New statistics reveal visitors numbers are down at Parke’s Castle

Although the Office of Public Works (OPW) has announced that 2022 was another successful year for visitor numbers at its heritage sites it appears that there was a decrease at Parke's Castle in Co Leitrim.

In 2021 15,902 people visited the site but in 2022 this dropped down to 14,849.

Parke’s Castle (pictured opposite) sits on the northern shores of Lough Gill.

A restored castle of the early seventeenth century, it was once the home of English planter Robert Parke. There is evidence of an earlier structure on the site, a tower house once owned by Sir Brian O’Rourke, lord of West Breifne. O’Rourke, whom one English governor described as ‘the proudest man this day living on the earth’, resisted crown rule and fled Ireland, but ended up in the hands of Queen Elizabeth’s forces.

He was thrown into the Tower of London, tried and finally hanged at Tyburn.

Tragedy struck in 1677, when two of Parke’s children drowned on the lake. The castle then fell into disrepair. Only in the late twentieth century was it restored, using traditional Irish oak and craftsmanship.

Meanwhile Boyle Abbey also saw a drop with 8,325 visitors in 2021 and 6,425 in 2022.

Farmleigh Estate in Cavan saw 359,174 people visiting in 2021 but just 316,786 in 2022.

However according to the OPW the number of recorded visitors nationally last year exceeded 15 million, up by 2.3 million on 2021, an increase of 18%.

The OPW manages and maintains the most important of Ireland’s historic buildings with 780 heritage sites in its charge.