Hope reigns supreme for actor Sean Simon to realize his dream of restoring his beloved castles with a new investment fund

It was built on what was once the sprawling 3,000-acre Rockingham estate and estate which was purchased by famed British architect John Nash, who designed Buckingham Palace.

He fell in love and swore to get rich one day and buy it and the ruined 14th-century McDermotts Castle nearby, which stands majestically on Castle Island, also known as The Rock, its own small island in the middle of Lough Key.

Following his success as an actor in London’s West End where he had played lead roles in hit productions of Little Shop of Horrorsand played Elvis Presley in Are you alone tonight?as well as appearing alongside Gabriel Byrne inTo the westand other films, he had the means to buy the two properties in Coillte.

Asked at the time 25 years ago why he bought it, he simply replied: Because it’s a castle and I love it. It is a love that has not been extinguished.

This year will not only mark a decade since its restoration of Cloontykilla Castle, which was one of Channel 4s most watched episodes grand designsprogram, it also announces the start of a new investment fund which it launched on January 1st.

He hopes the fund will allow him to protect McDermotts Castle from further degradation and eventually restore it and put the finishing touches on his decades-long restoration of Cloontykilla Castle.

He nearly lost both properties following the property crash of 2008 when Ulster Bank sold its loan to Seaconview, a vulture fund, which was looking to auction the property.

But an American investor stepped in and provided him with the funding to retain the property and continue his renovation of Cloontykilla Castle and the preservation of McDermotts Castle.

But he needs permanent funding to complete the restoration of the two castles.

The Historic Estate Investment Trust is for investors who want to be part of Ireland’s history to restore McDermotts Castle and other historic Irish castles that are in danger of collapsing.

Investors will own part of the castle and he has set his sights on the Irish diaspora who went to America during the famine and are now billionaires.

The only caveat is that they share the same passion for restoring Irish castles to their former glory and not destroying them by upgrading them or turning them into Disneyland-like creations.

Your money is in brick and mortar, he said, adding: You don’t have to be stone mad, but it helps.

And while other owners and inhabitants of modern castlesare descendants of the aristocracy, he hopes to appeal to like-minded people whose ancestors left on the coffin ships who at some point made money. He said: Some people call me Lord Muck and I love that. I would love to see more self-proclaimed Lord Mucks take over.

He has already spent around 3 million to restore Cloontykilla Castle, where trees were growing when he bought it in 1997.

It is now fully restored architecturally and it aims to outfit the chateau with period furnishings and open it to select guests later this year.

He plans to rent it out to between 25,000 and 45,000 affluent customers. But it won’t be just any Airbnb-style party pad.

It’s not a boutique hotel, it’s a private castle and you are the king or queen of the castle, he said.

Guests can live like royalty in six luxury suites.

They will feast in a banquet hall with a medieval trestle table that seats 40 people, sit in front of an open fire in a stately hall and relax in a hot tub set in a castle tower overlooking the parapets and park from the roof garden.

Those who insist on screen time will be banished from the dungeon which will be equipped with televisions and other technology, accessible via underground fiber optic cables.

There is also a private shore with its own port.

It will be selectively rented out, he said, adding that the castle will appeal to lovers of history and architecture as well as nature.

The castle sits on 20 acres of ancient woodland overlooking Lough Key.

The lights of his home town of Boyle and Carrick-on-Shannon can be seen twinkling across the water as night falls.

But they and a mailbox at the entrance to the sprawling estate are the only clues that it’s the year 2022 and not centuries earlier.

The chateau is located off the beaten path, so there is no traffic noise or light pollution.

And because Sean hopes to use his show business connections to rent the castles and land as TV and movie locations, he’ll be using a generator to power the castle so there aren’t any telltale power poles hanging around. would affect its authenticity.

He points to a gnarled oak on the estate. This one is 500 years old.

The woods are also home to herds of wild deer, endangered pine swallows and red squirrels. And as a bonus, you can go fishing right on your doorstep.

While living in a cottage overlooking the River Shannon, he hopes to spend some time living in his dream castle once it’s fully furnished.

Once Cloontykilla is complete, it will focus on protecting McDermotts Castle from further damage from the elements.ts.