Barretstown Castle is acastle inBallymore Eustace,County Kildare,Ireland. It stands on the site of a late 12th centuryAnglo-Norman castle. It now hosts theBarretstown camp for sick children.
The first historical mention of the place is in a 1547inquisition held after theDissolution of the Monasteries, when Barretstown Castle was listed as the property of theArchbishop of Dublin, from whom it was promptly confiscated bythe Crown. Thereafter the Castle was held by the Eustace family on a series of "permanentleases."
In the 17th century Sir Walter Borrowes married a daughter of theearl of Kildare and acquired theestate, and the family retained possession for over 200 years. Members of the family, such asSir Kildare Borrowes, 5th Baronet, representedCounty Kildare andHarristown in the formerParliament of Ireland.
Unlike the Eustacebaronets of the 16th and 17th centuries, the five Borrowes baronets who spanned the 19th century played no part in public life. This quiet aristocratic reign ended with the flamboyant Sir Kildare, 10th Baronet (1852–1924), whose father Rev. Sir Erasmus, 8th Baronet, had significantly modified the residence in a medieval, romantic, asymmetrical style.
In 1918, the Borrowes family having left Ireland, Barretstown was purchased by SirGeorge Sheppard Murray, aScotsman who converted the estate into astud farm, and planted many of the exotic trees that dominate the landscape.
In 1962Elizabeth Arden acquired the castle from the Murray family. Over five years, Arden extensively reconstructed, redecorated, and refurnished the castle. Her influence dominates the look of the house to this day. The door of the castle is reputed to have been painted red after her famous brand of perfume Red Door, and remains so to this day.
After Arden's death in 1967, the international biscuit tycoonGarfield Weston took up residence. Under his ownership the grounds were significantly improved, particularly through the addition of a magnificent lake in front of the castle.
TheWeston family, which owns Dublin's famousBrown Thomasdepartment store, presented the estate to theIrish government in 1977, during which time it was used for national and international conferences andseminars, as well as being used as a part of theIrish National Stud.
The Irish government has leased the castle and its grounds to theBarretstown Camp for 90 years for anominal €1.26 per year. Part ofPaul Newman'sSeriousFun Children's Network,Barretstown Camp opened in August 1994, serving 124 children.[1] With the completion of the new medical centre and programme hall, in 1995 the camp served nearly 300 children from Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the United States, andChernobyl disaster areas. In 2009, Barretstown expected to serve 1900 children from around Europe.