Peig enjoying her walk at Donadea

Donadea Forest Park now encompasses almost 250 hectares. The demesne was established by the Anglo-Normans as a Manor, and the demesne passed to the Aylmer family in 1558. In 1624 Gerald Aylmer completed the construction of a Tower House, which is now the oldest part of the existing structure, as most of the visible remains we can see now date to the early nineteenth century. 

Donadea House

Lime Tree Avenue

The Aylmer's became embroiled in the Catholic Confederacy uprising in the middle of the seventeenth century, and in 1642 the powerful James Butler, Earl of Ormonde, despite being the brother-in-law of Aylmer, successfully laid siege to Donadea Castle and burned it to the ground. The house was rebuilt by 1772, and in the early nineteenth century, Gerald George Aylmer began an extensive programme of renovation, reconstruction and modernization on the estate. He had the house remodelled in the fashionable Gothic style of the time, he had large walls constructed to enclose the demesne, with a grand new carriageway (today called Lime Tree Avenue) to lead into the estate.

You can discover some of these features (including a great example of an ice house), on the grounds of the estate. 
The ancient routeway of Ireland, the Slí Mhór (The Great Way), that traversed Ireland from East to West, passes through Donadea. 
Alongside this highway of ancient Ireland, a church was founded in the early medieval period. Very little remains above ground today of the church, but a new church named St. Peter's was constructed as part of the large programme of works in the early nineteenth century.

St. Peter's Church at Donadea

A lake was also created as a landscape feature and to provide work during the Great Famine. Today it's one of the busier areas of the park, with families feeding the numerous ducks and enjoying the tranquil surroundings. Close by to the lake, you can find a poignant memorial to those who lost their lives in the Twin Towers at 9/11.

The Donadea Forest Park is under the management of Coillte, and is a great place to enjoy a walk. There is an entrance fee of €5 per car, and if you plan on making a few visits I strongly recommend purchasing a Coillte Outdoors Card for €35 that allows you to access a number of forest parks around the country for a year, you can find more information on these cards here.

For more information on Donadea, see here. 

I hope you enjoy this blog, we're trying to cover as many sites as we can across Ireland. If anyone has any suggestions about sites you'd like us to cover please do leave us a comment. If you enjoy information and images of Irish heritage sites then do follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+

If you'd like to support us then please consider downloading an audioguide to one of Ireland's wonderful heritage sites. They are packed with original music and sound effects and are a great way of experiencing the story of Ireland. They only cost €1.99 and are fun whether you are at the site, or listening from the comfort of your own home. Our latest guide is to Viking and Medieval Dublin, visit us at www.abartaaudioguides.com for free previews. 

Have you ever wondered how Dublin got its name? Or where medieval Dubliners went for a pint? Read on to discover just some of Dublin’s medieval past that is still visible today!

Imagine you could travel backwards in time in Dublin, and strip back the glass, metal, concrete and tarmac of the modern city to replace it with timber, wattle, thatch and stone to see what Dublin was like over a thousand years ago.

Dublin is a city of two names, the first of which comes from the early medieval period. There was a natural island in the middle of the River Liffey which became the main crossing point of the river. At low tide the river at the island became so shallow that mudflats were exposed, the early Dubliners lay down interwoven branches of saplings over the mudflats and these mats or hurdles allowed people and animals to cross the river and gave the area it’s Irish name Ath Claitha - The Ford of the Hurdles. This original fording point of the Liffey is thought to be located close to the Brazen Head pub which is on Bridge Street, close to Merchant Quay.

Prior to the Viking settlement, a monastery had been established close to where Trinity College stands today. The monks called the area Dubh Linn, Gaelic for Black Pool, as a large murky pool formed where the River Poddle met the Liffey. The Vikings kept this name, calling it Dyflinn in their Norse language, when they chose this spot to be their first Longphort or overwinter camp in 841 AD. The Vikings chose this area as it possessed many natural defensive advantages. This first overwinter camp laid the foundations for the development of the modern city of Dublin.

A tenth century Viking returns to Wood Quay to find a few changes....

