Swords Castle | |
---|---|
Caisleán Shoird | |
Bridge Street, Swords, Dublin | |
Coordinates | 53°27′34″N6°13′12″W / 53.459489°N 6.220015°W |
Site information | |
Owner | Fingal County Council |
Open to the public | Yes |
Site history | |
Built | Around 1200 AD |
Built by | John Comyn (bishop) |
In use | Still in use today |
Designations | |
Reference no. | 340 |
Swords Castle is an early medieval castle located in Swords, Dublin. Originally built for the Archbishops of Dublin in the early 13th century near the Ward River, some of the castle estate had fallen into disrepair by the 14th and 15th centuries. At least partially occupied through the 16th and 17th centuries, the castle was used as a place of rendezvous by Anglo-Irish Catholic families during the 1641 Rebellion. The site was afforded protection as a national monument and placed under the guardianship of the Office of Public Works in the early 20th century. As of the late 20th and early 21st century, the site was subject to a program of "long-term phased restoration", and is partially opened for tours. The site is listed on Fingal County Council's Record of Protected Structures. [1]
The castle was built as the manorial residence of the first Anglo-Norman Archbishop of Dublin, John Comyn, around 1200 or a little later in Swords, just north of Dublin. The castle was never strong in the military sense, but is unusual in that the perimeter wall of 305 metres is far larger than normal for an Irish castle. [2] The walls enclose a large pentagonal walled area of nearly 6,000 m2 (1.5 acres) with a tower on the north, probably the Constable's residence, and an impressive gateway complex on the south. Within the castle were the archbishop's apartments, apartments for knights and a banqueting hall. The warder may have occupied the quarters to the left of the gate, while to the right was the janitor's room with the priest's room overhead. The adjoining chapel, built in the late 13th century, was probably used as the archbishop's private oratory. Other buildings, recorded for an inquisition in 1326, have now vanished, including the great hall on the east side of the enclosure.
A monastic settlement attributed to St. Columba (or Colmcille) existed in Swords from the 6th century, which in the 17th century was brought under the control of the archbishop of Dublin. In 1181 John Comyn succeeded Laurence O'Toole as archbishop and it appears that he chose Swords at some point as his chief residence, probably because the prebend of Swords was of considerable wealth and was much sought after. The evidence is that he had a manor in Swords by 1192, as a patent was granted to him there on that date authorising him to hold an annual fair lasting a week on the feast day (9 June) of St. Columba. It is generally accepted that the castle was then built around 1200 or a little later as the manorial residence of the archbishop. The archbishop had his own seneschal at Swords and an ecclesiastical court was also held there. In 1216 the manor of Swords was granted to Henry de Loundres, the second English Archbishop, and it is recorded that in 1220 one William Galrote held the position of chief constable of the castle.[ citation needed ]
It appears that the castle was occupied for the next hundred years by successive Archbishops of Dublin until Archbishop Alexander de Bicknor, who built a new archepiscopal palace at Tallaght in 1324. It appears by this stage that Swords Castle had been abandoned. The evidence for this is that in 1326 de Bicknor was accused of mishandling the treasury and the profits of his see were seized by the king and an inquisition was held before the Sheriff of Dublin on 14 March 1326. The purpose of the inquisition was to ascertain the profits of the See, and as part of this, a detailed description of Swords Castle was recorded. It is clear from this description that the castle had fallen into disrepair. In all likelihood Swords was abandoned because of damage sustained during the Bruce campaign in Ireland of 1317, which was known to have devastated the country south from Dundalk to the gates of Dublin. Although there is no direct evidence that Swords Castle had been attacked by Bruce's forces, it was not well fortified enough to withstand assault, and the probability is that the Archbishop had removed himself to Tallaght for safety reasons.[ citation needed ]
It is doubtful if all the buildings of the castle were ever repaired, but the stepped battlements suggest some form of occupancy during the 15th century, when it appears the castle was granted to retired archbishops. There is no documentary evidence to show that any of them resided there however. Instead, it seems that a portion at least of the castle was occupied by a constable during the 14th, 15th and early 16th centuries. As late as 1547 Thomas Fitzsimons of Swords was appointed constable, and subsequently the Barnewall family retained an interest in the constableship and tenancy of the castle. But by 1583, when briefly occupied by Dutch Protestants, it was described as "the quite spoiled old castle". The viceroy, Sir Henry Sydney, had some of the building repaired for the use of the colony of Dutch weavers who he hoped might 'show some example of industry to the lazy natives'. [3]
During the 1641 Rebellion the castle was chosen as the rendezvous for the Anglo-Irish Catholic families of The Pale. [4] On 9 December of that year they assembled under arms at the castle in order to join the rebellion, but were attacked by Sir Charles Coote under orders of the Lords Justices. Coote put them to flight, chasing them out of their fortifications and killing two hundred of them. It is possible that some burials found during modern excavations of the castle relate to this incident.
