History

It is probable from local topography that the castle existed in an earlier incarnation in Norman times as a Motte and Bailey fortress in the 12th Century. It passed from the Gaelic Chieftain O’Harte to the Elizabethan Knight Paul Gore in the 1500s after a defeat in battle at Glencar. The castle’s residents very likely witnessed the ships of the 1588 Spanish Armada enter Sligo Bay, and we like to think that we were the castle in the Bay that gave them shelter and provisions before they continued on their doomed journey. The Castle was constructed into its fortified Manor House Style by Paul’s son Francis Gore in around 1603, with its era-typical 45 degree chimney stacks and arrow slits, similar to Parke’s Castle at Lough Gill which was linked to Ardtarmon by his marriage to Anne Parke. In 1711, Francis’ grandson Nathaniel Gore married Letitia Booth, giving rise to the Gore-Booth Dynasty, whose most famous descendant was Constance Marcievicz, the Rebel Countess who fought in the 1916 Rising leading to Ireland’s Independence. In the 1700s Ardtarmon Castle suffered a fire during a Christmas Party, following which the Gore-Booths abandoned the castle to move a few miles along the shore to build Lissadell House. Its roof gone, our Castle was left to crumble, until cattle grazed in the once mighty banquet hall. During a time in the 19th century freak sand dunes covered the Maugherow area, and the castle ruins were reported to have been buried in sand to the very top.

Fast forward to 1979, when Holger and Erika Schiller from Bavaria fell in love with what remains of the castle they found, Holger saying he immediately saw it finished in his mind. They dedicated their lives to carefully restoring it to its former glory with the help of local men and women who became good friends. From designing the architectural plans to felling the german oaks for the roofbeams, cutting the flagstone floors to forging wrought iron chandeliers; no skill was too much for Holger’s curious mind and hands-on work ethic to acquire; with Erika always by his side and their children Bianca, Jessica, Bjorn and Mirjam growing up and helping out in the building site that became their beloved home.

Holger and his son-in-law Fionn Murray lost their lives in an aviation accident in 1998.

Members of the Schiller family still live in the castle today and offer fairytale holidays in the form of self-catering apartment accommodation in the south-facing wing with beach access and views over beautiful Sligo Bay.