Castle Roche ( Irish: Dún Gall) is a Norman

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

located some 10 km (7 miles) north-west of

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It was the seat of the de Verdun family (also spelt de Verdon), who built the castle in 1236 AD. It is built upon a large rocky outcrop and commands extensive views of the surrounding country. Together with a deep moat, its strong walls rendered it virtually impregnable. A secret passage once connected the castle to a round tower outpost. St. Ronan's Well lies nearby.

History

The de Verdun family of Alton Castle, Staffordshire had a history in the region, Bertram de Verdun arriving as part of John's first expedition to Ireland in April 1185. By 1185 he had erected a manor house at Castletown Mount and subsequently obtained the town's charter in 1189. Bertram's granddaughter Rohesia de Verdun from Alton, England was married to Theobald le Botiller, 2nd Chief Butler of Ireland. After her husband’s sudden death whilst travelling in Poitou, France, she moved to her lands in Ireland. She immediately set about fortifying the land with a castle. A mythical legend tells a tall tale about how her quick tempered reputation deterred all potential architects; she offered her hand in marriage (and thereby a share in her wealth) to the man who would build the castle to her liking. The legend tells that after their wedding banquet in the newly completed castle, she invited her husband to the bridal suite and urged him to view their estate from the large bedroom window. Taking no chances with the castle’s secrets, she promptly pushed her new husband from the window, where he plummeted towards his death. The window was known thereafter as the Murder Window. Rohesia became a nun in Gracedieu Priory, Leicestershire, died there in 1247 and was buried in nearby Belton parish church where her effigy may be seen. Although it is generally accepted that Rohesia originally commissioned the castle, much of it is thought to have been added by her son by Theobald; John. History of the de Verdun family
"In Ireland, four and a half miles west of Dundalk, on an outcrop of rock, which rises steeply from the level, ground Rohesia built castle Roche. This building earned her the name amongst the Irish of Rois mhor ni ghairbhe Gaelic for Rohesia great lady of the rock. Much is thought to have been added by her son John but the main structure was constructed by 1236. Local tradition implies perhaps a darker side to Rohesia's character for it asserts that during the construction work she had a workman thrown from the west window of the castle". The name "Castle Roche" derives from its physical location - it was the castle of / on the 'Rock' ('roche' being old/Norman French for 'rock'). The site of the castle held a strategic position on the frontier between the (then) exclusively Gaelic province of

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, and the Anglo-Norman territory known as

The Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

and controlled the pass into what is now South Armagh. The de Verdun family held the site for many years. Nicholas de Verdun (who died in 1316), a younger brother of Theobald II de Verdun, was in charge during the Bruce Invasion by Edward Bruce, brother of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

. A hosting of all English forces in Ireland took place here in 1561 but the castle was finally laid to ruin in 1641, during the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

References

{{Historic Irish houses Castles in County Louth Tourist attractions in County Louth National monuments in County Louth Buildings and structures in Dundalk Norman castles