Rathdown Castle is a ruined castle and ancient settlement site located in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

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 ...

Location

Rathdown Castle was located in a deep

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Kindlestown Castle and north of

Greystones Greystones () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on Ireland's east coast, south of Bray, County Wicklow, Bray and south of Dublin city centre and has a population of 18,140 (2016). The town is bordered ...

village. In the field to the north of the castle are visible remains of a moated

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

, with other subsurface features.

History

Archaeological evidence suggests there has been continuous settlement there from at least the Early Neolithic (4th millennium BC), and through to the early medieval period, when it was the site of the

Gaelic Irish The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...

settlement ''Rath Oinn'' (perhaps "

ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...

" of the

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

furze ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...

.) The legendary account in ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...

'' (1632–36) claims that Rath Oinn was constructed by

Érimón Érimón, (modern spelling: Éiremhón), commonly Anglicised as Heremon, son of Míl Espáine (and great-grandson of Breoghan, king of Celtic Galicia), according to medieval Irish legends and historical traditions, was one of the chieftains who ...

, one of the first Milesian kings of Ireland: This event is dated to 1699 BC; however, dates in the ancient annals prior to c. AD 500 are not considered factual. However, the prominence given to Rath Oinn in the accounts shows that it must have been an important centre in the distant, poorly-remembered past. The ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

'' (11th century) also states that "Rath Oinn in the land of Cualu was dug by Érimón." At the time of the Norman invasion, Rathdown was the stronghold of the Uí Dúnchada, at that time led by Donal Mac Gilla Mo-Cholmóc, king of

Cuala Cuala GAA club (or ''Cuala GAC'', ) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Dalkey in the south of County Dublin, Ireland. It fields teams in Dublin GAA competitions. Cuala is primarily based in a sports and social centre in Dalkey, a ...

. Henry II granted the Manor of Rathdown to Donal as

tenant-in-chief In medieval and early modern Europe, the term ''tenant-in-chief'' (or ''vassal-in-chief'') denoted a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as op ...

. A stone castle, known as Rathdown Castle, was probably built soon after the Normans arrived. In 1301 the

O'Byrnes The O'Byrne family ( ga, Ó Broin) is an Irish clann that descend from Bran mac Máelmórda, King of Leinster, of the Uí Faelain of the Uí Dúnlainge. Before the Norman invasion of Ireland they began to colonise south Wicklow. There are many fa ...

(Uí Broin) burned down Rathdown Castle, and the occupant may have moved to Kindlestown Castle. The Normanised Mac Gilla Mo-Cholmóc owner of the lands, John Fitzdermot, did not retake Rathdown Castle, in c. 1305 conveying the manor of Rathdown to Nigel le Brun,

Escheat Escheat is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a ...

or of Ireland, and the castle was rebuilt in 1308. Associated with the castle was a village of several hundred people with a

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

and a church ( St. Crispin's Cell; the current building dates to 1530). In 1534, a castle, 20 houses, a watermill and a creek were recorded at Rathdown. In 1536 the castle and lands were granted to Peter Talbot. Rathdown Castle and village survived to the early 1600s, being the subject of occasional raids by Gaelic tribes, such as the

and O'Tooles of the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Wh ...

region. In the

Down Survey The Down Survey was a cadastral survey of Ireland, carried out by English scientist, William Petty, in 1655 and 1656. The survey was apparently called the "Down Survey" by Petty, either because the results were set down in maps or because the su ...

(1657) Rathdown Castle was recorded as "ruinous." It gives its name to the

baronies Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Rathdown (County Dublin) and Rathdown (County Wicklow), and to the modern county of

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown ( ga, Dún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three s ...

. In 1771, 20 acres were acquired by Captain Charles Tarrant who built Captain Tarrant's Farmhouse; he was involved in the construction of the Grand Canal and the

Wide Streets Commission The Wide Streets Commission (officially the Commissioners for making Wide and Convenient Ways, Streets and Passages) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1758, at the request of Dublin Corporation, as a body to govern standards on the layou ...

. He used stone from the castle ruins to build his house, and more of the stone was used for a railway bridge. In 2010, excavation in the area revealed "a series of small-scale features within the area of the known extended settlement" and medieval

potsherds This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains. A B C D E F ...

. Later work identified Beaker-era settlement and evidence of a corn-drying

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

References

{{reflist, 1 Castles in County Wicklow Archaeological sites in County Wicklow Greystones