Maynooth Castle is a ruined

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 ...

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

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 ...

which stands at the entrance to the South Campus of

Maynooth University Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...

. Constructed in the early 13th century, it became the primary residence of the Kildare Fitzmaurice and Fitzgerald family.

History

The area covered by modern Kildare was granted by Strongbow to Maurice Fitzgerald, Lord of Llanstephan in 1176. The original keep was constructed about 1203. The castle was built by Gerald Fitzmaurice (1st Lord of Offaly), 2nd eldest son of Maurice Fitzgerald, Lord Llanstephan at the junction of two streams and became the home of the Fitzmaurice and

Fitzgerald Fitzgerald may refer to: People * Fitzgerald (surname), a surname * Fitzgerald Hinds, Trinidadian politician * Fitzgerald Toussaint (born 1990), former American football running back Place Australia * Fitzgerald River National Park, a nati ...

family. From then on it was expanded by Sir John Fitzgerald in the 15th century. Gerald Fitzmaurice's descendants became the

Earls of Kildare Duke of Leinster (; ) is a title and the premier dukedom in the Peerage of Ireland. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, of Taplow in th ...

and Earls of Leinster. Lords Deputy of Ireland. The Fitzgerald occupation of the castle ended with the 1534 rebellion of

Silken Thomas {{Infobox noble, type , name = Thomas FitzGerald , title = The Earl of Kildare , image = Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare.jpg , caption = , alt = , CoA = , ...

, the son of the ninth Earl of Kildare. An English force led by

William Skeffington Sir William Skeffington (c. 146531 December 1535) was an English knight who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland. Early life William Skeffington was born in Skeffington Hall, Leicestershire, the eldest son of Thomas Skeffington by his wife, Mary. ...

bombarded the massive castle in March 1535, the heavy modern siege guns of the English army making a ruin of much of the Medieval structure. The castle fell after a ten-day siege and the garrison summarily executed before the castle gate. Silken Thomas was captured shortly after and committed to the Tower of London with his five uncles. They were executed for treason at Tyburn on 3 February 1537. The Castle was restored in 1630-35 by

Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (13 October 1566 – 15 September 1643), also known as 'the Great Earl of Cork', was an English politician who served as Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom of Ireland. Lord Cork was an important figure in the continu ...

, after his daughter had married

George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare (23 January 1612 – 29 May 1660) was known as the "Fairy Earl", apparently for no other reason than that his portrait, which is extant, was painted on a small scale." Biography FitzGerald was the son of T ...

but much of this building was destroyed in the 1640s during the Eleven years war. Only the gatehouse (on which united arms of the Boyles and FitzGeralds can still be viewed) and the Solar Tower survive. The Fitzgeralds left Maynooth Castle for good and made first Kilkea Castle and then

Carton House Carton House is a country house and surrounding demesne that was the ancestral seat of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster for over 700 years. Located 23 km west of Dublin, in Maynooth, County Kildare, the Carton Demesne is a 1,100 ...

their family seat. Restoration work on the castle was restarted by the Office of Public Works in February 2000 to develop it into a Heritage Site. It is now open to the public from May to September, 10.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.. Today the partly ruined building remains as a tourist attraction, with limited access possible.

References

Sources

External links

Maynooth.org

360° Panorama of the castle grounds

Heritage Ireland
{{Historic Irish houses Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century Maynooth Castles in County Kildare National monuments in County Kildare Ruined castles in the Republic of Ireland