Dungarvan Castle

Dungarvan Castle or King John's Norman Castle is a National Monument situated in Dungarvan, County Waterford, Ireland.

Dungarvan Castle is composed of a polygonal shell keep, enclosed with a curtain wall, with corner and gate towers. The 12th-century shell keep is the earliest part of the structure, with this form of keep being common in England, but rare in Ireland. There is a two-storey military barracks within the walls dating from the early 18th century. These barracks are restored and holds the exhibition space displaying the history of the castle. The current structure sits on the site of a former Motte-and-bailey castle.

The castle has been described as Anglo-Norman, and was founded in 1185 by Prince John, on the mouth of the Colligan River. It was amongst a number of castles built around this time in the south east of Ireland. The castle was used as a barracks during the Irish Civil War, then taken by the IRA who upon leaving in August 1922, set fire to the structure. After the foundation of the Garda Síochána in the Free State, the castle was restored and became the local Garda Station until 1987. After 1987 the castle fell into disrepair again, but under the management by Dúchas was restored and now provides guided tours, an exhibition and an audio-visual show.

Text adapted from “Dungarvan Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Dungarvan Castle ranks #4,967 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #83 of the 173 mapped in Ireland. Founded 1185, it is older than 80% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 563 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Waterford, 39 km away. See how Ireland compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