Following the recent restoration of the conservatory at Shane’s Castle, Terence Reeves-Smyth explores the history of this romantic and historic place in Co Antrim
The first thrill of a visit to Shanes Castle is to experience its majestic parkland of venerable trees that spread out for miles along Lough Neagh’s northern shore. Quite unexpectedly, the avenue arrives at a towering, melancholic ruin, whose eyeless sockets gaze out onto the vast sea-like expanse of the lough. For centuries this had been the home of the O’Neills, one of Ireland’s great dynastic familes, but after a fire in 1816, it was abandoned. So too was a great rebuilding project begun around 1812 by the English architect, John Nash.
