Between 1919 and 1921, during the Anglo-Irish military hostilities over independence, the Castle was used as a barracks by the British Army. For some time afterwards it functioned as a hospital, and from 1943 to 1974 it was occupied by Franciscan nuns who also managed an adjacent guesthouse. In the 1980s Monaghan County Council purchased both Hope Castle and its surrounding demesne or park. It then proceeded in the 1980s to demolish the large Italianate Victorian extension to the castle. The council also allowed the remaining Woodgate interiors to be ripped out at this time.