What is recorded here

Castle Maine spanned the River Maine in 1215 when John and Maurice Fitzgerald raised Anglo-Norman masonry above the water. The castle has vanished, but the bridge still marks the place where stone crossed the river.

castlemaine (Caisleán na Mainge / the Castle of the River Maine) is located in the parishes of Kilcolman and Kiltallagh in the barony of Trughanacmy. According to Barrington (1976, 226) this Castle, which spanned the River Maine was built by John and Maurice Fitzgerald in 1215. In 1841 the Ordnance Survey recorded the following details about Castlemaine; 'In the west of this parish is situated Caladh na Feirse (Callownafersy) where the son of Maurice Fitzgerald erected a castle in the year 1215, as we learn from the Annals of lnishfallen; but no part of it remains at present: 'AD 1215. The son of Maurice Fitzgerald built a castle at Mogh Laithibh and Caluith na Feirrse.' In this parish is also situated Castlemaine, in Irish Caisleán na Mainge, i.e. the Castle on the River Mang, now Maine, where, according to the Annals of Inishfallen, Maurice, the son of Thomas Fitzgerald, erected a castle in the year 1215. This castle has also disappeared but its site is pointed out at the Bridge of Castlemaine and it should be shown on the Ordnance Map. Dr Smith says that it was built on the bridge, but what he says about its erection looks fabulous' (O'Donovan 1983, 71). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 25 May 2022

The castle was built by the Fitzgeralds, the Geraldine dynasty, in the 13th century and later held by the Butler family. It is remembered as a strategic stronghold in medieval Munster and for its role in the conflicts between the Anglo-Normans and the native Irish.

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