Rathfarnham Castle

Rathfarnham Castle (Irish: Caisleán Ráth Fearnáin) is a 16th century castle in Rathfarnham, County Dublin, Ireland. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1700x900, 423 KB)Rathfarnham Castle File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1700x900, 423 KB)Rathfarnham Castle File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Irish Grid Reference O144289 Statistics Province: Leinster County: Elevation: 54 m Population (2006) 17,333  Website: www. ... Statistics Province: Leinster County Town: Dublin Code: D Area: 921 km² Population (2006) 1,186,821 County Dublin (Irish: Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath), or more correctly today the Dublin Region[1] (Réigiúin Átha Cliath), is the area that contains the city of Dublin, the capital and largest city...

Origins

Adam Loftus

The Anglo-Norman castle was built on lands which were confiscated from the Eustace family of Baltinglass because of their involvement in the Second Desmond Rebellion. It defended the Pale from the Irish clans in the nearby Wicklow Mountains. The building was designed by James Stewart and William Chambers and is believed to have been built around 1583 for Yorkshireman, Adam Loftus, then Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Protestant Archbishop of Dublin. Originally a fortified and embattled structure, extensive alterations in the eighteenth century carried out in a Grecian style of architecture give it the appearance of a modern house. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Second Desmond rebellion was the more significant and widespread of the two Desmond Rebellions launched by the Fitzgerald dynasty of the Desmond area of Munster, Ireland in the 1560s. ... The Second Desmond rebellion was the more significant and widespread of the two Desmond Rebellions launched by the Fitzgerald dynasty of the Desmond area of Munster, Ireland in the 1560s. ... The Pale or the English Pale comprised a region in a radius of twenty miles around Dublin which the English in Ireland gradually fortified against incursion from Gaels. ... The Wicklow Mountains are a range of mountains in the south-east of Ireland. ... 1583 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England. ... Adam Loftus (c. ... The office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland from earliest times until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. ... Primate of Ireland is a title possessed by the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland (Anglican) Archbishops of Dublin. ... // Invention of the Jacquard loom in 1801. ... The restored Stoa of Attalus, Athens Architecture, defined as building executed to an aesthetically considered design, was extinct in Greece from the end of the Mycenaean period (about 1200 BC) to the 7th century BC, when urban life and prosperity recovered to a point where public building could be undertaken. ... This article is about building architecture. ...

The castle consisted of a square building four stories high with a projecting tower at each corner, the walls of which were an average of 5 feet thick. On the ground level are two vaulted apartments divided by a wall nearly 10 feet thick which rises to the full height of the castle. On level with the entrance hall were the library and reception rooms and above this the former ballroom, later converted into a chapel.

Rathfarnham was described as a "waste village" when Loftus bought it. His new castle was not long built when in 1600 it had to withstand an attack by the Wicklow clans during the Nine Years War (Ireland). 1600 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52. ... The Nine Years War (Irish: Cogadh na Naoi mBliana) in Ireland took place from 1594 to 1603 and is also known as Tyrones Rebellion. ...

Civil war

Archbishop Loftus left the castle to his son, Dudley and it then passed to his son Adam in 1616. During Adam's ownership, the castle came under siege in the 1641 rebellion. It was able to hold out against the Confederate army when the surrounding country was overrun. Adam Loftus opposed the treaty of cessation in order the stop the fighting between the Irish Confederates and the English Royalists. Consequently, he was imprisoned in Dublin Castle. Year 1616 (MDCXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup détat by Irish Catholic gentry, but rapidly degenerated into bloody intercommunal violence between native Irish Catholics and English and Scottish Protestant settlers. ... Kilkenny Castle, where the Confederate General Assembly met. ... Prince Rupert of the Rhine Cavaliers was the name used by Parliamentarians for the Royalist supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642–1651). ... Dublin Castle. ...

During the subsequent Irish Confederate Wars (1641-53), the castle changed hands several times. From 1641 to 1647, it was garrisoned by English Royalist troops. In 1647, Ormonde, commander of the Royalists in Ireland, surrendered Dublin to the English Parliament and Parliamentary troops were stationed at the castle until 1649 when a few days before the Battle of Rathmines, the castle was stormed and taken without a fight by the Royalists. Howeever, the Roundheads re-occupied it after their victory at the Battle of Rathmines. It has also been reported that Oliver Cromwell held council there during his campaign in Ireland before going south to besiege Wexford. Adam Loftus, who recovered his castle and lands under Cromwell, sided with the Parliamentarians and was killed at the Siege of Limerick in 1651. The Irish Confederate Wars were fought in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. ... 1647 (MDCXLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Prince Rupert of the Rhine Cavaliers was the name used by Parliamentarians for the Royalist supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642–1651). ... For other uses, see Dublin (disambiguation). ... // Events January 30 - King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is beheaded. ... The battle of Rathmines was fought in around the modern Dublin suburb of Rathmines in August 1649, during the Irish Confederate Wars, the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. ... Prince Rupert of the Rhine Cavaliers was the name used by Parliamentarians for the Royalist supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642–1651). ... The Roundheads was the nickname given to supporters of the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War. ... For other uses, see Oliver Cromwell (disambiguation). ... Combatants English Royalists and Irish Catholic Confederate troops English Parliamentarian New Model Army troops and allied Protestants in Ireland Commanders James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde (1649 - Dec. ... This article is about the Irish town. ... Combatants Irish Confederate Catholics Ulster Army and English Royalists English Parliamentarians New Model Army Commanders Hugh Dubh ONeill Henry Ireton Strength 2000 soldiers and civilian population 8000 men, 28 siege guns, 4 mortars Casualties c. ... // Events January 1 - Charles II crowned King of Scotland in Scone. ...

