Dalkey Castle (), formerly known as Goat Castle, is a medieval structure in Castle Street,

Dalkey Dalkey ( ; ) is a village in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown county southeast of Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement and became a port in the Middle Ages. According to chronicler John Clyn (c.1286–c.1349), it was one of the port ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland. The complex currently accommodates the Dalkey Heritage Centre, which is in the castle itself, and Dalkey Town Hall, which is formed by a single storey extension behind the original building.

History

The building was commissioned by local merchants as a fortified warehouse to protect goods being transported to and from central Dublin. It was designed in the typical Norman style, built in

rubble masonry Rubble masonry or rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Some medieval cathedral walls have outer shells of ashlar wi ...

and was completed in around 1390. The merchants built a total of seven castles, of which the only other surviving example is

Archbold's Castle Archbold's Castle is a castle and a National Monument in Dalkey, Ireland. Location Archbold's Castle is found on a hill, in Dalkey, west of Goat Castle (now known as Dalkey Castle). History Archbold's Castle was formerly a fortified wareho ...

. The design involved a three-storey structure facing onto Castle Street. It was fenestrated by

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s and featured

machicolation In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key ...

and

castellation A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

on all sides. Internally, the principal rooms were a chamber with a

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

ceiling on the ground floor, and two further large spaces on the first and second floors. The castle was acquired by the Chevers family in the 17th century and became known as Goat Castle (''Chevre'' being French for goat). Walter Chevers lived there until he died in 1678. It was subsequently owned by the

Allen family Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univer ...

until it passed to Sir William Mayne in the mid-18th century. After significant population growth, largely associated with its development as a residential suburb of Dublin, the township of Dalkey appointed

town commissioners Town commissioners were elected local government bodies that existed in urban areas in Ireland from the 19th century until 2002. Larger towns with commissioners were converted to urban districts by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, wit ...

in 1863. The new town commissioners acquired the castle and used the first floor space as a council chamber from 1869. In around 1890, the town commissioners decided to erect an extension to accommodate public meetings: a new single-storey building was constructed, extending back for six bays along White's Villas. It was accessed through the ground floor of the castle and became known as "Dalkey Town Hall". In 1899, the town commissioners were replaced by an

urban district council In England and Wales, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local government responsibilities with a county council. ...

, with the first floor space in the castle becoming the meeting place of the new council. However, the castle ceased to be the local seat of government in 1930, when Dalkey became part of the

borough of Dún Laoghaire The Borough of Dún Laoghaire was a borough on the southern coast of County Dublin, Ireland from 1930 to 1994. Its local authority was the Corporation of Dún Laoghaire. The borough was formed under the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930 from ...

. The town hall became an important venue for public meetings: the

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

and

leader of Fianna Fáil The leader of Fianna Fáil is the most senior politician within the Fianna Fáil political party in Ireland. Since 2011 Fianna Fáil leadership election, 26 January 2011, the office has been held by Micheál Martin, following the resignation of ...

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

, gave a speech at a political rally in the town hall in the 1930s. It was also a venue for concerts and the theatrical performances: the dramatist,

Hugh Leonard Hugh Leonard (9 November 1926 – 12 February 2009) was an Irish dramatist, television writer, and essayist. In a career that spanned 50 years, Leonard wrote nearly 30 full-length plays, 10 one-act plays, three volumes of essay, two autobiograph ...

, was inspired to write plays after attending a performance of ''

The Colleen Bawn ''The Colleen Bawn, or The Brides of Garryowen'' is a melodramatic Play (theatre), play written by Irish people, Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre, New York City, New York, on 27 March 1860 with ...

'' by

Dion Boucicault Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the ...

in the town hall in the 1940s. The castle was restored in the mid-1990s and incorporated into a new heritage centre for the town which was officially opened there on 18 June 1998.

References

{{City and town halls in Ireland, state=collapsed City and town halls in the Republic of Ireland Dalkey