Clontarf Castle Clontarf Castle ( ) is a much - modernised castle , dating to 1837 , in Clontarf , Dublin , Ireland , an area famous as a key location of the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 . There has been a castle on the site since 1172 . In modern times , it has functioned as a bar , cabaret venue , and hotel . History . The deLacy family and the Templars . The first castle on the grounds , of which no trace remains , was built in 1172 by either Hugh de Lacy , Lord of Meath , or his tenant Adam de Phepoe . Clontarf was subsequently held by the Knights Templar and , after their suppression in 1308 , passed to the Knights Hospitaller , until they were in turn deprived of it at the Dissolution of the Monasteries . The last prior , John Rawson was created Viscount Clontarf in 1541 in return for surrendering the castle and its lands to the crown . 1500s to 1600s . In 1600 Queen Elizabeth I granted the estate to Sir Geoffrey Fenton , her secretary of state for Ireland , and it passed by marriage from his descendants to the King family . George King of Clontarf took part in the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and as a result his lands were confiscated . The Vernon family . At the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , the Clontarf estate was given to Captain John Blackwell , on 14 August 1649 . Blackwell afterwards sold his interest to John Vernon , Quartermaster General of Cromwell ' s army . The Vernon family was to remain in possession for some 300 years . In 1660 , John Vernon , passed Clontarf Castle to his son , Edward Vernon . Edward died in 1684 and one of his sisters took possession . In 1695 a first cousin of Edward ' s , also named John Vernon , claimed rights and the estate was granted to him by an Act of Parliament in 1698 . The last of the direct male line of Vernons at Clontarf was Edward Kingston Vernon ( 1869 – 1967 ) , who succeeded to the estate on the death of his father Edward in 1913 . He lived at the castle for only six months , after which time it was let to John George Oulton and his wife Mona , the only daughter of Walter Blades Calverley by Vernon ' s sister Edyth . The castle was finally sold to the Oultons in 1933 . JG Oulton , who took over the Vernon estate , died in the castle on 17 April 1952 , and the Castle was left to his son , Desmond , who sold the property to pay death duties and other expenses . 1957 to 1997 . The Castle remained vacant until 1957 when it was purchased by Mrs . Egan , who in turn sold it not long after to Eddie Regan in the 1960s . Gerry and Carmel Houlihan purchased the building in 1972 and ran it as a popular cabaret venue until 1998 . Conversion to hotel . The Castle re - opened to the public as a four star 111 guest room hotel in June 1997 . Building . Current structure . The current building dates to 1837 and was designed by the Irish architect William Vitruvius Morrison for John Edward Venables Vernon , the then owner , when the previous building was found to be unsafe . As the Clontarf Castle Hotel , it has been significantly enlarged by the addition of modern wings . Most of the former estate lands are long since sold for housing , but there remains a modest curtilage , with an ornamental gatehouse ; most of this is laid out for car parking . Art , music and literature . Handel was a frequent visitor to the then castle during his stay in Dublin for the premiere of " Messiah " in 1742 . The lady of the house at that time , Dorothy Vernon , was from Hanover and " particularly intimate " with the composer , who wrote a piece called " Forest Music " for her , said to combine German and Irish melodies . The neighbouring area of Dollymount is traditionally said to be named after this lady . Clontarf Castle was painted by J . M . W . Turner , although he never visited ( it is said to be his only Irish subject ) ; his patron Walter Fawkes was married to Maria Sophia Vernon of Clontarf and one of her sketches is believed to have been the basis of the finished watercolour . The work was mislabelled ' Caltarf Castle ' and the subject was only positively identified in 1998 – it depicts the castle building previous to the present structure . Some childhood memories of the castle in the early years of the 20th century appear in " Enemies of Promise " by the writer Cyril Connolly , whose mother was one of the Vernon family . The castle is referred to by Phil Lynott of the Irish rock group Thin Lizzy in his song " The Friendly Ranger at Clontarf Castle " , the opening track on their 1971 debut album " Thin Lizzy " . Before reopening as a hotel in 1997 the castle was for many years a popular cabaret venue ; comedians Tom O ' Connor and Maureen Potter and accordionist Dermot O ' Brien have each released live recordings made there . Dana was crowned Queen of Cabaret there in 1968 , prior to winning the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest . The 1997 building works included the construction of a new conference and banqueting centre which hosts conferences and product launches , a regular antiques fair , and is a popular wedding venue . External links . city city