Offaly Castle

Named 'Kiltaghan' castle on Noble and Keenan's 1752 map of County Kildare, after the townland it was then in, and spelt 'Kyltaghan' castle on Taylor's 1783 map of the county. By 1838 it was named 'Offaly Castle' and was located in Mountprospect townland on the 1st ed. (1838) of the OS 6-inch map. Fitzgerald (1906-8, 159-60), commenting on the latter name says,' I can find no authority for it as it is called Kiltaghan Castle in the Rathangan Manor book of 1760, now at Carton'. At the N foot of a long, gentle pasture slope, immediately E of a possible late-medieval field system (KD017-020----), and c. 75m to the S of an unclassified building (KD017-035----). A low, roughly circular cairn of grassed-over, collapsed masonry (diam. 17m; H 0.8-1.6m) contains a short length of 'in situ' wall (L 6.2m; T 0.7m; H 1.8m) built of roughly coursed rubble masonry, with facing stones surviving at the W end. In 1986, traces of a barrel vault were noted (SMR file), but are no longer obviously visible. (CUCAP BDU 16, 17: 1970) Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011

Named 'Kiltaghan' castle on Noble and Keenan's 1752 map of County Kildare, after the townland it was then in, and spelt 'Kyltaghan' castle on Taylor's 1783 map of the county. By 1838 it was named 'Offaly Castle' and was located in Mountprospect townland on the 1st ed. (1838) of the OS 6-inch map. Fitzgerald (1906-8, 159-60), commenting on the latter name says,' I can find no authority for it as it is called…