Tynte's Castle of Youghal Ireland

The castle has been the property of the McCarthy Family for almost 50 years. It has been a long-term goal of the family to restore the building closely to its former glory. After much groundwork the 'Tynte's Castle Conservation and Restoration Project' finally began in the winter of 1997. An initial survey of the castle identified the extents of the building and the problems it was suffering from. With this a program of works was put together. Key to this was a need to raise the profile of the castle, and to share our experiences in developing the project.

Work has begun recently on the conservation and restoration of Tynte's Castle in order to maintain it's integrity and place as an important part of the urban landscape of Youghal. The Castle is protected under the various National Monuments of Ireland Acts and the conservation and restoration project is being carried out in a methodical fashion to best practice.

Beginnings of the Tynte's Castle Conservation & Restoration Project

In December of 1997 the first detailed survey of the castle was commissioned by the McCarthy Family This work helped to establish the extents of the castle and the nature of the conservation and restoration that was required. It also provided a discussion document that was used for consultation with Dúchas, The Heritage Service, the national body entrusted with the care of our National Monuments, and for use in applications for funding to several state and stated-sponsored bodies.

Our archaeologist, Daniel Noonan, investigated the history of the building and carried out a detailed survey of the parapet level. David Kelly, our consulting engineer examined the structural condition of the building and provided guidance on use of stone and lime mortars. Both of these professionals are retained on an ongoing basis to guide the project to fruitition.

Following on from this survey a programme of works to concentrate initially on the external elevations of the Castle was developed. External work has been carried on the parapet level involving removal of vegetation and re-building of the battlemented wall. The damaged quoins of the north, west and south elevations were replaced.

During this work the opportunity was taken to further record the structure. This results of this record are being prepared, and along with the initial survey, will be made available on this site in the future.

Preparations are currently being carried out for the next stage of the project, the glazing of the building with suitable windows. This work again has involved the application for planning permission from our local authority, Youghal Urban District Council, and consultation with Dúchas. This work will be carried out in mid September.