Vehicle access for visitors to historic Castletown House and grounds in Celbridge, Co Kildare, reopened on Monday after a two-year standoff that led to the closure of access to the site and public parking.
Access to the estate for the public will be available via the M4 access road.
Last month, Minister of State for the OPW, Kevin “Boxer” Moran confirmed the OPW had acquired lands around Castletown House on behalf of the State.
The OPW purchased some 235 acres of historic estate lands for €11.25 million, including an entrance to the estate off the M4, and a public car park that had been closed since 2023.
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In September 2023, following the private sale of nearby land, an entrance and car park near the M4 was closed to the public and OPW staff. New access routes were proposed by the OPW near Celbridge village, but some locals objected and kept up a presence at the gates.
This led to most OPW staff not accessing the 250-acre site and the grounds not being fully maintained for almost 18 months, until a deal to allow some access to service vehicles was reached in May of this year.
In May, property and vehicles belonging to the OPW were badly damaged at a site used for Castletown House workers. The cost of damage was estimated to be €500,000.
While the house remains closed for the winter, the parklands and riverside walks are available for visitors. Toilet facilities will be available and there will be an outdoor coffee van.
“I am delighted that we will soon see the reopening of the M4 access road to Castletown with car parking for visitors. Road repair works have been completed promptly and the wonderful parklands will be open for the enjoyment of many visitors over the Christmas period,” said Mr Moran.
Further works will be carried out in accordance with the overall development plan for the site. Tours of Castletown house are due to resume in March 2026.
Claire O’Rourke, a Social Democrats Councillor for Celbridge, is a founding member of the group Friends of Castletown that formed in 2023.
She described its reopening as a “super good news story”.
“Its an absolutely wonderful new development that the State has now acquired the land and has reunited the historic demesne lands at Castletown which is now protected from inappropriate development.”
“Its been a long hard couple of years,” she said.
With its access reopening over the festive period she said, “it’s to be enjoyed at any time of year but especially now when people have time off – it’s great, that it’s once again an open amenity.”
The OPW acquired Castletown House in 1994 and over the past 30 years had managed to reclaim about 227 acres of the historic grounds in increments.
