Darver Castle is a fortified tower and manor house located in Readypenny,

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, dating back to the 12th century. The name "Darver" is derived from the Gaelic word "Dairbhe" meaning "Oakwood."

History

Following the second stage

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly sanc ...

in 1171,

King Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

granted 500 acres of land to Patrick Babe, on land formerly owned by the church. These were probably awarded for services rendered during the invasion though the circumstances remain unknown. Patrick would go on to erect a fortified tower on the north hill nestled on the edge of the deep slope that led to the banks of two rivers, these rivers serving both defensive and alimentary roles. In the south hill Patrick built a round watchtower to guard the approach. These original buildings on the site of Darver castle would have been wooden (hence the "Darver" name). The stone tower visible today was added c. 1432. Despite being on the borders of

The Pale The Pale (Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast st ...

and preparations for the possibility of a siege being taken, there is no record of any siege being attempted at Darver castle. In 1740 the Babe family sold Darver Castle to Randal Booth, and Booths descendants lived at Darver until 1980. In 1997 the castle was sold to the Carville family, who have renovated and refurbished it, turning it into a luxury hotel, wedding venue and restaurant.Darver Castle
/ref>

References

External links

Darver Castle website

Darver Castle (International website)

Darver National School website
Buildings and structures in Dundalk Castles in County Louth Houses in County Louth Houses in the Republic of Ireland Tower houses in the Republic of Ireland {{Louth-geo-stub