Smarmore Castle

About

Smarmore Castle is an Irish Medieval castle located south of Ardee in County Louth.

Smarmore Castle was first officially mentioned in 1320 as the seat of the Taaffe family.

The Taaffe family, originating from Pembrokeshire, Wales, lived in Smarmore Castle up to the 1980s. While the tower house was built in around 1320, other buildings of the castles have been established in 1730 to 1750. After the Taaffe family sold the castle it was converted into a guest house. In 2015, Castle Craig, a British Addiction Treatment Center, acquired Smarmore Castle. The Smarmore Castle Private Clinic, a drug and alcohol treatment centre, opened in 2016.

The name Smarmore is seen to have its origin in an Irish language legend known as Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley). [ citation needed ]