What is recorded here

Dublin Castle grew from a wooden tower erected under King John’s mandate, later widened into stone walls and a bailey. The castle gate appeared around 1173, and a bridge across the fosse was recorded in 1194. What began as a military strong point became the administrative heart of Dublin, its earlier timber frame buried inside the grander stone building that replaced it.

Dublin castle incorporates part of an earlier masonry tower, According to documentary sources, a mandate issued by King John in 2004, requiring first the building of a tower, to which a castle and bailey could be added (Gilbert 1870, 61; Sweetman 1875,i,25). There is a reference to a castle gate in c. 1173 and a portion of a possible enclosing or enceinte wall of late 12th century date was uncovered in excavations (Lynch and Manning 2001, 183, 186). A bridge and fosse is mentioned in 1194 (Clarke 2002, 22).

King John issued a mandate in 1204 requiring the construction of a tower, which formed the basis for a later castle and bailey. The site is historically significant as it reflects early medieval military architecture and royal authority in Ireland.

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