The Redcastle Estate has a long and colourful history filled with romance, family, tragedy and of course the natural cycle of life and death.

The beginning:
It begins with its original owner Cathal O’Doherty who died in the Battle of Kinsale in 1601. Not surprisingly given its location, the name Doherty features in the history of the hotel a number of times!

The land:
During the Plantation of Ulster in 1607 the land was taken over and rented to a landlord named Kerry who in turn sold part of the land (near today’s hotel site) to a Collins family from Pennsylvania. They renamed it Pennsylvania Farm and today the river that runs adjacent to the hotel is known as the Pennsylvania River.

The family home:
In 1862 Collins sold the land to a local man from Muff called Thomas Doherty. His Granddaughter, Elizabeth Moore, married Captain Ernest Cochrane a British Naval Captain. They lived on the Redcastle Estate and had 9 children. The captain died in 1913 and was buried near Redcastle. Elizabeth’s and Ernest’s second youngest child Horace went to Canada and made his living as a fisherman. During a visit with his family to Redcastle, Horace died suddenly and was buried with his father.

The hotel:
Horace’s son Richard Cochrane eventually took over the Redcastle Estate and started the Hotel business. In 1986 when it was bought by property developer Pat Doherty it became the Redcastle Oceanfront, Golf Spa Hotel and the cycle continues. Who knows what the future might hold?