The Castle of Kildare
The Norman castle of Kildare town was, in the thirteenth
century, one of the most important castles in Leinster, ranking
with the castles at Kilkenny, Carlow and Ferns.
Little remains of it today except for a single tower and
an enclosure which is thought to be all that remains of the
former castle bawn or walled enclosure.
The Normans arrived in Ireland in 1169. The initial landing
in Bannow Bay, Co Wexford was followed in a very short time
by a lightning campaign led by Dermot Mac Murrough with the
aid of his Norman allies into the Ui Faelain territories as
far as Kildare. In 1170 another larger force under Richard
FitzStephen de Clare, earl of Pembroke, or Strongbow, arrived
in Waterford. He married Aoife, daughter of Dermot McMurrough,
king of Leinster. When Dermot died in 1171, Strongbow became
lord of Leinster in right of his wife Aoife. The lordship
was held under the English crown, to which certain rents and
services were rendered. The Normans for both strategic and
commercial reasons took over the existing centres of monastic
or regional importance. Kildare qualified on both counts,
and Strongbow made it his headquarters and abode, generally
returning to it after his various expeditions.
The first step required in the settling of an area was to
secure it in a military sense; to establish a firm base from
which expeditions could be mounted and into which defenders
could retreat when attacked by a superior force and Strongbow's
attempt to enforce his rule in Leinster was not without opposition.
The first military fortifications set up by the Normans may
have been little more than entrenched camps of a purely temporary
nature. An example of this type of work is the earthworks
dug at Baginbun in 1169. However, the Normans generally built
a network of motte and bailey castles at an early stage in
the consolidation of their newly acquired territory. These
castles were not alone military strongholds; they were centres
from which authority radiated outwards, a visible sign of
the power of those who sought to rule the land.
It is most likely that Strongbow built a motte and bailey
castle in Kildare when it was his headquarters. The first
mention of a castle in Kildare occurs c. 1185. It is unlikely
that a stone castle would have been erected by 1185: if it
were, it would have been among the earliest in Ireland.
Rocque's map of Kildare Town of 1757 shows what appears to
be a small mound located 30 metres to the south-west of the
present tower of Kildare castle. Andrews suggests that this
might be a Norman motte. It is possible that the early Norman
motte was incorporated in the later stone castle defences.
The most direct evidence we have for the date of the building
of a castle in Kildare comes from the record of an Inquisition
held in 1302. The Inquisition held that: William formerly
Earl Marshal, senior, built originally the castle of Kildare
on the soil of the church of Kildare, without the consent
of the Bishop and Chapter thereof.
It would appear therefore, that the castle was built, or
at least commenced, before 1219 when William, the earl Marshal
senior, died.
The castle passed in time to the deVescy family in 1290.
Up to this period it appears that the town of Kildare had
been left in relative peace and indeed had prospered. Evidence
of this prosperity is provided by the records of church
building. A new cathedral, attributed to Ralph of Bristol
( bishop of Kildare 1223-32) was built, the Franciscan friary
was founded c. 1254-60, the Carmelite friary was established
c. 1290, and the Church of St. Mary Magdalene with its associated
hospital was in existence by 1307. Although no charter to
the town survives from the thirteenth century the existence
of such a charter is implied by the claim made in 1297 by
the burgesses of the right to try offences "by charter of
the lords of the liberty". At the close of the thirteenth
century, we appear to enter a period of much more turmoil
for Kildare and its castle.
During the Norman conquest the native Gaelic aristocracy
of the region, accompanied it would appear by some of their
vassals, were evicted from their land to the more remote
areas of the midland bogs and the Wicklow mountains, where
they largely retained their Gaelic identity and culture
and from where they launched successive attacks on the Norman
settlers. Despite sporadic expeditions into these territories,
the Normans never succeeded in subjugating them. The Ui
Failge (O'Connors of Offaly), who originally had their old
royal centre at Rathangan were pushed west and survived
in the boglands to the west of the present county of Kildare.
The O'Dempseys of Clanmalire who were an ancient tributary
sept of the Ui Failge now inhabited the foothills of the
Slieve Blooms. Both were to be the scourge of the Normans
of Kildare town, from the 1280s onwards in particular. In
1294, O'Connor Faly took the castle of Kildare and destroyed
the records of the lordship. It is also recorded that the
followers of William Donyn broke into and robbed the Kildare
castle and town of money, cloth, wheat, oats, malt, oxen,
cows, sheep and pigs worth £1,000.
Edward Bruce, brother of King Robert Bruce of Scotland,
besieged the castle in the winter of 1315/16 for three days
before being driven off. In 1316 the king elevated John
Fitzthomas [Fitzgerald] to the newly created title of earl
of Kildare in recognition of his services during the Bruce
invasion and granted him the castle of Kildare. So began
the Fitzgerald association with Kildare castle and town.
Though the castle again saw war during the Nine Years War
and the Confederate Wars, it was rendered largely peripheral
to the machinations of Geraldine and national politics by
virtue of the fact that the centre of Geraldine power moved
to Maynooth. During the ensuing centuries the castle slips
into relative obscurity until today it, and its history,
is practically unknown to locals and historians alike.
Today one tower (4 towers were mentioned in 1331) and parts
of the castle bailey wall remain. The tower was originally
a 13th. century gatehouse and it was converted to a residential
tower, possibly in the late 15th. century. The tower retains
openings related to both periods. It was occupied as a dwelling
house until lately. The bailey wall bounds the park on the
E. N. and W. sides. There are 2 bastions incorporated in
the wall. The walls are probably 16th. or 17th. century
on 13th. century foundations. The bailey was also the site
of Lord Edward Fitzgerald's home in 1798. This building
has completely disappeared, probably being demolished as
a reprisal after the 1798 Rebellion.
The tower is best seen from the carpark of the Silken Thomas
Restaurant while the castle bailey is now largely occupied
by a Co. Council yard, which may be approached from the
lane on the left side of the Silken Thomas Restaurant.
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