Markree Castle

In 1663 Cornet Edward Cooper, who served under Cromwell when his army defeated the O'Brien Clan, was allotted the original 14th-century Markree Castle and the surrounding lands.

Times remained turbulent, and during an attempt by the English King James to regain the throne, the Catholic army occupied Markree Castle and the Coopers had to flee.

Following the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, they returned and have been resident ever since, except for a brief period during the Civil War in the 1920s when Markree was again occupied, this time by the Irish Free State army.

According to some sources [2] Cecil Frances Alexander wrote her famous hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful while a guest there in 1848.

His son, Edward Cooper, took on the estate in 1981 but chose to convert the stable yard into a more manageable home and focused on farming.

[4] In recent times, Markree Castle has operated as a hotel, run by Charles and Mary Cooper, the 10th generation of the family to live there.