The area was originally known as
Baile na Lorgan ("town of the long low ridge"), anglicised as 'Ballynalurgan'. It was also sometimes called
Caisleán Mathghamhna ('MacMahon Castle' or 'Castle MacMahon').
17th and 18th centuries The town of Castleblayney originated in the
Tudor conquest of
Gaelic Ulster in the
Nine Years' War of 1594–1603. In 1611,
the Crown granted forfeited lands in the area previously ruled by the
Mac Mathghamhna (
MacMahon) chieftains to
Sir Edward Blayney, from
Montgomeryshire in
Wales, for his service to
Queen Elizabeth I. Sir Edward was later created The 1st
Baron Blayney, in July 1621.
King James VI & I had already granted him appropriated
Augustinian church land (or 'termon') at Muckno Friary on the northeastern side of the lake in the Churchill area (Mullandoy) in 1606/7. The small town 'founded' by Sir Edward Blayney in 1611 or 1612 is recorded as being called
Castleblayney at least as early as 1663. In 1762 a demonstration occurred in the town accompanied by a threatening military presence. This was connected with the 'Oakboys' movement that was active in the county. The protest was about compulsory work – to repair public roads as well as private roads and avenues in
demesnes owned by the gentry – that was exacted from agricultural labourers for no wages.
The 11th Baron Blayney . The modern planned town – reminiscent of Plantation towns with its characteristic wide main street and with long, narrow individual gardens to the rear and out of sight – dates from c. 1830. The modern town was largely laid out under the direction of
The 11th Baron Blayney (1770–1834), who inherited the family
peerage and the large Blayney Estate as an adolescent in 1784. By about 1800, the then young Lord Blayney had ordered and implemented major reforms in Castleblayney, greatly improving the prosperity and appearance of the town. Educated in France and Germany, the 11th Lord Blayney is famous for his distinguished military career, eventually rising to the rank of
Lieutenant-General, having served in the
West Indies, South America, southern Africa and the
Napoleonic Wars as commander of the
89th Foot, popularly known as 'Blayney's Bloodhounds'. As a
peer, he was very active in the suppression of the revolt of the
United Irishmen in 1798. It was the 11th Lord Blayney who had the modern
Blayney Castle (also known as Castle Blayney) constructed around the year 1800. In 1799, Lord Blayney commissioned Robert Woodgate, a former student of
Sir John Soane, to design the new Blayney Castle. Woodgate, a distinguished young architect, had first come over to Ireland in 1791 to supervise Soane's plans for
Baronscourt, the new country house that was built for
The 1st Marquess of Abercorn near
Newtownstewart in
County Tyrone. The new Blayney Castle was built in a restrained late
Georgian style. It is thought that this new 'castle' (in reality a
country house), located in the
townland of Onomy, was built close to the site of the original Blayney Castle, of which nothing now survives above ground. In the early 1840s, what is now St Mary's Hospital was erected as a Workhouse for the very poor.
Hope family and after In 1853,
Cadwallader, 12th Baron Blayney (1802-1878), sometime
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Monaghan, sold
Blayney Castle and what remained of the Blayney Estate to
Henry Thomas Hope of
Deepdene House in
Surrey, an extremely wealthy businessman who had also formerly served as a Member of Parliament at
Westminster. The 12th Baron was the last
Baron Blayney. The castle was renamed 'Hope Castle', as it is still called. Hope gave the
Georgian castle with its splendid prospect a Victorian makeover that the present prettified building retains, externally at least. 'Castle' has always been a misnomer, since it was more of a 'Big House', mansion or manor house than a castle. After his death in 1862, Hope's wife Anne inherited the estate. Soon after 1887 the Castle and demesne fell to the next heir, Hope's grandson
Lord Francis Hope (1866–1941), who was famous for having sold the renowned family heirloom, the '
Hope Diamond'. Rather like his father,
The 6th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, Lord Francis lived very extravagantly and, despite his once vast family fortune, was declared bankrupt in 1896. From 1894 to 1902, he was married to
May Yohé, the American actress. After 1916, Lord Francis no longer resided in the castle or in Ireland. He succeeded his elder brother to become
The 8th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne in late May 1928. Hope Castle was leased between 1900 and 1904 to
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, a son of
Queen Victoria. The
Duke served during those years as the
commander of British military forces in Ireland, whose
official residence was the Master's House at the
Royal Hospital, in
Kilmainham,
Dublin. The Duke leased Hope Castle from the Pelham-Clinton-Hope family as his private country residence during these years.
The 8th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (1866–1941; previously known as Lord Francis Hope) sold his life interest in the castle and the estate in 1928. Between 1919 and 1921, during the
Irish War of Independence, the Castle was used as a barracks by the
British Army. For some time afterwards it functioned as a hospital, and from 1943 to 1974 it was occupied by
Franciscan nuns who also managed an adjacent guesthouse. In the 1980s Monaghan County Council purchased both Hope Castle and its surrounding demesne or park. It then proceeded in the 1980s to demolish the large Italianate Victorian extension to the castle. The council also allowed the remaining Woodgate interiors to be ripped out at this time. In October 2010 the castle was burnt down in an arson attack.
Town bombing On 7 March 1976,
a bomb exploded outside the Three Star Inn pub on the town's main street. A bicycle mechanic, Patrick Mone, was killed and 17 others were injured. The attack was one of several cross-border attacks linked to the
Glenanne gang the worst sectarian violence of
The Troubles. ==Council==