Vehicular access to Castletown for visitors to reopen on Monday 22 December

Minister of State Kevin “Boxer” Moran, with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, has announced that vehicular access for visitors to the Castletown demesne via the M4 access road, will reopen on 22 December 2025. This announcement follows the successful acquisition of the access road and car park by the OPW in November 2025.

In the last few weeks, OPW site staff have overseen repairs to the roadway and a new compacted hardcore surface has been applied to the car park.

Although the House will remain closed for the winter, there will be much for visitors to enjoy, with parklands and riverside walks open throughout the holiday period. Toilet facilities are available in the West Wing of Castletown House seven days a week, and an outdoor coffee van will provide hot drinks and snacks from Thursdays to Mondays inclusive.

Minister Moran said, “I am delighted that we will soon see the re-opening of the M4 access road to Castletown with car parking for visitors. Road repair works have been completed promptly and the wonderful parklands will be open for the enjoyment of many visitors over the Christmas period. I look forward to continuing to work with the local elected representatives, Kildare County Council and the local community in the weeks and months ahead.”

John Conlon, Chairman, stated “I am very pleased that the historic demesne at Castletown will be open and easily accessible for visitors over the Christmas holidays. The recent acquisition of the access road and carpark has allowed the works to take place to support enhanced public access for visitors to enjoy this unique place.”

Further works will be carried out in the future in accordance with the overall development plan for the site, with tours of the House due to resume in mid-March, 2026.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

Background

Castletown House is of national and international architectural significance as Ireland’s earliest and finest Palladian mansion. The wider state and designed landscape provides the setting for this important house. The house, parklands and wider demesne is one of Ireland’s most important historic country estates. Owned and managed by the Office of Public Works (OPW), the property is located in Celbridge, Co. Kildare. Prior to 2023, the OPW welcomed almost one million visitors per annum to the parklands.

In 1994, the OPW acquired Castletown House with 13 acres of land. It has long been the policy of the OPW to seek to reunite the historic estate at Castletown. In 1997, one hundred acres south of the house was acquired. The Farmyard adjacent to the house was acquired in 2001. In 2006, lands associated with the Batty Langley Lodge were acquired and in 2007, lands to the north and east of the house were acquired from Coillte. By 2008, the OPW had reassembled 227 acres of the original 580 acres of lands which formed the historic demesne.

Since 1994, the OPW has invested over €25 million in property acquisitions and an extensive programme of conservation of the built and natural heritage at Castletown. This gradual consolidation of, and investment in, the estate under the OPW has created what is now the premier tourist attraction in County Kildare and re-created a designed landscape and biodiversity hub of both national and international importance.

In 2024, the OPW acquired Donaghcumper House and ancillary lands from Kildare County Council. Located south of the river Liffey, opposite Castletown House, this purchase ensured the protection of the historic vistas to and from Castletown House and allows for future strategic development of a substantial heritage amenity offering for both local people and visitors alike.

In November 2025, the OPW announced the purchase of 235 acres of land at Castletown, completing the reunification of the remaining historic demesne at Castletown (further detail below).

The various acquisitions over the years are informed by, and consistent with, the ‘Liffey Valley Park Strategic Plan’ which was developed some fifteen years ago. The objective of this strategic plan was to secure the historic lands of the Liffey Valley ensuring public access through parks and spaces, protecting, conserving and enhancing the natural resources of the Liffey Valley in the interests of maintaining biodiversity for the benefit of future generations and ensuring the preservation, enhancement and continued use of the Liffey Valley’s cultural heritage assets.

Acquisition of 235 acres of lands at Castletown Demesne

The purchase of 235 acres, previously under private ownership, at the Castletown Estate was completed by the OPW on 19 November 2025.

These lands encompass the access to the estate at Barnhall Road (providing direct access from the M4 motorway) and the route which was widely used for vehicular access by both staff and visitors to the estate between 2007 and 2023. It also encompasses the car park previously developed by the OPW under license from a previous private landowner.

This purchase completes a long-standing policy objective of the OPW to see the historic lands at Castletown united in the title of the State.

Next steps

The OPW will continue with plans to develop a Conservation Management Plan and Masterplan for the entire site of the Castletown House and Estate and Donaghacumper House and gardens. We look forward to continued positive engagement with Kildare County Council and the local community in this regard.

Office of Public Works (OPW)

The OPW provides accommodation for government services and manages much of the State’s property portfolio.

It cares for 780 heritage sites, including national monuments, historic parks, gardens and buildings. It is the government’s principal engineering agency, providing an engineering service to the Flood Risk Management and Estate Portfolio Management functions of the OPW as well as to other government departments.