Wood Quay

The site that is synonymous with Viking Dublin is Wood Quay. Once the heart of one of the largest Viking settlements in the world, unfortunately much of this settlement was lost forever when Dublin City Council constructed the large concrete offices of the Dublin Corporation Offices. The story of Wood Quay was a long and complicated issue involving archaeologists, politicians, local councillors, international experts, senators, the courts and over 20,000 outraged members of the public. The fight to save Wood Quay continued throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s but ultimately the development went ahead.

So why was the site at Wood Quay so important? The preservation of the archaeology at the site was almost unparalleled, and it offered amazing insights into the Viking and later Norman settlement. The archaeologists discovered quay fronts where the ships used to moor to offload their goods, numerous houses, shops, and craft and textile manufacturing areas and a large amount of artefacts that informed us about what people ate, how they dressed, how they worked and even how they lived and died in Dublin over a thousand years ago. Many of these artefacts are now on display at the National Museum of Ireland, on Kildare Street.

The Viking settlement excavated during the Wood Quay saga mainly represented the second phase of Viking settlement in Dublin dating to the tenth and eleventh centuries.
A feature of the site was the many waterfronts and revetments which held back the waters of the Liffey, and the old Norse wall which has been reconstructed and is on display within the civic offices.

Winetavern Street, Fishamble Street and Cook Street

Winetavern Street is one of many street names that tells us what was happening in this part of Dublin during the Viking, Hiberno Norse and medieval periods. One of the most common finds from this area of the Wood Quay excavation was tavern tokens. They look like small coins but are units of currency and could be used in the taverns that used to line this street during medieval times to buy a cup of wine or ale. These taverns developed during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Fishamble Street gets its name from all the fish markets that were once held there. It is an ideal location for a fish market due to its proximity to the LIffey, and Cook Street was the area of Dublin where all the bakers sold their breads, pies and pastries. They had to sell their goods outside of the city walls as so many fires would have posed a considerable risk to the city with its tightly packed timber houses.

A late twelfth century Norman foot-knight at Cook Street

On Cook Street you can find a surviving portion of the medieval walls that once enclosed the city, with the only functioning medieval gate in the city walls at St. Audoen’s Arch. This wall has been modified over time, particularly in the early twentieth century. It now runs for 90 metres and stands approximately 7 metres in height. The original wall is thought to have been commissioned by the great Brian Boru’s grandson – Muirchertach O’Brien in around 1100 AD. After the Anglo-Norman captured Dublin at the end of the twelfth century, they quickly began a programme of refortifying the old viking walls. They also reclaimed large areas of land from the Liffey. This area was once prosperous and settled by wealthy merchants. The large gateway you can see at St. Audoen’s allowed them to access the port and their warehouses.








St Audoen’s Church

St. Audoen's Church

Constructed at the western side of the medieval city wall, St. Audoen’s dates to the late twelfth century, although it may stand on the site of an earlier church as a ninth century graveslab was found on the site. The church was dedicated to St. Ouen (or St. Audoen) of Rouen, the Patron Saint of Normandy. The church was extended and modified many times over its history. The first phase was completed by around 1200 AD. The church was a simple two celled design, with a nave and a narrower chancel. The entrance of the building was through the decorative moulded doorway that was carved in a typical late-Romanesque style. In the early years of the thirteenth century, the second phase of the church saw the chancel and nave combined to create one large room.

The next phase in the early fourteenth century saw major modifications at St. Audoen’s, with the development of an elaborate four bay arcade creating a new nave that nearly doubled the size of the church, following that a fifth bay was constructed in the arcade and a new chancel. The original Romanesque doorway was moved to a recess in the western end of the church where it can still be seen today. In the fifteenth century a four storey bell tower was constructed at the western side of the church. This tower houses large bronze bells, one cast in 1423, making them the oldest church bells still in use in Ireland. Extensive excavations of the site were carried out in the 1990’s and they revealed a wealth of information about the site. Today St. Audoen’s is an OPW heritage site and is a wonderful (and free) place to visit. For opening hours see here http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/dublin/staudoenschurch/

Christchurch Cathedral

Christchurch and St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Christchurch Cathedral was originally founded in around 1028 AD and was commissioned by the Hiberno-Norse King Sitric Silkenbeard after he had completed his pilgrimage to Rome.
St. Laurence O’Toole was elected abbot of Dublin in 1162, and became instrumental in saving Dublin City from being sacked by the Anglo Normans, who had been employed by the King of Leinster, Diarmuid Mac Murrough as mercenaries to win back his lands from rival Irish Kings. Laurence was a reformer and strongly believed the Irish church needed to be modernized and changed. He worked diligently from Christchurch and attended many negotiations with the key political figures of the time. In 1180 St. Laurence succumbed to a long illness while on pilgrimage in France. His body was buried in France, but his heart was sent back to Ireland. Encased in a heart shaped iron box it became one of Irelands most famous relics. Laurence was canonized as a saint 45 years after his death and the relic of his heart was placed in Christ Church cathedral with sprigs of mountain heather from Glendalough around it. It survived many persecutions, the most serious being the Reformation which was initiated by Henry VIII in the 1540s. Henry ordered that all relics in Christchurch be taken to Skinners Row (across the road) and burned. Many famous relics were destroyed including the true staff of Jesus which was famed throughout the country for its healing powers, yet Laurence’s heart remained untouched, until March 3rd 2012 when it was stolen from the Cathedral. Its whereabouts are still unknown. In the 1180’s the Christchurch that we are familiar with today began to take shape. John Cumin, the first Anglo-Norman arch bishop, had Christchurch reconstructed in stone in the fashionable Romanesque style of the time.

For entry fees and opening hours please visit http://www.christchurchdublin.ie/Visitors/Visitor-Information.htm\

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Dublin is rather unusual as it has two cathedrals situated very close to one another. St. Patrick’s Cathedral was constructed on the site of an earlier church in the twelfth century and consecrated as a cathedral on St. Patricks Day 1254. Like Christchurch, St. Patricks has changed dramatically over the centuries, particularly in the nineteenth century when the Guinness family carried out a programme of conservation and renovated and reconstructed the crumbling building into the fine cathedral it is today, see http://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie/index.aspx for more details.

Dame Street

Located on the very eastern most edge of the medieval city, Dame Street takes its name from a large dam that was constructed here across the River Poddle in the medieval period. This dam maintained the depth of water around the Castle and city walls.

Medieval Dublin was small, it was said that you could walk from one side of the city to the other in less than ten minutes, but despite its small size it was densely packed, by the thirteenth century it was thought that the population of Dublin exceeded 10,000. Wealthy Dubliners lived in tall houses that could reach three stories in height. The tall houses made the streets dark and dank, with no rubbish collection people simply threw their waste out of the windows. The streets would have been full of dogs, cats, rats and pigs feeding off the waste. Such unsanitary compact living led to epidemics like the Black Death breaking out and causing devastation to medieval Dubliners. A particularly bad outbreak in 1348 is thought to have killed hundreds. People were buried in mass graves in an area of Dublin still known as the Blackpitts today.

Dublin Castle

The area on which Dublin Castle stands today was part of the early Viking settlement in Dublin. As the population grew, the Vikings constructed a fortified wooden fence or palisade to protect the settlement from raids from the neighbouring Gaelic Irish kingdoms.

Dublin Castle

After the Normans seized control of Dublin, King Henry II visited his newly acquired territories. He left forty of his knights to defend Dublin. They refortified the south-eastern corner of the old Viking fort, the area that faced onto the pool in the River Poddle. The original Norman defences were probably an earthwork castle rather than stone, but in 1204 the King ordered a stone castle to be constructed on the site. There was a great need for strong defences for Dublin. The growing settlement was surrounded on all sides by Gaelic kings and chieftains who would relish the chance to raid this settlement of foreigners. This was highlighted by a savage attack that became known as Bloody Monday. On Easter Monday in 1209, a number of the Anglo-Norman citizens of Dublin ventured out to an area known as Cullenswood where modern Ranelagh stands today. They hoped to enjoy the weather, spending the afternoon picnicking and hunting in the fresh air away from the cloying stink of the city. Unbeknownst to them, a band of Gaelic warriors, probably led by the O’Byrne and O’Toole families, saw their opportunity and descended on the unaware citizens. They massacred around 500 people in a bloody and savage attack.

