What is recorded here

Clongowes Wood Castle belonged to Anne Eustace from 1447 until it was blown up in 1641, yet its foundations still lie beneath Clongoweswood College. Excavations in 2002 revealed a T-shaped fortified house with flanking towers, while unusual internal wall thicknesses hint that part of the older tower house survives inside the later building. The castle did not disappear; it was swallowed by layers of school, chapel and memory, waiting for someone to dig through them.

According to Tickell (1960, 396, 398), in 1447 Anne Eustace received Clongowes Wood Castle, which was subsequently blown up in 1641. Its precise location was not confirmed until 2002 when Clongoweswood College secondary school was the subject of an archaeological assessment and excavations (Licence Nos. 02E1118, 03E0457, 03E1093: www.excavations.ie) which revealed evidence of the presence of a 17th century fortified House (KD014-045----), and the suggestion was made that the building might also contain fabric from an earlier tower house. The front façade of the school building, together with an external, defensive fosse were identified as dating from the late-16th/17th century when the fortified house consisted of a T-shaped building with flanking towers at either end of the main façade. Subsequent building work added impressive neo-classical, 18th century interiors and a Gothic Revival extension to the rear. Internal wall thicknesses suggested that the structure might also incorporate part of the older, 15th century tower house, which belonged to Anne Eustace. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011

Anne Eustace received Clongowes Wood Castle in 1447; it was later destroyed in 1641 during the Irish Confederate Wars. The site gained renewed attention when its location was confirmed in 2002 near Clongoweswood College.

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