Carlow Castle
About
What is left of Carlow Castle is one long wall and two drum towers standing over the Barrow at Castle Hill, and the story of why there is not more is better than most complete castles. The Office of Public Works dates it to between 1208 and 1213 and credits it to William Marshal, as one of a small group of four-towered keeps that includes Ferns and the first Kilkenny Castle. In 1814 a local doctor, Philip Parry Middleton, wanted the space for an asylum and set explosive charges at the base to clear the interior. The eastern half came down. It is a National Monument in OPW care and is unguided: there is no ticket desk, no guide and no interior to go into. The OPW told the Dáil that the site has been open since works finished in October 2021, with fencing keeping visitors back from some wall faces, and that you can see it from all sides. The OPW publishes no opening hours or access days, so if the gate is shut, the riverside and the towpath across the water give the full view on any day.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Early thirteenth-century four-towered keep, in the same family as Ferns and the first Kilkenny Castle
- ✓The 1814 blasting that brought down the eastern half
- ✓Views of the towers from the Barrow towpath on the far bank
Tips
- →There is nothing to buy and nothing to book; it is unguided and free
- →The best full view is from the riverside and from the towpath below Graiguecullen Bridge
- →The OPW publishes no hours or access days; the view from across the river is there every day
Best Season
More Heritage Activities
Brownshill Dolmen
Neolithic portal tomb with a granite capstone of over 100 tonnes, three kilometres east of town.
Duckett's Grove
The Gothic shell of the Duckett family house and its two walled gardens, a free council park outside town.