What is recorded here

Dardistown Castle vanished without a trace, leaving no wall, stone or even a shallow ditch behind. It stood among small fields with two smaller buildings to the south, large enough to be called a castle and occupied enough to need repair. Sir Thomas Nugent held those lands in 1655, when a castle and diverse cabbins still stood there. Whatever rooms, hearths or doors it contained, the earth swallowed them completely.

According to Adams (1959, 57) the building depicted on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map as a structure with two smaller structures to the S, surrounded by small fields was the site of Dardistown Castle (WM013-099----). It has also been suggested that the castle was located in close proximity to Dardistown House located 580m to N. No surface remains visible of any building at this location. Dardistown Castle is depicted on the 1655 Down Survey map of Killagh parish where it is shown standing on the lands of Sir Thomas Nugent who is listed as an 'Irish Papist' (NLI, MS 723-4). The terrier of the Down Survey parish map recorded that in Dardistown there 'is a castle in repaire with diverse cabbins’ (ibid.). Compiled by: Frank Coyne and Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 24 July 2018

Dardistown Castle was likely built in the 17th century by the D'Arcy family, who were prominent landowners in the area. It is remembered as a historic family seat and is noted in early Ordnance Survey maps, reflecting its local architectural and social significance.

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