With a long and diverse history Lough Cutra Castle near Gort in County Galway is being restored
Designed by world renowned architect John Nash Lough Cutra Castle was built in the early 1800s at the behest of the second Lord Gort.
A fairy tale structure on the shores of a pretty lake.
He was the the great grandfather of Lord Gort who leased Bunratty Castle to Shannon Development turning it into,
The greatest single money spinning gimmick that Ireland now possesses.
Another Anglo Irish baron Lord Gough of the Phoenix Park also lived at Cutra Castle. The Gort family moved back to Cutra in the 1950s. Antiques dealer Humphrey Wakefield and his wife Elizabeth Sophia Syndey (Lord Gort's niece) will one day inherit Bunratty Castle again. In the meantime, Humphrey Wakefield has taken on the task of restoring Lough Cutra Castle to use as a home and an antiques salesroom. One of the main challenges in taking on such a vast restoration job is financing the work. The initial estimate for the cost of the renovation was £120,000. However, Humphrey Wakefield is hopeful he can carry out the restoration for £15,000.
We're trying to leave the castle exactly how Nash left it when he completed it.
The work is being carried out with a limited number local craftsmen and labourers. Humphrey Wakefield says that the art of any restoration project is to know when to stop. He is optimistic that the ground floor of the castle will be open to the public by the end of the year.
This episode of 'Newsbeat' was broadcast on 13 June 1967. The reporter is Cathal O'Shannon.
