64
D U N S A N Y C A S T L E
C O U N T Y M E A T H , I R E L A N D
T h e R i g h t H o n o u r a b l e T h e 1 9 t h L o r d D u n s a n y
Two hundred years before Christopher Columbus, the first Dunsany built
Dunsany Castle. They had been sent by William Strongbow Military Commander
to King Henry I of England. Their command was to defend Dublin port, with
a ring of castles, and hold it secure from the wild Irish beyond the “pale,”
the defensive fence between the castles. Since mediaeval days until today, the
Dunsany family have been continually distinguished. In the 1400s they were
Governors of Ireland with such high titles as Lord Treasurer of Ireland and Lord
High Chancellor. Death by personal combat was not unknown in Ireland in
early days, and this family made that a specialty. The eighth Lord Dunsany tried
to raise Ireland in defiance of Cromwell, but all in vain. Scholarship, combined
with feats of arms, thrives in the family to this day. The present and twentieth
Lord Dunsany’s grandfather was a prolific author who was voted to have written
“the best first chapter in an English novel.” The late Lord Dunsany combined
scholarship with athleticism; he was a champion swordsman and international
polo player. He also famously commanded a Cavalry regiment in World War II,
and achieved an astonishing escape across “unpassable” desert sands with no less
than two subsequent Presidents of Pakistan amongst his Officers. The brother
of the 18th Lord Dunsany was canonized as a Saint in Rome earlier this century
(The Blessed Oliver Plunkett). Lord Dunsany himself follows his forebear’s lead
as an inspirational Head of the International League helping those with leprosy.
