What is recorded here

Castle, unclassified in Osberstown, County Kildare, Ireland. The Down Survey (1655-6) named it the Mannor of Osburnstowne beside Osberstown House, but no later record pinned its stones, so it remains a castle only in the sense that it resisted identification. Perhaps it was never a tower at all, but a hall, a courtyard or a boundary marker that men called a castle because castles sounded larger. What is certain is that Osberstown kept the name while the shape slipped away, leaving behind a gap large enough for imagination to occupy.

This record was created for a 'castle' recorded on the Down Survey (1655-6) as 'the Mannor of Osburnstowne' in the vicinity of Osberstown House. It was not included in the SMR (1988) or RMP (1995) as its precise location is unknown. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011

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