Following this the work on the city defences was accelerated, with the Castle being completed by around 1230 AD. The castle was surrounded by a deep moat, with imposing high stone walls and large circular towers at each corner. The Castle has changed dramatically from its medieval origins. It was severely damaged by a fire in 1684, and was largely demolished in the eighteenth century to make way for today’s castle. Only one tower from its medieval past still stands above ground, and the Black Pool which originally gave Dublin its name has now become the Castle gardens.

A FitzGerald halberdier from the sixteenth century

These are just a few of the echoes remaining of Viking and Medieval Dublin. We have produced an audioguide to help navigate you around the City and to highlight in more detail the incredible heritage that still surrounds us. Our guide is packed with original music and sound effects, and helps to bring to life the story of the early Dubliners. It costs just €1.99 and is available from http://abartaaudioguides.com/our-guides/viking-and-medieval-dublin-audio-tour (follow the link for a free preview). If you’d like to discover more about Medieval Dublin I recommend paying a visit to the superb (and free to enter!) National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street, and Dublinia opposite Christchurch, where you can come face to face with Dublin’s medieval past.

This is the first of my articles on cities, heritage towns and villages. If you know of a great site near you please leave a comment below.

The historical re-enactment photoshoot was with Claíomh. All photographs © abartaaudioguides.com. 

Boyle Abbey is the most important Cistercian Abbey in the west of Ireland, and dates from 12/13th Century. Boyle is the 'daughter house' of Mellifont Abbey, the first Cistercian Abbey to be founded in Ireland. The Cistercian Order was founded by St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Burgundy, Central France in 1098. St. Bernard believed that the other monastic orders had become dissolute and undisciplined, and he founded the Cistercians as an austere and hard-working order who focused on a life of prayer. 

The cloister area

The first monks arrived at Boyle in 1161, the powerful Lords of Moylurg, the Mac Diarmata (the MacDermotts) granted the lands to the Cistercians and became patrons of the Abbey.

In the nave looking towards the choir

Like all other Cistercian monasteries, Boyle Abbey was centred around a rectangular shaped cloister. The cloister had a covered walkway running around it known as a cloister arcade, but unfortunately nothing remains today of this feature as it was thought to have been destroyed in the Abbey's later history. A large cruciform shaped church was constructed on the northern side of the cloisters. The church is designed in typical Burgundian style with a pointed barrel vault and choir arch. An interesting feature of the church can be seen in the Nave, where you can see distinct differences in the design of the arches on the north side (pointed) and the south side (rounded), also by looking at the capitals on top of the columns that form the arches you can see some wonderful examples of medieval sculpture. These sculptures and designs are thought to have been the work of the Ballintubber Master, who copied some of the late-Romanesque design and decorated the columns with floral motifs, birds, beasts, and human figures. The picture below is one of my favourite depictions from Boyle Abbey, showing a poor dog who appears to be having a bad day of it. He is being bitten on his nose and his backside simultaneously by two other dogs. The poor fella has his tongue lolling out with the sheer bother of it all. 

Boyle Abbey was raided by the Norman Lord William de Burgh in 1202. It was recorded that he spent three days thoroughly ransacking the Abbey and its lands. The Annals of Loch Cé record that 'no structure in the monastery was left without breaking and burning...no part of the buildings of the entire monastery was allowed to the monks and brothers'.  
It was raided again in 1235 when Richard de Burgh launched his invasion of Connacht, and by the fifteenth century the importance of Boyle Abbey had began to wane.

The Abbey was one of the last to be dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII, it survived the reformation for over forty years until 1584 when the last abbot of Boyle, Glaisne O'Culleanain was executed in Dublin for refusing to renounce his loyalty to Rome. 

