Cloghan Castle Co Offaly.

Cloghan Castle is said to have been built originally as a monastery by St. Cronan in 600. The Normans fortified the remains of the monastery in 1203 by building a defensive wall around it, a part of which still exists.

In 1336 Eoghan O' Madden, conquered the territory of Lusmagh, he is thought to have built the present keep. The O' Maddens lost the castle in 1595 during a siege which cost 200 lives.

Cromwellian soldiers occupied the castle between 1651 and 1683 and added to it by building two towers. During the Williamite Wars the Irish Jacobite Army camped outside the castle in 1689. The estate originally was 3,200 acre. It is now set in 70 acres of beautiful park land with another 80 acres of ancient woodland, which is a wildlife sanctuary. It is the oldest inhabited home in the country.