What is recorded here

Rathangan's old rath became a ringwork castle where John Fitzthomas rebuilt a fortalice after the 1300 burning. The Fitzgeralds may have kept using that timber-strong hold into the early fourteenth century, while a separate tower house stood nearby. Stone, wood and memory still tangle in the field, suggesting a place repeatedly remade rather than simply abandoned.

According to Bradley et al (1986 vol. 4, 416-7), after the burning of Rathangan in 1300, John Fitzthomas petitioned the King for help in rebuilding a 'fortalice' there. Sweetman (1999, 13-14) suggests that Rathangan rath (KD017-011001-) 'was altered to make it into a ringwork castle'. This may have been the 'fortalice' referred to by Fitzthomas, and also the 'castle' referred to in a later extent of 1331. The earliest, late-12 century, ringwork castle (KD017-011004-) was located on the older rath (KD017-011001-) and, according to O'Conor (1998, 35), may have continued to be used by the Fitzgerald's as a timber castle into the early-14 c. However, there was also a tower house (KD017-011002-) in Rathangan, c. 400m SW of the ringwork castle. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011

was likely a pre-Norman ringwork later adapted for use during the Anglo-Norman period. The castle is important as a site of strategic and historical significance during the early 14th century, particularly due to its destruction in 1300 and subsequent efforts to rebuild it under John Fitzthomas.

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