A Brief History of Irish Castles

Fortifications in Ireland were often built for protection against attacks from other Irish clans. Sometimes the chieftain of the area built a castle to keep him safe from attack from his own local people who might rise up in revolt. Castles were generally austere places to live, unlike some of the ones in England which were built as royal residences. Irish castles were often dark inside, with few windows. While it is true most were owned by the heads of clans, kings or titled English gentry, they were no more than fortified dwellings, for protection against raids and invaders.

Round towers were commonly found built with monasteries protecting treasures, ancient writings. Vikings had been well known for invading Ireland and attack monasteries, attempting to destroy anything in their way.

Over the past 2,000 years a number of castles were built in Ireland. Sadly, many are now in ruins, though still open for the public to see. Some, though, have been restored, and a lot of time, effort, and money has been put into preserving Ireland`s heritage.

Kilkenny Castle (Irish: Caisleán Chill Chainnigh) is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland, which I took a tour around a few years ago.

The east wall and the northeast tower of the Castle were damaged in 1650 during the siege of Kilkenny by Oliver Cromwell during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. They were later torn down.

Many of you will have heard of Kilkenny Cats, which portrays the idea of people with opposing views fighting to the last. No one now knows the real origin of the saying `fighting like Kilkenny cats` but here`s a poem written about them.

There once were two cats of Kilkenny

Each thought there was one cat too many

So they fought and they hit

And they scratched and they bit

'Til (excepting their nails

And the tips of their tails)

Instead of two cats there weren't any!

On a recent visit to Trim in Neath, Ireland, we visited Trim Castle, where the film Braveheart, starring Mel Gibson was made in 1994. Many of the `extras` for the film were local Irish residents.

The castle is the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland, constructed by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter over a 30 year period. Known as a `defensive` castle it was built not so much to protect the local inhabitants - more to keep them under control.

The Keep is a massive 3 stories high, and was begun around 1176 on the site of an earlier wooden fortress. The grounds are accessible to all, but the Keep is only by guided tour for safety reasons.

Ireland truly has much to offer the visitor who is interested in its past.