Quintin Castle

Quintin Castle lies east of the village of Portaferry on the shore of the Irish Sea, in County Down, in Northern Ireland.

Quintin Castle was built in 1184 by John de Courcy, the Anglo-Norman knight who had conquered large parts of Ireland from 1176 on. It was later occupied by the Savage family and their dependents; the Smiths.

In the 17th century, Sir James Montgomery, purchased the Quintin estate from Dulaltaigh Smith. His son William, built a walled courtyard and other smaller towers, a large house adjacent to the central tower and a great kitchen to the seaward side of the castle structure. They then re-roofed the castle and added new floors, all probably before 1659.

The Montgomerys sold Quintin Castle to George Ross, but he never lived in the castle, allowing it to fall to ruin. In 1850 the castle was inherited and subsequently restored by Elizabeth Calvert. The great tower was raised and most of the grounds were enclosed by a large stone wall, amongst other things.

During the 20th century the castle was a private home to several families and also served as a private nursing home. In 2006 the castle was bought by a property tycoon. In 2012 it was repossessed and put up for sale for £1.65m. In 2013 it was sold. The real estate brochure with lots of pictures and floor plans can still be found online.

At present Quintin Castle is a private residence and can thus not be visited. Although Quintin Castle is reputedly one of the very few inhabited Anglo-Norman castles in Ireland, the subsequent rebuilding has robbed it of almost all of its historical character, in my opinion. It looks more like a new construction than a real medieval castle.

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