Leighlinbridge Castle, also called Black Castle, is in the village of

Leighlinbridge Leighlinbridge (; ) is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. It is 11 km south of Carlow town, on the R705 road. The N9 national primary route once passed through the village, but was by-passed in the 1980s. It c ...

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

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 ...

, on the

River Barrow The Barrow () is a river in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters (Ireland), The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers and, at 192 km (12 ...

. The early castle was built c.1181 for the Normans. In the 1540s a Carmelite friary was converted into a new fort by Edward Bellingham. The remains of the castle are now dilapidated - a broken castle tower and parts of one side of an enclosing wall are still extant.

History

The Norman castle, was founded c.1181 by John de Clahull (or Claville) under the auspices of Hugh de Lacy. The original construct, together with the nine-arched bridge over the

formed the main landmarks of the town; and the construction of the castle, in itself creating a place of importance has been credited as a key cause in the development of the town of Leighlin-Bridge. In the early 1270s the

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

s first came to Ireland, and established their first friary in Leighlinbridge, on a site near the castle. The bridge across the river was built c.1320. Another castle, the 'White Castle' was built nearby, c.1408, by Gerald FitzGerald, 5th Earl of Kildare. By 1840 there were no remains of this castle, and its location had been lost. In 1543 the friary was suppressed, and in 1546 Edward Bellingham converted the friary into a fort with a surrounding wall - the fort became a military center for all of

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

. Bellingham also established a stables at the castle, of around two dozen horses. In 1577

Rory Oge O'More Rory Oge O'More (; – 30 June 1578) was an Irish noble and chief of the O'More clan. As the Lord of Laois, he rebelled against the Tudors' sixteenth-century conquest of Gaelic Ireland. Irish nationalists Patrick Pearse and Philip O'Sul ...

Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

is said to have captured the castle (then under the command of George Carew) and destroyed part the town; according to John Ryan in ''The History and Antiquities of the County of Carlow'' (1833) the castle was not captured and though the skirmish between assailants and defenders came to the gates of the castle it was repelled. During the 1590s O'Neill rebellion (see

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

) the castle was repaired and re-garrisoned for the crown. In 1604 the castle was granted as

socage Socage () was one of the feudal duties and land tenure forms in the English feudal system. It eventually evolved into the freehold tenure called "free and common socage", which did not involve feudal duties. Farmers held land in exchange for ...

by the king to George Tuchet, Lord Awdeley. During the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

the castle was initially garrisoned by the Catholic confederation, and in 1647 and 1649 was used as a rallying point by the Maquis of Ormond. In 1649 the castle was captured by Col. Hewson for the forces of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

Description

In the 1840s the remains of the castle itself consisted of a four sided enclosure wall , approximately thick and enclosed on three sides by a ditch (or moat), and on the fourth by the river. The 15th C. keep was situated at the northwestern corner, rectangular in form and nearly tall. By the 1840s the structure was derelict, with only one outer wall remaining, and a single floor of the keep, supported by an arch still standing; there was also the remains of a round tower in the southwest corner - the remains rose to with walls thick. A more modern analysis of the ''Black Castle'' classifies it as a three-story limestone tower house, with the lowest story vaulted, with the roof enclosed by walls with mural passageways. Both the tower and the surrounding rectangular

bawn A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word ''bábhún'' (sometimes spelt ''badhún''), possibly meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure".See alternative traditional s ...

have artillery openings, and are architecturally indicative of a 16th-century building.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline Castles in County Carlow Ruins in the Republic of Ireland National monuments in County Carlow 1180s establishments in Ireland