Maynooth Castle is a ruined 12th century

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) 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 ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the 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 authority for the county, ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

which stands at the entrance to the South Campus of

Maynooth University The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It ...

. 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."Maynooth Castle", Heritage Ireland
/ref> The castle was built by

Gerald Fitzmaurice Sir Gerald Gray Fitzmaurice (24 October 1901 – 7 September 1982)''Judge Sir Gerald Fitzmaurice and the Discipline of International Law: Opinions on the International Court of Justice, 1961-1973'', J. G. Merrills, ed. (Martinus Nijhoff, 1 ...

(1st Lord of Offaly), 2nd eldest son of Maurice Fitzgerald, Lord Llanstephan at the junction of two streams in the late 12th century and became the home of the

Fitzmaurice Fitzmaurice is a Hiberno-Norman, Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman surname. It is patronymic as the prefix ''Fitz-'' derives from the Latin'' filius'', meaning "son of". According to Irish genealogist Edward MacLysaght: Fitzmaurice is uncommon a ...

and

Fitzgerald The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...

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 in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier dukedom in that peerage. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, ...

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 continuing ...

, 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 Kilkea Castle is located northwest of Castledermot, County Kildare, Ireland near the village of Kilkea on the R418 regional road from Athy to Tullow. It was a medieval stronghold, for over 700 years, of the Fitzgeralds, earls of Kildare. ...

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 1,1 ...

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
Maynooth castle

{{Historic Irish houses Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Maynooth Castles in County Kildare National Monuments in County Kildare Ruined castles in Ireland