childList: true, label = 41246032 }; const vars = JSON.parse('{"attributes":{"inmproduct":"amp","virtualview":"false"},"category":{"pageType":"Article","primaryCategory":"Irish News","regionals":"","sectionId":"77","subCategory1":"n\/a","subCategory2":"n\/a","subCategory3":"n\/a","subCategory4":"n\/a"},"page":{"pageName":"In:Irish News:Hope reigns supreme for actor Sean Simon to fulfill dream of restoring his beloved castles with new investment fund","pageTitle":"Hope reigns supreme for actor Sean Simon to fulfill dream of restoring his beloved castles with new investment fund","publication":"Independent.ie"},"user":{"gigyaID":"","subscriptionStatus":"","subscriptionStartDate":"","subscriptionFinishDate":"","userID":""},"article":{"articleID":"41246032","articleType":"News","articleLayout":"standard","author":"Allison Bray","createdAt":"2022-01-16 22:38:33","modifiedAt":"2022-01-17 03:10:32","publishedAt":"2022-01-17 02:30:00","wallType":"premium","wallVisible":"true","relatedContent":{"gallery":0,"news":2,"photos":3,"soundcloud":0,"videos":0},"source":"","tags":"","topics":""}}' || '{}'); var badge = badges[x]; let bodyAvailable = false; But an American investor stepped in and provided the necessary funding for him to retain ownership and continue his renovation of Cloontykilla Castle and preservation of McDermotts Castle. } document.getElementById("crosswords").src = document.getElementById("crosswords").dataset.src; } const badges = getBadgesForEl(el); } }); }); return; } else { fontSize: '16px', ? if (event.detail.object.hasOwnProperty('upgrade_prices')) { }); user: { : getPricesByBadge(); return bundle._id === id; } const script = document.createElement('script'); } evt : window.event; attributes: true, plans.forEach(function (plan) { if (vars.article) { } else if (purchase.badge['epaper-access'] && purchase.badge['epaper-access'] == true) { } if (Object.keys(window.dataLayer[0]).indexOf('article') > -1) { plans.forEach(showPremiumBadge); localStorage.removeItem('product_click_source'); show_spinner: true, document.body.addEventListener('fp_user_event', function (event) { } userID: purchase.granted_by_purchase.user_id, Id like to see more self-styled Lord Mucks take over., Veteran republican Rita OHare has died, Sinn Fin announces, Maynooth University tenders for site to house 500 students amid accommodation crisis, Lifeboats deployed as Irish Ferries vessel catches fire with 200 people on board, When will the Covid pandemic be over? if (leafletTag) { }); let meteredPaywall = 'undefined'; const isShopFront = false; }; This year will not only mark a decade since his restoration of Cloontykilla Castle, which was one of the most watched episodes of Channel 4s Grand Designsprogramme, it also heralds the start of a new investment fund that he launched on January 1. }, []) if (!productImpressionRecorded[flipPayConfig.filter_prices_by_badge] && !previouslySelectedPriceId) { } if (purchase.badge['print_monthly'] && purchase.badge['print_monthly'] == true) { selectedPrice.placeholder_prices actionField: { price: purchase.amount, color: 'var(--c_d3t)', const getQueryStringValue = function (key) { ? eventCategory: getEcommerceEventCategory(), }; } else { return; if (priceA.badges['premium'] && priceB.badges['premium-plus']) { He hopes the fundwill enable him to protectMcDermotts Castle from further decay and eventually restore it and put the finishing touches on his decades-long restoration of Cloontykilla Castle. virtualPageViewData.eventData.article = { His loan was subsequently sold on to a vulture fund and thus the battle to save the dream continued until he met another Irish advocate, Brian Reilly, who managed to persuade an American investor friend, Kenneth D. Peterson, who already has business interests in Ireland, to come on-board and keep the project alive. }; if (flipPayJsUrl) { const setBundleToFullWidth = function (el) { const tabs = document.getElementById('shop-front-tabs'); Cloontykilla Castle aka Rockingham Castle built in 1839 is now the new home of actor Sean Simons. eventTimeout: 2000, virtualPageViewData.eventData.article = { position: index, const priceIdFromUrl = getQueryStringValue('priceId'); eventAction: 'change_cc', } template_confirmation: "

", What happened to Sean Simons castle from Grand Designs. ! } fireAddToCartEvent(); window.dataLayer[0].article.userWall = userWall; show_pincode: false, return item; template_placeholder_selected: '', } Tragically, and within weeks of arriving in London, Sean picked up a newspaper and read the headline which screamed Miami Massacre! When he read down further and saw the photographs of the killing scene, he quickly realized that had he stayed with the band then he too would likely have been murdered along with his bandmates by Loyalist killers. homeDeliveryButtonCheck = true; updateTemplateForHomeDelivery(node); All the new construction within the castle has degraded dramatically. document.cookie = 'subscriptionwall_meter_stats=' + meterStatsCookieData + ';path=/;domain=' + cookieDomain + ';max-age='+oneMonthInSeconds; }; Actor Sean Simons attempts to fulfil a childhood dream and restore a ruined castle in one of the most beautiful landscapes of Ireland. template_placeholder_price_option: '', Health and safety were definitely not a priority for a man with little fear of life or danger. fpblock.style.display = 'block'; if (priceToDisplayBilledFrequency) { localStorage.removeItem('price.selected'); if (typeof bundleExpires[priceId] != "undefined") { if (eventType === 'purchased') { You can find more information about Cloontykilla Castle on their website. event: '_trackEvent', window.loadGTM(); if (Object.keys(p.badge || {}).indexOf('print_monthly') > -1) { if (document.getElementById('fp-tog-1')) { product.quantity = 1; } if (document.cookie.indexOf('guid') > -1) { const redirectToShopFrontWelcomePage = function () { const isNumber = function (evt) { granted_by_purchase: purchase template_coupon_code_price: "", We all had dreams and aspirations, but some of us leave it at the dream stage and never go on to achieve those dreams and make them a reality. if (badgeElement) { if (eventType === 'purchase_failed') { Posts Tagged. return 'shopfront'; const hash = document.location.hash } products: [purchasedProduct] FB.XFBML.parse(socialEmbed); template_summary_coupon_code: "

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", return product; }; if (document.cookie.indexOf('guid') > -1) { While he lives in a cottage overlooking the River Shannon, he hopes to spend some time living in his dream castle once it is fully furnished. }); } else if (isUpgrades) { Simon was caught out when the local Catholic Monsignor wrote to the agent telling him that Sean was just 14 and that he would stop the Miami Showband from ever playing any of the halls that belonged to the church, which in those days was almost every parish hall. } }