What is recorded here
Castle, tower house in Kildare marks a lost fortified townhouse in Kildare. It may have stood between the Cathedral and Station Road, perhaps belonging to the Archdeacon or another powerful local family. No stones remain, but the name preserves a sharp-edged building that shaped the town before it disappeared.
According to Bradley et al. (1986 vol. 3, 203-4), there is documentary evidence for the presence of fortified townhouses in Kildare in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, including the ‘Archdeacon's Castle’, referred to in the Civil Survey of 1654 (Simmington 1952, 223). It stood somewhere between the Cathedral (KD022-029005- ) and Station Road , but no visible surface traces survive.
Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy
Date of upload: 24 January 2012
The tower house in Kildare, sometimes called the 'Archdeacon's Castle', was likely built in the 15th to 17th centuries by local gentry or clergy for defensive and residential purposes. It is remembered as part of the broader pattern of fortified townhouses that reflect the turbulent political and religious landscape of medieval and early modern Ireland.
The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.
- What survives
- Recorded monument
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