Boyle Abbey was then leased to William Usher in 1589, and shortly afterwards it was used as a military barracks by Elizabethan soldiers. Much alterations and damage to the abbey happened at this time, especially to the cloister area where the arcade was demolished. In 1603 it was given to Sir John King and it remained in his family until 1892. It continued to be used as a barracks until the end of the eighteenth century. But despite its long occupation as a military base, the Abbey is still a wonderful example of a Cistercian monastery and is well worth a visit.

The site couldn't be easier to find, simply head to Boyle in County Roscommon and the Abbey is well signposted. It is now under the auspices of the Office of Public Works, and you can enjoy an excellent guided tour that takes you through the fafascinating history of the Abbey. Entry costs €3 per adult, €2 per senior citizen (over 60 years), €1 for a child/student and a family ticket costs €8. For more information and opening times see http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/West/BoyleAbbey/ 

 I hope you are enjoying our blog, if you'd like to keep up with daily pictures and information about Irish Heritage sites then you might like to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+. 
  

Conna Castle stands on a height that looms over the valley of the River Bride, a tributary of the Blackwater in Co. Cork. The Castle is a classic Irish Towerhouse, built around 1500 AD. After the rise in hostility between the Gaelic Irish and Anglo–Norman settlers in the fourteenth century, tower-houses became a common sight across Ireland, particularly within The Pale, the Anglo-controlled territory along the eastern coast. The English Crown had offered a subsidy of £10 to wealthy inhabitants of The Pale to build 'small towers to fortify their lands'.

The tower-house was usually surrounded by a bawn wall. This was often a large stone wall that served as the first line of defence. However there are very little remains of Conna's bawn wall as with most tower-houses the bawn wall is often removed, with its stone being recycled into other buildings over the centuries after the site is abandoned.

Tower-houses were not solely used by the Anglo-Norman settlers, the Gaelic Irish began to construct their own from the early fifteenth century, calling them caislén or caistél. Conna Castle was built by the Fitzgeralds, Earls of Desmond, an Anglo-Norman family who had become increasingly assimilated into the Gaelic Irish culture. They resisted the Reformation during the reign of Elizabeth Ist and broke out into open rebellion in 1569. They failed, and the rebellion was ruthlessly crushed.  Their lands (including Conna) were seized by the Crown, even though the owner of the castle at the time Thomas Ruadh Fitzgerald had no part in the rebellion.

View from the base of Conna Castle over the River Bride

They were given to the famous English explorer, Walter Raleigh, who was granted 12,000 acres in Munster and made the nearby Lismore Castle into an elegant home. Thomas Ruadh went to London to try to press his rights as the legal heir to all of the Fitzgerald estates, but he was sent home empty handed, given only a nickname – Sugán Earl – The Straw Earl. 

When Hugh O'Neill launched his rebellion in Ulster in 1598, and achieved a great victory over the English at the Battle of the Yellow Ford, The Sugán Earl was emboldened, and launched his own rebellion. Supported by 4,000 troops sent by O'Neill, The Sugán Earl led a campaign to burn out the English settlers across Munster, however in 1601 he was betrayed by his kinsman, The White Knight. The Sugán Earl was taken to the Tower of London, where he became insane and died. Conna was then given to the Earl of Cork, Richard Boyle. In 1645 it was captured by Lord Castlehaven, and in 1650 Conna managed to hold off a ferocious attack by Oliver Cromwell, however it was burned in 1653 in a fire that killed three of the stewards daughters. 

Conna Castle passed from owner to owner until it came into the hands of the L'Estrange Family in the mid-nineteenth century, it was willed to the state in 1915. Conna Castle is easy to find as you can see it from miles away! It's located in the village of Conna between Fermoy and Tallow in Co. Cork. Park on the street and then access the site through the gate following the well made paths up the hill.

I hope you enjoy this blog, we're trying to cover as many sites as we can across Ireland. If anyone has any suggestions about sites you'd like us to cover please do leave us a comment. If you enjoy information and images of Irish heritage sites then do follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+

If you'd like to support us then please consider downloading an audioguide to one of Ireland's wonderful heritage sites. They are packed with original music and sound effects and are a great way of experiencing the story of Ireland. They only cost €1.99 and are fun whether you are at the site, or listening from the comfort of your own home. Our latest guide is to Viking and Medieval Dublin, visit us at www.abartaaudioguides.com for free previews.

