Woodstock Castle is a 13th-century stone castle located in

Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 9,677 (as of the 2016 census) makes it the sixth largest town in Kild ...

, Ireland.

Location

Woodstock Castle is located in the north of Athy, on the west bank of the River Barrow.

History

Woodstock Castle was built in the early 13th century by Robert de St Michael, a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

lord who was granted Rheban Castle and the surrounding area by

Richard de Clare Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

(Strongbow). It is sited near the " ford of Ae" (''Áth Í'') which gives Athy its name. Initially the fortifications consisted of earthen banks topped with

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

s but these were later replaced by stone walls in the form of a hall-keep, a rectangular structure with a large

hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...

and underground storage. The Crutched Friars established a monastery next to Woodstock Castle in the 13th century. On at least four occasions during that century the village of Athy, including Woodstock Castle and the monasteries, was attacked and badly damaged by the displaced Gaelic Irish.In 1417,

John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, 2nd Earl of Waterford, 8th Baron Talbot, KG (12 DEC 1413 – 10 July 1460) was an English nobleman and soldier. He was the son of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, 1st Earl of Waterford, 7th Baron Talbot ...

built White's Castle to guard the bridge, to the SSW and on the opposite site of the river, and the centre of gravity of the town of Athy shifted to the south, leaving Woodstock Castle isolated. Around 1424, the castle passed from the Barons of Rheban to the Earls of Kildare when Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl married Dorothea of the Ó Mórdha. In the 16th century the castle was altered, with a tower added to the southeast angle and, on the west end, a pair of circular gunports set within rectangular openings. Gunports of this type were invented in England in the 1520s. Also in that century, the walls were raised to add a third storey and several windows with hood mouldings were added. In 1530, Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare garrisoned and fortified the castle. Woodstock Castle was an important site during the

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...

(1641–53); originally commanded by Pierce FitzGerald, in 1642 it was taken from the rebels by James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormond; it was in turn taken by

Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill Owen Roe O'Neill (Irish: ''Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill;'' – 1649) was a Gaelic Irish soldier and one of the most famous of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster. O'Neill left Ireland at a young age and spent most of his life as a mercenary in the Spanish A ...

in 1647, and he massacred the garrison.

Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin Murrough MacDermod O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin (September 1614 – 9 September 1673), was an Irish nobleman and soldier, who came from one of the most powerful families in Munster. Known as "''Murchadh na dTóiteán''" ("Murrough the Burner" ...

retook Woodstock in 1648. Local legend claims that a tunnel linked Woodstock Castle with White's Castle. In 2015,

magnetometry A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...

and electromagnetic induction surveys were carried out.

Castle

A tall stone castle of three storeys. It once contained a stone carving of a piper playing the great Irish warpipes; this artwork was later moved to Kilkea Castle.

References

{{authority control Castles in County Kildare Athy Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century