Prior to the 1688 overthrow of the House of Stuart, Slane Castle had been in the possession of the Flemings, Hiberno-Normans who had aligned themselves with the Jacobites in the War of the Grand Alliance, and thus after the Williamite victory, their property was chosen for confiscation.

Concurrently, the then head of the family, Charles Conyngham, renamed the village in his own honour as Mountcharles (pronounced locally in South Donegal as 'Mount-char-liss').

The association between the Ulster-Scots Conynghams and the Slane Estate in County Meath dates back over 300 years, ever since the property was taken by the family following the Williamite Confiscations in 1701.

Around that time, the family moved their main ancestral seat south from County Donegal in west Ulster to Slane.

In 1991, a fire in the castle caused extensive damage to the building and completely gutted the eastern section facing the River Boyne.

Performers who have headlined Slane concerts since 1981 include The Rolling Stones, U2, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queen, David Bowie, Neil Young, Bryan Adams, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Robbie Williams, Madonna, R.E.M., Foo Fighters, Celtic Woman and Oasis.