What is recorded here

Kilcreen Castle disappeared beneath the late 17th century house, leaving only a buried stone escutcheon and a vanished castle on old survey drawings. The Rothe family held the place until David Rother lost it in 1653, after which Captain Thomas Evans received it. What remains is a lawn where a castle stood, a fragment of arms recovered from grass and soil, and a warning that ownership can change as quickly as the ground itself.

According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 217), ‘This townland was long in the possession of the Rothe family. It was forfeited…by David Rother, Irish Papist, in 1653, and was granted, as was also Drakeland, to the Cromwellian, Captain Thomas Evans…The Rothe castle at Kilcreen stood on the site of the present Kilcreen House. Portion of a stone escutcheon of the Rothe family having lain for many years in the lawn of Kilcreen House’. The escutcheon dated to 1629 and bearing a motto and the arms of Richard Rothe, former mayor of Kilkenny, was presented to the Kilkenny Archaeological Society in 1863 (ibid.). The Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of ‘The Liberties of the Citty of Kilkenny’ indicates a house roughly in the position of the present Kilcreen House, however, on the Down Survey (1655-6) parish map of ‘St Patricks Parish’ a castle is shown at this location (Hibernia Regnum, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin). The terrier accompanying the parish map notes, ‘in Kilcrine also a Castle & Bawn an orchard and many Cabbins’. The proprietor in 1640 is listed as ‘David Rooth Ir[ish] P[apist]’. The castle and bawn (KK019-021002-) may have been levelled when Kilcreen House was built in the late 17th century. There is no visible trace of the castle at ground level. See attached extract from the Down Survey (1655-6) parish map of ‘St Patricks Parish’ (Hib. Reg., courtesy of Trinity College Dublin) Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 22 September 2020

The castle in Kilcreen was held by the Rothe family before being forfeited by David Rother in 1653 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, after which it was granted to English settlers. It is remembered as part of the broader pattern of land redistribution under Cromwellian rule.

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.