Stories

Marguerite, the lady whose B&B we were staying in, had said that there was a way to get closer to the old Norman Castle in Buttevant than just looking at it from the road.

The whole property was surrounded by a 12 foot wall and I had been taking pictures through a gate (where I got the photo of the fairy horse).

Anyway. Nana was sitting by the fire in the main room and it looked like she was drifting off. Tam said something about going to see another castle with our cousin Aneta. I had decided that I would let Marguerite show me this back way to the castle and was picking up my camera bag when I heard Nana behind me.

"Where ya headin' off to?" She asked.
"Marguerite's going to show me a back way to that Norman Castle we saw yesterday, so I can get some close up shots."

Before I had finished my sentence, Nana was pulling herself out of the chair and reaching for her coat and hat. Marguerite passed me a nervous glance and I winked at her letting her know that it was OK.

"You know" She said to Nana as she was getting ready, "We are goin' to have to do a bit o' walkin' to get where we're goin' an maybe a bit o' crawlin'".

"I reckon I can grunt through it and if I can't I'll sit in the car and wait." Nana replied, refusing to be deterred.

We drove, (very quickly) through the narrow roads to Buttevant and arrived at the front entrance of the property the Norman Castle was on. Once there, Marguerite turned down a narrow road toward a mill. Once we reached the end, we parked and started to walk toward the wall of the Castle grounds. We stopped in front of the gate. It was 12 feet high and cast iron with a chain through the middle. No way over, but there was a good deal of play in the chain. I stuck my head through and managed to drag the rest of my frame behind me. Marguerite smiled in approval and started to come through herself. Nana handed her cane to Marguerite who (still not used to "Granny Grunt" as she calls herself) gave me another hesitant look. I just smiled and pulled the gate apart with all my might. For a second it looked like Nana might not make it, then she sucked in her stomach, grabbed my shoulder and forced her way through the small opening.

We three criminals then proceeded to walk around the back end of the property to the Norman Castle itself. It was more moving than words can define. You could see the additions from different ages and we listened closely to the timeline that Marguerite was giving us about the property. Originally built in 1229 for Philip de Barry. Lost, reclaimed, rebuilt and added to over the centuries and finally abandoned in the 50's.

As I moved around to the front and started taking photos of the magnificent entry, it began to snow. It was a wonderful surprise and I couldn't help but feel that there was some sort of magic involved.

Cold and tired from our criminal activities, we headed back to the house to warm ourselves. Long after the details of my first trip to Ireland have faded, I will still clearly recall, the day my Grandmother, Marguerite and I broke into the Norman Castle.