Ireland · Ruin
Castleknock Castle
Castleknock Castle is a ruined Norman castle on a low mound west of Dublin, Ireland, now on the grounds of St. Vincent's Castleknock College. The site is dominated by a polygonal keep and the remains of curtain walls and towers; two deep defensive ditches formerly surrounded the castle. Today only ruins survive, set among trees and grassy slopes.
Its prime
1300
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1300
What Castleknock Castle looked like in its prime.
At its prime the castle was dominated by a roughly 24 m high polygonal stone keep attached to a large, low squat stone building, all built of grey coursed masonry. A continuous curtain wall, punctuated at intervals by smaller towers, enclosed an inner bailey; the whole was defended by two deep ditches cutting into the surrounding slope. Narrow slit windows, crenellated battlements and the angular polygonal silhouette of the keep defined the roofline, sited on a grassy mound with trees framing the site.
Its story
The story of Castleknock Castle.
After the Anglo-Norman triumph the knight Hugh Tyrrel was granted the barony of Castleknock, and built his castle there for its command over the route to Dublin. While it stood intact, the polygonal keep rose about 24 metres, with a large squat building attached and a curtain wall interspersed with towers, the whole further protected by two deep moats.
The Tyrrels held the barony in succession — Richard Tyrrel was the second Baron — and legend tells that a brother of the Baron, possibly Roger Tyrrel, abducted a woman and imprisoned her in the castle's turret. In a later war the Baron of Castleknock and his wife were taken prisoner, and the captured castle served as Edward's headquarters.
In 1834, forty acres of Castleknock including the ruins were sold to John McCann, a Vincentian friar, and the site is now St Vincent's Castleknock College, an all-boys Catholic school. On Windmill Hill, a small mound west of the campus, stands a water tower originally built as an observatory by a previous owner, Simon Guinn; trees screen the ruins from the road except in winter.
Step inside
9 places to explore in 1300.
The record describes 9 distinct spots at Castleknock Castle — including 2 interiors: small turret chamber, keep interior with ancient altar tomb. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Castleknock Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1300 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Whose castle
Clans who held Castleknock Castle.
The families that held Castleknock Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Tyrrel
Granted to the knight Hugh Tyrrel after the Anglo-Norman conquest; his line held the barony of Castleknock.
Nearby
