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Loftus Hall
Loftus Hall is a large country house on the Hook peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland. Built on the site of the original Redmond Hall, it is said to have been haunted by the devil and the ghost of a woman.
Loftus Hall has a long history of ownership, through private residence, landlords, two different orders of nuns, and a hotel in the 1980s run by members of the Devereux family.
Purchased by Shane and Aidan Quigley in 2011, Loftus Hall was opened to the public in 2012 with guided tours of the house and a fully restored walled gardens.[citation needed] It was closed in 2020 and sold in 2021. By 2022, it was under renovation and not open to the public. As of late 2025, it has been listed as sold.
In 1170 Raymond FitzGerald landed at what is now known as Baginbun, named after his two ships La Bague et La Bonne, where he was to fight an important battle to safeguard the arrival of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, to Ireland. He acquired land in the area in County Wexford, upon which he built a castle known as Houseland Castle. The Redmond family replaced their original castle with another in about 1350, during the time of the Black Death. This second castle was also known as Redmond's Hall.
During the Irish Confederate Wars, which broke out in 1641, Redmond's Hall was the scene of a skirmish in 1642. An Irish Army garrison of 100 soldiers under the command of Lord Esmonde were stationed at a fort in Duncannon next to the Waterford Harbour. On 23 February 1642, the garrison was reinforced by 200 soldiers under the command of captains Anthony Weldon and Thomas Aston along with six cannons. Four months later on 19 June, a detachment of soldiers from the fort on their way to Tintern were attacked by Irish Confederate rebels led by Major James Butler near Shielbaggan. Butler's men routed the Irish Army and forced them to retreat back to the fort. Redmond's Hall, which was clearly visible to the beleaguered garrison at Duncannon, was owned at the time by Alexander Redmond, who was known to be sympathetic to the rebels and had provided them with aid.[citation needed]
Aston believed that Redmond's Hall could be easily taken and on 20 July 1642 set sail from Duncannon with around 90 Irish Army troops and two small cannon, landing nearby. Although he was 68-years old, Alexander Redmond barricaded the hall and prepared to defend it. He was assisted by his sons, Robert and Michael, four of his tenants, two men at arms and an itinerant tailor who happened to be at work in the hall when the attack took place. The defenders numbered 10 in all and were armed with long-barrelled fowling pieces. Aston drew his men up in front of the building and demanded admission in the name of King Charles I. Redmond retorted that Aston was welcome to come in providing that he left his soldiers and weapons outside. A lengthy firefight ensued. Aston discovered that his cannon were too small to make much impression on the main door. To add to his troubles, about half his men abandoned him to pillage the countryside. As the fight dragged on a thick sea-mist descended on the Hook Peninsula.[citation needed]
Meanwhile, a force of Confederate rebels, led by captains Rossiter and Thomas Roche, were encamped at Shielbaggan. Hearing of Aston's attack they marched rapidly to the aid of the defenders and surprised the attackers under cover of the fog. About 30 attackers escaped to their boats and back to the fort, while Aston and several of his men were killed. Several other soldiers of the Irish Army, including Lord Esmonde's nephews John Esmonde and Walter Esmonde, were taken prisoner. Several of the prisoners were summarily hanged the following day on Roche's orders, probably at Ballyhack. On 20 August, 11 other prisoners of war were hanged at New Ross, including one of Esmonde's nephews.[citation needed]
The official Redmond family pedigree (registered in the Ulster Office, Dublin Castle 1763) alleges that Alexander Redmond had to defend the hall one or even two more times against soldiers of Oliver Cromwell in the autumn of 1649 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. There is a tradition that the defenders used sacks of wool to block up breaches in the walls created by enemy cannon. These woolsacks and a representation of the hall can be seen in the coat of arms issued to one of their members in 1763. It is alleged that Alexander Redmond received favourable terms from Cromwell and died in the hall in 1650 or 1651 after which his surviving family were evicted, allowed only to retain a third of their original estates in County Wexford.
