What is recorded here

Dowdall's Castle stood in Townparks as a small defensive tower when Henry Duke drew Dundalk in June 1594. It may have joined eighteen or twenty ruinous remains removed near 1747 at Lord Limerick's insistence, erasing a local landmark that had probably watched the river and warned residents for generations.

Approximate location of what is referred to as 'Dowdall's Castle'. It is shown on the perspective map of Dundalk Town by Henry Duke, June 1594. It may have been one of the '18 or 20 ruinous remains of small castles or defensive towers' said to have been removed at Lord Limerick's insistence c. 1747. (O'Sullivan 1963, 282; Gosling 1982, 168, No. 111; 1991, fig. 20, No. 2) The above description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 July 2007

Built or held by the Dowdall family, likely in the late 16th century, Castle, tower house in Townparks is remembered as a local defensive structure associated with the Anglo-Norman lords of Dundalk. Its inclusion on Henry Duke's 1594 map highlights its historical presence during a period of political and military instability in the region.

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