Carlow Castle

Carlow, Ireland

Carlow Castle has a large rectangular three-story limestone keep with circular towers at each angle. The castle dates from the early 13th century. It was built by William Marshal the elder in the time period between 1207 and 1213 which he spent in Ireland. The castle in Carlow was the very first of its kind in Ireland.

The castle was handed over to the crown in 1306, granted in 1312 to Thomas Plantagenet, confiscated by the crown in 1537 as the landlords were absent, bought by the Earl of Thomond in 1616, changed hands multiple times until it was taken by Oliver Cromwell in 1650 but was later returned to the Earl of Thomond. In 1814 the castle was widely destroyed in an attempt to create more space for the conversion into a lunatic asylum with the help of explosives. Just the outer face of the west wall and the two neighbouring towers could be preserved.

Address

Mill Lane 6, Carlow, Ireland

See all sites in Carlow

Details

Founded: 1207-1213
Category: Castles and fortifications in Ireland

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.carlowcountymuseum.com

Rating

4.1/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

TAOREED OLATILEWA (5 years ago)
I needed satnav for Bus, Rigid and articulated trucks please!!!

Anthony Moran (5 years ago)
A beautiful castle ruin that badly needs repairing for safety. You can no longer get to close to it as parts of the tower are unstable.

Arrianne Ivyr Rozario (5 years ago)
This is practically it. The good thing is it's in the town so you can enjoy a walk and explore their town which is quite nice. People are friendly and always happy to give directions. Some even share a bit of history.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.