for Ireland in 1834 and became one of twenty eight elected representative Irish Peers.
He spent vast sums of money on electioneering. It is said that on one election he spent £40,000, of which £600 was spent
on lemons for punch. The Great Famine completed his ruin. With the exception of Castlemacgarrett & 2000 acres,
he had to sell off all his other estates in the encumbered Estates Court. The whole of the Galway property, some of which
had been in the family for 600 years, then passed from the Browne family.

Things improved under a later Geoffrey Browne, (1861- 1927), the third baron. He was responsible for the building of
the main part of the present manor, early in the 20th century. During the following 50 years or so, cattle and sheep were
reared on the land. There were wheat crops, oats and other cereals. They had a saw mill and provided, under contract to
the ESB, a large supply of oak cross arms for their electricity transmission units. The estate also had fine fruit and
vegetable gardens and they were sold locally. They had 80 varieties of desert and cooking apples.
1,200 pheasants were raised each year for "Shoots", which were held in November and January,
when house parties were the order. The River Robe runs through the estate and it had fine fresh trout.

The last Lord Oranmore and Browne to live in Castlemacgarret was married 3 times while in the castle.
Wife No. 2 was the wealthy Lady Oonagh Guinness. They had 2 children, the Hon. Garrett and Tara.
His son, Tara, was killed tragically in a car accident. His third wife was the film star, Sally Gray.

The estate ran into financial difficulties again in the 1960's and it was put up for auction. Most of the land was
taken over by the Irish Land Commission around 1965 and the castle itself, with a large farm attached, was bought
by nursing sisters, and it was known as Castlemacgarrett Nursing Home until it was sold again for development in 2006.

Unfortunately it now lies vacant.