Castle

Situated in flat ground near the roadside. All that survives of Deansrath Castle is portion of a stair tower, which rises to two storeys with a partially vaulted over ground floor. This is built of mortared ashlar blocks of limestone. This appears to be part of a gatehouse shown in a drawing by Beranger in 1773 (Harbison 1998, 166-167). It was part of a larger castle complex described by Austin Cooper in the eighteenth century which was entered through and defended by a deep enclosing fosse (Price 1942, 38-39). The Dean of St. Patrick was proprietor in 1641 (Simington 1945, 307). By 1656 it is described as the 'stumpe of a castle' (op cit, 292, see Mc Dix, 1897, XXI, 179; Healy 1974, 22; Ball 1906, 112, 117). Compiled by: Geraldine Stout Date of upload: 26 August 2011

Deansrath Castle was built in the 13th century by the de Burgh family, powerful Anglo-Norman lords in Ireland. It is remembered as part of the extensive network of castles they constructed to consolidate control over the surrounding region.