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Development of Carlow Castle and the Pembroke Link
During the middle twelfth century Diarmuid McMurrough was the King of Leinster. His base was Ferns Castle in county Wexford. Diarmuid had fallen out of favour with the Rory O’Connor, High King of Ireland. Rory’s army marched to attack Diarmuid. The location of this battle has not been proven but many sources put the battle in the Carlow / Wexford area and possibly at Fiodh Dorcha (Dark Wood) near Clonegal.
Upon losing Diarmuid left Ireland and went and sought assistance from Henry 11, the King of England. Richard de Clare, the Earl of Pembroke came to Diarmuid’s aid and in 1169 his forces landed in Wexford and thus begun the Norman Conquest of Ireland.
The remains of Carlow Castle. Photo Carlow County Museum.
De Clare, better known as Strongbow and his Norman soldiers quickly took control of Leinster. This worried not only Rory O’Connor but also King Henry II. Henry was afraid that Strongbow would become too powerful so he made a visit to Ireland to ensure that the Earl remained loyal to him.
Illustration of Carlow Castle, probably eighteenth or early nineteenth century. Photo Carlow County Museum, ccm 02-1075.
In order to protect their new territory the Norman invaders began to build fortifications at various strategic positions. Carlow emerged as one such location,
Previously there was a religious settlement here but with the development of a fortification thus began the main settlement of the area now called Carlow town and to which the county also takes its name.
This first fortification was probably a motte and bailey structure, utilising the elevated position over the meeting of the rivers Barrow and Burrin. Hugh de Lacy is the person credited with constructing this early fortification, which was undertaken circa 1181.
A view of the Castle from the Burrin Bridge showing its elevated position over the rivers. Photo Carlow County Museum.
Strongbow died in 1176 with only his daughter, Isabel, surviving to adulthood. In 1189 she married William Marshall a noted soldier of his day and for the next thirty years he was the Earl of Pembroke. Taking the above dates to be accurate the Hugh de Lacy fortification was built during the transition period between the Earls.
During the late 1990s major landscaping works were undertaken around the Castle including the planting of trees to replicate the demolished sections and this is now nearing maturity. Photo Carlow County Museum.
But there is no doubt that between circa 1210 to 1212 during William’s reign and with his consent that the early fortifications in Carlow were replaced with the construction of a stone castle. This was well in keeping with Marshall’s general approach as many of his fortifications including the likes of Kilkenny and Pembroke also under went major masonry works during his reign. According to D.J. Cathcart King in the publication “Pembroke Castle” this castle is described, as “for size, splendour and interest, the castle of Pembroke is one of the finest in Wales”.
Pembroke Castle, Wales the home of Strongbow and William Marshall. Photo Carlow County Museum.
Carlow Castle was a rectangular castle with a circular tower at each corner and stood three storeys high. The towers were as thick as twenty five foot and they rose higher than the battlements and as was typical of the time the castle has no foundations. The castle no doubt had an important role, particularly in its early decades but over time it has had a mixed history. A notable high point was in 1361 when Lionel, the son of King Edward III, then Duke of Clarence and Judiciary of Ireland removed the exchequer from Dublin to Carlow. In doing so he spent £500 in strengthening the fortifications. In spite of this the exchequer was removed back to Dublin owing to the unstable nature of the area.
The ruins of Carlow Castle and the River Barrow. Photos Carlow County Museum.
Despite this the Castle survived relatively in tact until 1814 when according to Lord Walter Fitzgerald in a paper given during a tour of the Castle in 1904 and published in the Carlow Sentinel “… the castle suffered to a far greater extent than it did since the year of its erection …”. He was referring to the granting of “a lease of the Castle in the year 1814 to a physician - a Dr Philip Parry Middleton. …. With the intention of using the building for a private lunatic asylum, Dr Middleton adopted what he thought was the speedier process of converting the vaulted interior into additional space by means of blasting powder. The result of his ignorance and folly was the collapse of the eastern half of the castle leaving it in the condition we now see.”
Carlow Castle and the former Corcorans Mineral Water Factory. The Governey family operated Corcorans and they were the last owners of the castle and they handed it over to the State for its continued preservation. The Corcoran’s logo was an image of the castle ruins. Photo Carlow County Museum.
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