Carlow Castle

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Carlow Castle is in Carlow town, County Carlow, Ireland, near the River Barrow. It was built between 1207 and 1213, probably by William Marshal the elder, and today it is a National Monument of Ireland. The earliest written record about the castle dates to 1231, but it does not name its builder.

Carlow Castle was the first in Ireland to have a towered keep: a large rectangular main tower surrounded by four corner towers that are three-quarter circular. It is unusual because it does not follow the standard keep design of the time—there is no towered curtain wall, no gatehouse, and no single great hall. Similar castles from the same period were built at Ferns, Lea, and Terryglass.

The inner castle measured about 16 by 9.2 meters. The corner towers were about 4.6 meters in diameter, and the walls were about 2.7 meters thick. The inner area had three storeys, with upper levels made of timber. The long west wall included stairs and two latrines, indicating the space was divided. The entrance door was on the first floor, but it has since broken away.

The castle passed to the crown in 1306, and in 1312 it was granted to Thomas Plantagenet. It was confiscated in 1537 because the landlords were absent, then bought by the Earl of Thomond in 1616. It changed hands several times, and in 1650 Oliver Cromwell seized it, though it was later returned to the Earl of Thomond.

In 1814 the castle was largely destroyed when explosives were used to make space for converting it into a lunatic asylum. Today only the outer face of the west wall and the two nearby towers remain.