The Augustinian Priory of St. Mary at Clontuskert is thought to have been founded in the later part of the twelfth century by Turlough O'Connor, King of Connacht, on the site of an eighth century monastery dedicated to St. Boedán, although no archaeological evidence has been found as yet of the earlier monastery.

Originally Clontuskert would have been a considerably sized Priory that was regularly expanded, with a large undivided church dating to the late twelfth century that later became the chancel when the church was expanded in the early fifeenth century, it was enlarged again when a north transept was added to the building in the late fifteenth century. Though the Church still survives well today, many of the other structures only survive as foundations, although a small part of the cloister has been reconstructed from the remains found on site.
The Priory was under the patronage of the powerful O'Kelly family who held sway in this region during the medieval period, and the head of the Priory traditionally had the honour of inaugurating the new head of the O'Kelly's.

An O'Kelly Tomb dating to 1646

It is recorded in 1413 that an indulgence was granted to raise funds for the repair of the Priory Church that had recently been 'totally destroyed' by fire, and much of the visible architectural remains on site date to after this point.

It appears that the original Augustinian Canons were replaced by Augustinian Friars in the early seventeenth century, and a doorway in the Church between the chancel and nave has the date 1637 carved above it.

For me the most spectacular feature on the site is the amazing west doorway into the nave. It is beautifully carved and bears the figures of St. Michael brandishing a sword and scales for weighing souls on Judgement Day, St. John the Baptist, St. Catherine and a Bishop. It also depicts a pelican, a star, a pair of griffins, a dog, a deer, a rose and strangely, a mermaid (see bottom picture) who has a mirror in her left hand and a star in her right hand. Similar mermaids can be found at Clonfert and St.Nicholas's Cathedral in Galway (thanks to Finn Delaney for the great reference there!).  The inscription above the doorway reads:
Mathev Dei gra eps Clonfertens et Patre oneacdavayn canonie esti domine fi fecert Ano do MCCCCLXXI
Which can be translated to:
Mathew by the Grace of God, Bishop of Clonfert, and Patrick O’Naughton, canon of this house, caused me to be made in 1471.

Close up of the top of the western doorway with (from left-right) St. Michael, John the Baptist, St.Catherine and a Bishop

 This doorway alone is worth the trip to Ballinasloe, as it has some of the finest fifteenth century medieval carvings in Ireland.
Contuskert Priory is very easy to find. Simply head from Ballinasloe towards Portumna on the R355, go past the Ballinasloe Golf Club and keep going straight down the road, after about 5-6km on the R355 you'll see the site on your left hand side. There is a small carpark then the site is a short 100m walk down a lane.

I hope you are enjoying the blog, I'm doing my best to cover as much as the country as I can so please do bear with me. If anyone has suggestions about great sites to visit please do let me know by leaving a comment, I'd love to hear from you. If you'd like to keep up with daily images and posts about Irish heritage you might like to follow us on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.
If you'd like to support us then perhaps consider downloading one of our audioguides to Irish heritage sites, packed with original music and sound effects they are a fun and immersive way of enjoying the incredible story of Ireland whether you are at the site or sitting in your favourite chair at home. You can find us at www.abartaaudioguides.com, our latest guide, The Rock of Dunamase is available completely free of charge.

The Mermaid at Clontuskert, she's no Darryl Hannah

The tomb at Labbacallee near Glanworth in Co. Cork is Ireland's largest example of a wedge tomb, with a chamber that measures nearly 14m long. Wedge tombs are the most common of Ireland's megalithic tombs, and are most commonly found in the western half of the country. The name 'wedge tomb' simply refers to the simple wedge shape, as the height and width of the monument decreases from the front to the rear. Wedge tombs are the last of Ireland's megalithic tombs, and usually date to the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age periods.

