Kilkea Castle

Kilkea Castle is located 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of Castledermot, County Kildare, Ireland near the village of Kilkea on the R418 regional road from Athy to Tullow. It was a medieval stronghold, for over 700 years, of the Fitzgeralds, earls of Kildare.

Sir Walter de Riddlesford built a motte and bailey on the site of Kilkea Castle in 1180. A granddaughter of his married Maurice Fitzgerald, 3rd baron of Offaly, and so the Manor of Kilkea came into the possession of the Fitzgeralds and was to remain in the family for over 700 years.

Sir Thomas de Rokeby, the Justiciar of Ireland 1349-56, used the castle as his military base, and died here in 1356.

In 1414 the O'Mores and O'Dempsies wasted the English pale. According to Francis Grose's Antiquities of Ireland, "to curb their outrages, Thomas Crawley, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Justice, set out from Dublin, but proceeded no farther than Castledermot; the troops went forward under military leaders, he remaining engaged in processions and prayers for their success". According to Grose, the "enemy were defeated with great slaughter at Kilkea". Later, in 1426, John FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Kildare reputedly "strengthened Kilkea with so many new works, that he might be said almost to have new built it".

The castle is particularly associated with Gerald, the 11th Earl of Kildare known as the "Wizard Earl", who became the eldest male representative of the Geraldines when only 12 years of age after his half brother "Silken Thomas" the 10th Earl and five uncles were executed at Tyburn in 1537. The "Wizard Earl" escaped Ireland, being sent to the continent to be educated, and following his return to Kildare and restoration to his titles his interest in alchemy caused much interest among his neighbours around Kilkea Castle and he was said to possess magic powers. The 11th Earl (the "Wizard Earl") died in 1585 and is supposed to return to the castle every seventh year mounted on a silver-shod white charger.

In 1634 the castle was leased to the Jesuit Order by Countess Elizabeth, the widow of Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Kildare and they remained there until 1646. That year the order entertained the Archbishop Rinuccini, Papal Nuncio to the Confederation of Kilkenny at Kilkea.

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

Kilkea Castle ranks #2,224 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #28 of the 172 mapped in Ireland. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,166 times in the last 60 days, more than 68% of the atlas. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Dublin, 62 km away. See how Ireland compares in the castle statistics.

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