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Loftus Hall
Loftus Hall is a large country house on the Hook peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland. Built on the site of the original Redmond Hall, it is said to have been haunted by the devil and the ghost of a woman.
Loftus Hall has a long history of ownership, through private residence, landlords, two different orders of nuns, and a hotel in the 1980s run by members of the Devereux family.
Purchased by Shane and Aidan Quigley in 2011, Loftus Hall was opened to the public in 2012 with guided tours of the house and a fully restored walled gardens.[citation needed] It was closed in 2020 and sold in 2021. By 2022, it was under renovation and not open to the public. As of late 2025, it has been listed as sold.
In 1170 Raymond FitzGerald landed at what is now known as Baginbun, named after his two ships La Bague et La Bonne, where he was to fight an important battle to safeguard the arrival of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, to Ireland. He acquired land in the area in County Wexford, upon which he built a castle known as Houseland Castle. The Redmond family replaced their original castle with another in about 1350, during the time of the Black Death. This second castle was also known as Redmond's Hall.
During the Irish Confederate Wars, which broke out in 1641, Redmond's Hall was the scene of a skirmish in 1642. An Irish Army garrison of 100 soldiers under the command of Lord Esmonde were stationed at a fort in Duncannon next to the Waterford Harbour. On 23 February 1642, the garrison was reinforced by 200 soldiers under the command of captains Anthony Weldon and Thomas Aston along with six cannons. Four months later on 19 June, a detachment of soldiers from the fort on their way to Tintern were attacked by Irish Confederate rebels led by Major James Butler near Shielbaggan. Butler's men routed the Irish Army and forced them to retreat back to the fort. Redmond's Hall, which was clearly visible to the beleaguered garrison at Duncannon, was owned at the time by Alexander Redmond, who was known to be sympathetic to the rebels and had provided them with aid.[citation needed]
Aston believed that Redmond's Hall could be easily taken and on 20 July 1642 set sail from Duncannon with around 90 Irish Army troops and two small cannon, landing nearby. Although he was 68-years old, Alexander Redmond barricaded the hall and prepared to defend it. He was assisted by his sons, Robert and Michael, four of his tenants, two men at arms and an itinerant tailor who happened to be at work in the hall when the attack took place. The defenders numbered 10 in all and were armed with long-barrelled fowling pieces. Aston drew his men up in front of the building and demanded admission in the name of King Charles I. Redmond retorted that Aston was welcome to come in providing that he left his soldiers and weapons outside. A lengthy firefight ensued. Aston discovered that his cannon were too small to make much impression on the main door. To add to his troubles, about half his men abandoned him to pillage the countryside. As the fight dragged on a thick sea-mist descended on the Hook Peninsula.[citation needed]
Meanwhile, a force of Confederate rebels, led by captains Rossiter and Thomas Roche, were encamped at Shielbaggan. Hearing of Aston's attack they marched rapidly to the aid of the defenders and surprised the attackers under cover of the fog. About 30 attackers escaped to their boats and back to the fort, while Aston and several of his men were killed. Several other soldiers of the Irish Army, including Lord Esmonde's nephews John Esmonde and Walter Esmonde, were taken prisoner. Several of the prisoners were summarily hanged the following day on Roche's orders, probably at Ballyhack. On 20 August, 11 other prisoners of war were hanged at New Ross, including one of Esmonde's nephews.[citation needed]
The official Redmond family pedigree (registered in the Ulster Office, Dublin Castle 1763) alleges that Alexander Redmond had to defend the hall one or even two more times against soldiers of Oliver Cromwell in the autumn of 1649 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. There is a tradition that the defenders used sacks of wool to block up breaches in the walls created by enemy cannon. These woolsacks and a representation of the hall can be seen in the coat of arms issued to one of their members in 1763. It is alleged that Alexander Redmond received favourable terms from Cromwell and died in the hall in 1650 or 1651 after which his surviving family were evicted, allowed only to retain a third of their original estates in County Wexford.