Placenames and Castles of Carlow
Carlow Castle 2010
More than anything else the Normans are remembered for their castles, built as homes and lines of defence against displaced Irish chieftains and their warriors. These stone- built castles would replace the strategically located earthen forts which served the same purpose in earlier centuries. In the period between the Norman conquest and the reign of King Henry VIII, Co. Carlow was, from a military point of view, one of the most important counties in Ireland. Through it lay the main route from the Norman settlements in Munster to Dublin, and the bridge in Leighlin was the only crossing over the river Barrow.
Such was the volume of building in the 13th century, that by 1435 there were 148 castles "batayalled and inhaybted" in Co. Carlow. Among the most imposing were the castles in
Carlow town, Clonmore, Tulllow, Leighlin, Ballymoon and Ballyloughan.
The Norman colony in Co. Carlow was like a wedge separating the Irish clans of the McMurroughs, O'Tooles and O'Byrnes to the east and the O'Moores and O'Connors to the west. These clans had totally undermined the authority of King Richard II in Ireland, and in 1395 he landed 40,000 soldiers in Waterford and, after penetrating fifty miles north into Carlow, the Leinster clans agreed to a truce. The treaty site at Ballygorey, in the parish of Tullow, lay along the Munster-Dublin route. The treaty document, written in Latin, is housed in the Bodlien Library in Oxford, and was translated to English some
years ago by Dr. P. J. McGrath of Killerig. Interestingly on the day of the treaty signing, the Latin document was translated to Irish for the Irish chieftains by Bro. Edmond Vale, master of the Hospitallers at Killerig. The terms of the treaty were observed for a number of days rather than years!
Carlow Castle, of which less than half remains, was on the edge of the Pale and occupied a strategic point on the River Barrow. According to H.G. Leask, Hugh de Lacy erected afortress of the motte-and-bailey type on the site
about 1180 and the keep was built by William Marshall, between 1207 and 1213.
The castle had a chequered history suffering repeated attacks by the Irish and English, depending on who was in occupation. One of its most difficult periods was as headquarters of the National Exchequer in the 14th century.
Ironically it was a medical man and not a military man who reduced two-thirds of this massive building to rubble in 1814.
During the late middle ages what was happening in Ireland was a matter of some indifference to English kings. One
historian remarked that the country was 'a marginal threat, a marginal problem and a marginal asset". But matters were about to change with the arrival of King Henry VIII on the British throne.
The Tudor conquest of Ireland began with the execution of the leaders of the Fitzgeralds of Kildare, and the confiscation
of their lands which were given to English lords and captains. In Carlow, the Act of Suppression led to the forced closure of the county's three remaining monasteries at Killerig, Tullow, and Leighlinbridge. Carlow was one of four
counties reserved by Oliver Cromwell to reward his soldiers.
Today only the stone walls remain of the main castles , a grim reminder of the turbulent times of the Tudor and Cromwellian rule.
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Such was the volume of building in the 13th century, that by 1435 there were 148 castles "batayalled and inhaybted" in Co. Carlow. Among the most imposing were the castles in
Carlow town, Clonmore, Tulllow, Leighlin, Ballymoon and Ballyloughan.
The Norman colony in Co. Carlow was like a wedge separating the Irish clans of the McMurroughs, O'Tooles and O'Byrnes to the east and the O'Moores and O'Connors to the west. These clans had totally undermined the authority of King Richard II in Ireland, and in 1395 he landed 40,000 soldiers in Waterford and, after penetrating fifty miles north into Carlow, the Leinster clans agreed to a truce. The treaty site at Ballygorey, in the parish of Tullow, lay along the Munster-Dublin route. The treaty document, written in Latin, is housed in the Bodlien Library in Oxford, and was translated to English some
years ago by Dr. P. J. McGrath of Killerig. Interestingly on the day of the treaty signing, the Latin document was translated to Irish for the Irish chieftains by Bro. Edmond Vale, master of the Hospitallers at Killerig. The terms of the treaty were observed for a number of days rather than years!
Carlow Castle, of which less than half remains, was on the edge of the Pale and occupied a strategic point on the River Barrow. According to H.G. Leask, Hugh de Lacy erected afortress of the motte-and-bailey type on the site
about 1180 and the keep was built by William Marshall, between 1207 and 1213.
The castle had a chequered history suffering repeated attacks by the Irish and English, depending on who was in occupation. One of its most difficult periods was as headquarters of the National Exchequer in the 14th century.
Ironically it was a medical man and not a military man who reduced two-thirds of this massive building to rubble in 1814.
During the late middle ages what was happening in Ireland was a matter of some indifference to English kings. One
historian remarked that the country was 'a marginal threat, a marginal problem and a marginal asset". But matters were about to change with the arrival of King Henry VIII on the British throne.
The Tudor conquest of Ireland began with the execution of the leaders of the Fitzgeralds of Kildare, and the confiscation
of their lands which were given to English lords and captains. In Carlow, the Act of Suppression led to the forced closure of the county's three remaining monasteries at Killerig, Tullow, and Leighlinbridge. Carlow was one of four
counties reserved by Oliver Cromwell to reward his soldiers.
Today only the stone walls remain of the main castles , a grim reminder of the turbulent times of the Tudor and Cromwellian rule.
< Back to Placenames < back to Home