History
Located close to the town of Youghal, the castle was built by the Fitzgerald family in the 16th century, close to the place where the Glendine River joins the Blackwater [1]. According to other sources, the castle was first built during the 12th century, when it was used as a Knights Templar stronghold [1, 2]. We also know that this 5 storey tower house was owned by the widow of Garret Fitzgerald in 1640 [3] and later, in 1649, it was attacked by the cromwellian army, that probably caused its destruction [1]. The visitor can still admire several details of the original structure, such as the east and south walls, the stairway bringing to the first floor, two murder-holes inside the main door, a small turret and several decorations [3].
When talking about Templemichael, most people refer to the remains of the adjacent church, built in 1823 and also including a graveyard [2]. The church was closed after the funeral of Horace Holroyd Smyth of the nearby Ballynatray house, died in a hunting accident on the 13th of September 1969 [1, 2].
The castle and the church provide the perfect background for many misterious tales. In fact, many people can promise to have seen ghosts of monks, black dogs, and other strange apparitions at Templemichael [1].
There is one story particularly scary, that the reader deserves to know [2]. During the famine (1845-52), a young woman brought her sick child to the nearby house at Ballynatray to seek help. The lady was chased away and, while stepping backwards down the thirteen steps at the entrance of the house, she cursed a generation of the Holroyd-Smyth family with each step. This explains why many of the Holroyd-Smyth members died on the 13th of the month, as the visitor can read on the tombstones [2]. Wait a second... On which day did we just say Horace Holroyd Smyth died?
References
- [1] Castles.nl, Templemichael Castle
- [2] Visions of the past, Templemichael Church, Waterford, Ireland
- [3] Irish Antiquities, Templemichael Castle
