Ardee Castle

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Ardee Castle, also called St. Leger’s Castle, is a large fortified medieval tower house in Ardee, County Louth, Ireland. It was built in the 15th century and later used as a prison in the 1600s and 1700s, then as Ardee’s district courthouse until 2006. It is the largest fortified medieval tower house in Ireland or Britain.

The site was first connected to Roger de Peppard in 1207, but little of that wall remains. The 15th‑century St. Leger’s Castle was built by John St. Leger as a defense for the Pale and was fought over by the O’Neills and the English. In 1641 Sir Phelim O’Neill took the town and set up the Irish Army’s headquarters, but it was retaken by English forces under Sir Henry Tichborne, who garrisoned the castle. In 1690 James II used the castle as his headquarters before the Battle of the Boyne.

The castle sits on Castle Street. It is four storeys high with turrets at the northwest and southwest corners. The main entrance has a protective overhang outside and a hole inside for defense. The ground floor has a rounded vault, and access to the upper floors is by a stair in the northwest turret. Most windows have been replaced, but a twin-light ogee-arched window remains at ground level and three small looped windows are on the fourth floor.