Site of Castle

There were two castles in Rathangan. The earliest, late-12 century, ringwork castle (KD017-011004-) was located on an older rath (KD017-011001-) and, according to O'Conor (1998, 35), may have continued to be used by the Fitzgerald's as a timber castle into the early-14 c. A later castle (KD017-011002-), is shown c. 400m to the SW on Noble and Keenan's 1752 Map of County Kildare, on Roque's map of 1760, and is marked 'Site of Castle' on the 1st ed. (1838) of OS 6-inch map. This was probably the castle seized in 1535, during the Silken Thomas revolt, when it was used as a base for the Lord Deputy, and described later, in an extent of 1540, as, 'a castle surrounded by stone walls sufficiently repaired … very necessary for the protection and defence of the subjects of the lord the King in these parts'. In 1551, Redmond Oge Fitzgerald received a lease of, 'the castell of Rahangan with the howses and offyces belonging to the same'. This castle was demolished c. 1756 and its fabric used for the building of Rathangan Lodge, c. 180m to the NE. The area is now a golf course and there is no visible surface trace of the monument. (Bradley et al 1986 vol. 4, 416-7) Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011

The site of the early castle in Rathangan was likely held by the O'Conors, a prominent Gaelic Irish dynasty, in the late 12th century. It is important as an example of the transition from native raths to Norman-style ringwork castles during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland.