Ireland · Still standing
Whites Castle
White's Castle is a tower house in Athy, County Kildare, standing on the east bank of the River Barrow beside Crom Abú Bridge. Much of the structure dates to the 16th century and it was extended and altered over the following centuries; it has served as a fortified house, gaol and barracks. The castle retains a battered tower core with later rectangular northern additions and visible joins marking earlier walls.
First raised
1520
Its prime
1802
Today
Still standing
As it stood in 1802
The shape it held in its prime.
A stone-built, three-storey tower house with a battered base and a taller four-storey southern tower attached; a three-storey rectangular north wing with crenellated battlements added at the north end. The main entrance is set into the tower wall with a coat-of-arms to the right and a crucifixion plaque to the left of the doorway. The building sits on the east bank of the River Barrow immediately beside Crom Abú Bridge, with the line of the original west wall visible as a seam in the masonry.
Its story
The story of Whites Castle.
A stronghold likely stood at Athy's river crossing by 1297, when a document records David Fitz le Feure held in 'the ward of Athy'. John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and King's Lieutenant, built a Norman tower house on the site in 1417, during the reign of Henry V, to protect the new bridge over the River Barrow; William Scryvener served as constable of the castle from 1422 to 1426.
Derelict by 1505, the castle was rebuilt at the request put to Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, and the Kildare coat of arms is carved to the right of the main doorway. Work continued in the reign of Henry VIII — Lord Leonard Grey wrote to Thomas Cromwell about the castle in 1536 — and in 1573 Richard Coosen, Sovereign of Athy, added a crucifixion plaque beside the original doorway, with the fortified house complete around 1575.
Extended and altered over succeeding centuries, the tower later served as gaol and barracks. It belonged to the Doyle and Norman families until sold in 2005 for €1.3 million; in 2012 it went on the market again for just €195,000.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1802.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Whites Castle — including 1 interior: interior: gaol cells. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Whites Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1802 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Whites Castle.
The families that held Whites Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, was asked to rebuild the derelict castle after 1505, and the arms of the Earls of Kildare are carved beside the main doorway.
The castle belonged to the Doyle and Norman families until it was sold in 2005.