Not much is known about the castle after that, but an Ordnance Survey map of 1837 shows the grounds or Bawn of the castle had been converted into a garden. After the Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1870 the castle was sold to the Cobbe family, who leased it to local shopkeeper Robert Savage. Savage turned the grounds of the castle into an orchard and sold the produce in his shop. [5] In the 1930s the site was placed under the guardianship of the Office of Public Works, and in 1985 Dublin County Council (later Fingal County Council) purchased the castle with a view to its restoration. [6]
The Parks Department of Fingal County Council carried out a number of studies, including a conservation study of the entire area, and in 1995 a plan was agreed by the council for the long-term phased restoration of the castle. In 1996 work commenced on the restoration of Constable's Tower, and this was completed in 1998. The restoration of the rest of the castle is still ongoing and when complete, Swords Castle is intended to become a tourist attraction. The newly renovated castle was used as a film location for the production of TV series The Tudors in spring 2010. [7] In 2019, the chapel opened its doors to weddings. [8] Swords Castle and Courtyard is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday. [9]
The Pale or the English Pale was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast stretching north from Dalkey, south of Dublin, to the garrison town of Dundalk. The inland boundary went to Naas and Leixlip around the Earldom of Kildare, towards Trim and north towards Kells. In this district, many townlands have English or Norman-French names, the latter associated with Anglo-Norman influence in England.
Swords in County Dublin, the county town of the local government area of Fingal, is a large suburban town on the east coast of Ireland, situated ten kilometres north of Dublin city centre. It is the eighth largest urban area in Ireland, with a population of 40,776 as of the 2022 census. The town was reputedly founded c. AD 560. Located on the Ward River, Swords features Swords Castle, a restored medieval castle, a holy well from which it takes its name, a round tower and a Norman tower. Facilities in the area include the Pavilions shopping centre, one of the largest in the Dublin region, a range of civic offices, some light industries, the main storage facility and archive of the National Museum of Ireland and several parks. Dublin Airport is located nearby.
Fingal is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. Its name is derived from the medieval territory of Scandinavian foreigners that settled in the area. Fingal County Council is the local authority for the county. In 2022 the population of the county was 330,506, making it the second most populated council in Dublin and the third most populous county in the state.
Tallaght is the largest settlement, and county town, of South Dublin, Ireland, and the largest satellite town of Dublin. The central village area was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.
The Grace Dieu Abbey was an Augustinian abbey in County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded about 1190 by John Comyn, Archbishop of Dublin, to house an order of nuns, the Sisters of St. Augustine. It derived most of its income from lands at Lusk and Swords, County Dublin. Over the centuries, it became mainly a refuge for the unmarried daughters of the Anglo-Irish landowners of the Pale, and no doubt for this reason, at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, there were pleas for its continuance. Nonetheless, it was suppressed in 1541 and acquired by Patrick Barnewall, the Solicitor General for Ireland. Patrick's son, Sir Christopher Barnewall, built Turvey House nearby, reputedly from the stones of Grace Dieu, of which only ruins now survive. Christopher did find a refuge for the dispossessed nuns at Portrane. Turvey House itself was demolished in controversial circumstances in 1987 on the orders of Dublin County Council, a step later described by conservationists as a "tragedy".
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Tallaght Monastery was a Christian monastery founded in the eighth century by Máel Ruain, at a site called Tallaght, a few miles south west of present-day Dublin, Ireland. It operated until the Protestant Reformation.
The Archdiocese of Dublin is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the eastern part of Ireland. Its archepiscopal see includes the republic's capital city – Dublin. The cathedral church of the archdiocese is St Mary's Pro-Cathedral. Dublin was formally recognised as a metropolitan province in 1152 by the Synod of Kells. Its second archbishop, Lorcán Ua Tuathail, is also its patron saint.
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Alexander de Bicknor was an official in the Plantagenet kingdom under Edward I of England, Edward II of England, and Edward III of England. Best known to history as the Archbishop of Dublin from 1317 until his death in 1349, his career involved extensive diplomatic missions for the King and the holding of numerous civil and ecclesiastical offices in Ireland, including Lord Treasurer of Ireland (1307–1309) and Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
The Archbishop of Dublin is a senior bishop in the Church of Ireland, second only to the Archbishop of Armagh. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the metropolitan bishop of the Province of Dublin, which covers the southern half of Ireland, and he is styled Primate of Ireland.
Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician from County Roscommon. A strong advocate of the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland, he fought for Parliament and the Commonwealth in the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars. Coote also sat as an MP, and held various senior administrative posts, including Lord President of Connaught.
Robert Fowler was an Anglo-Irish clergyman. He served as the Archbishop of Dublin in the Church of Ireland from 1779 until his death in 1801.
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The Manor of St. Sepulchre was one of several manors, or liberties, that existed in Dublin, Ireland since the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century. They were townlands united to the city, but still preserving their own jurisdiction. St. Sepulchre's was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Dublin, although from time to time the Dublin city government claimed ownership of it.
Sir Elias de Asshebournham, or Ellis de Ashbourne was an Irish judge who held the office of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and fought a long battle with a rival candidate, Thomas Louth, to retain it. Despite frequent allegations of corruption, and a reputation for violence, for many years he retained the confidence of the English Crown, although he also suffered periods of imprisonment.
Clonmethan is a townland and a civil parish in the ancient barony of Balrothery West, Fingal in Ireland. It is bordered by the parishes of Palmerstown to the west, Grallagh to the north, Hollywood to the northeast, Westpalstown to the east, Killossery to the southeast, Killsallaghan to the south, and Greenoge, County Meath to the southwest.
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0351 [..] Swords Castle [..] Main Street, Townparks, Swords