Labbacallee was excavated by Harold Leask and Liam Price in 1934. They found that the burial chamber was divided into two parts, a long gallery (see the header photo) and a small box like feature at the eastern end. This eastern feature contained cremated remains, and an unburned but headless skeleton of an adult female. The skull was found in the gallery next to the skeletons of an adult male and child. The remains of these three individuals were radiocarbon dated, the results revealed that they appeared to have been interred separately between 2456–1776 BC.

Folklore has always helped to protect some of Ireland's ancient sites. At Labbacallee, local legend tells the story that long ago four men went during the night to dig for gold that they believed to be buried inside the tomb at Labbacallee. As soon as they started to dig, a strange cat with fire erupting from its tail appeared, the men were terrified and dazzled by the blinding light coming from the tail of this hellish cat and they panicked, running across the fields fleeing for their lives, and in their confusion fell into the nearby River Funshion. One of the men drowned, but the others lived to pass on the warning not to disturb the ancient dead at Labbacallee!

 
The tomb is quite easy to find, from Glanworth simply head south on the R512 and take the first left after the church. The site is about 2km down this road. It will be on your left hand side behind a small stone wall. There is room to pull in off the road in front of the monument. There are a number of other great sites to see nearby, including lovely Glanworth itself with its Castle and Friary, and nearby you can also find the wonderful Bridgetown Priory.

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Like The Rock of Dunamase, Castleroache is positioned high on a rock outcrop that towers over the surrounding landscape. Castleroache is possibly the finest example of Ireland's mid-thirteenth century castles, it is thought to have been constructed by Lady Rohesia de Verdun in 1236 to serve as a bastion of defence for the Anglo-Norman colony in Louth against the Gaelic tribes of Ulster. Lady Rohesia was a formidable woman, and is said to have thrown the castle's architect through one of the tower windows so he could never reveal the castles secrets. 

The castle is nearly triangular in shape with a projecting tower at the north-east angle. It is protected on three sides by the precipitous slope that surrounds it, with the entrance on the eastern side protected by a deep rock-cut ditch. A wooden drawbridge would have led to the interior of the castle through the two massive D-shaped towers. The drawbridge may once have had additional protection from outworks or a barbican gate but no clear above-ground remains of that can be seen today. 

These towers are rounded at the front in the defensive style of the time with a number of arrow loops at varied levels to allow the archers defending the gateway to loose murderous volleys on the attacking enemy. The towers also  have four stories at the rear that would have provided accommodation and living space for the garrison of Castleroache. 

As you can see in the images of the eastern entrance side of the castle, there are a number of rectangular cavities regularly spaced along the wall near the top (the image above gives the best angle to see them). These are 'put-log' holes, and are evidence that once wooden battlements or hoardings, once hung over the side of the castle walls, similar to those that once surrounded the mighty Keep of Trim Castle, in Co. Meath. From these wooden hoardings, defenders would have been able to fire arrows and throw stones down onto anyone attacking the walls, adding to its already formidable defences.

Area of Great Hall

However, like Dublin Castle and Kilkenny Castle, Castleroache seems to have been a keepless castle, so there was no central defensive tower to retreat to had the walls been breached. This appears to have become the defensive fashion of the mid-thirteenth century, and instead of a keep there would have been a large great hall. In the case of Castleroache, the great hall was located on the southern side of the castle (to the left as you enter through the towers).

This castle still strongly exudes a feeling of power and dominance over the landscape today. It has to be one of the most impressive heritage sites I have visited in Ireland, and it is one of those sites that is so massive, so imposing and so breathtaking that pictures cannot do it justice – it is one you must experience for yourself to gain a true impression of its size and grandeur.

To find Castleroache from Dublin, head north on the M1 and exit at Junction 17. Take the first exit off the roundabout following signs for the N53/Castleblaney, continue out on this road until you see a right-hand turn signed for Castleroache and Forkhill, take this turn and follow the road, the site will be on your right hand side up a laneway. Park on road, and please be aware that the site is on farmland, please do not block any gateways and please ensure all gates are closed behind you. Simply walk up the slope through the field to access the castle, there is an interpretation panel on your right hand side when you enter through the gateway.

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