After the English Civil War, the Loftus family retained ownership of the castle. In 1659, Dr. Dudley Loftus, great grandson of Archbishop Loftus, took over the castle. During his lifetime, Dudley held the posts of Commissioner of Revenue, Judge Admiralty, Master in Chancery, MP for Kildare and Wicklow and MP for Bannow and Fethard. His body is interred at St. Patrick's Cathedral. For other uses, see English Civil War (disambiguation). ... // Events May 25 - Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth. ... Dr. Dudley Loftus (1619-1695) was an Irish jurist and noted orientalist. ... Look up MP in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52. ... Fethard (Irish: Fiodh Ard) is a town in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland not far from Cashel, south of the midlands of Ireland. ... St. ...

The eighteenth century

Dodder Lodge or Ely's Arch

The property then passed by marriage to Philip Wharton. The young man lost his money in the South Sea Bubble and in 1723 the castle was sold to the Right Hon. William Connolly, speaker of the Irish House of Commons for £62,000. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 751 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1491 × 1191 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 751 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1491 × 1191 pixel, file size: 1. ... Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton was the single instance in English history where a dukedom was conveyed upon a minor, and was the last of the original Wharton Barony. ... Hogarthian image of the South Sea Bubble by Edward Matthew Ward, Tate Gallery More well known than The South Sea Company is perhaps the South Sea Bubble (1711 - September 1720) which is the name given to the economic bubble that occurred through overheated speculation in the company shares during 1720. ... Events February 16 - Louis XV of France attains his majority Births February 24 - John Burgoyne, British general (d. ... For the other body sometimes called the Irish House of Commons, see House of Commons of Southern Ireland. ...

In 1742, the castle was sold to Dr. Hoadly, Archbishop of Armagh, and on his death four years later it passed to his son-in-law Bellingham Boyle. In 1767, he sold the property to Nicholas Loftus, second Earl of Ely, a descendant of Adam Loftus, the original builder of the castle. In commemoration of regaining ownership the Loftus family constructed another entrance for the castle in the form of a Roman Triumphal Arch. The arch can still be viewed from nearby Dodder Park Road. // Events January 24 - Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... Primate of All Ireland is the title held by the Archbishop of Armagh. ... Year 1767 (MDCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Marquess of Ely is a marquess in the Peerage of Ireland. ... There were two prominent Irishmen of the 16th to 17th centuries named Adam Loftus, an uncle and nephew: Adam Loftus (Archbishop) Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus of Ely This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... A triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental archway, usually built to celebrate a victory in war. ...

The castle in 1774

Nicholas died within a few years, probably as an indirect result of great hardships which he had suffered in his youth, and the estate passed to his uncle, Hon. Henry Loftus, who was created Earl of Ely in 1771. This nobleman was responsible for the conversion of the medieval fortress into a Georgian mansion. The narrow loopholes were enlarged and the battlements replaced by a coping with ornamental urns. A semi-circular extension was added to the east side and an entrance porch approached by steps, on the north. The interior was decorated in accordance with the tastes of the period and the leading artists, including Angelica Kauffman, employed in the work. Writers of the period who visited the house have left extravagant descriptions of its splendour. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Marquess of Ely is a marquess in the Peerage of Ireland. ... 1771 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Maria Anna Angelica Kauffmann (October 30, 1741–November 5, 1807) was a Swiss painter. ...

Henry died in 1783 and was succeeded by his nephew Charles Tottenham. He subsequently became Marquis of Ely, and later, as a reward for his vote at the time of the Union, Earl of Ely. 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Marquess of Ely is a marquess in the Peerage of Ireland. ...

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries

In 1812, the family leased the estate to the Ropers and removed their valuable possessions to Loftus Hall in Wexford. The lands and castle were then used for dairy farming and fell into disrepair. To quote a contemporary account from 1838:^[1] For the overture by Tchaikovsky, see 1812 Overture; For the wars, see War of 1812 (USA - United Kingdom) or Patriotic War of 1812 (France - Russia) For the Siberia Airlines plane crashed over the Black Sea on October 4, 2001, see Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 1812 was a leap year starting... The Building Loftus Hall is a building on the Hook peninsula, Co. ... This article is about the Irish town. ...

Crossing the Dodder by a ford, and proceeding along its southern bank towards Rathfarnham, a splendid gateway at left, accounted among the best productions of that species of architecture in Ireland, invites the tourist to explore the once beautiful grounds of Rathfarnham Castle, but they are now all eloquently waste, the undulating hills covered with rank herbage, the rivulet stagnant and sedgy, the walks scarce traceable, the ice-houses open to the prying sun, the fish-pond clogged with weeds, while the mouldering architecture of the castle, and the crumbling, unsightly offices in its immediate vicinity,…The castle, so long the residence of the Loftus family, and still the property of the Marquis of Ely, subject, however, to a small chief rent to Mr. Conolly, is an extensive fabric,.....The great hall is en-tered from a terrace, by a portico of eight Doric columns, which support a dome, painted in fresco with the signs of the Zodiac and other devices. This room was ornamented with antique and modern busts, placed on pedestals of variegated marble, and has three windows of stained gloss, in one of which is an es-cutcheon of the Loftus arms, with quarterings finely executed. Several other apartments exhibited con-siderable splendour of arrangement, and contained, until lately, numerous family portraits, and a valuable collection of paintings by ancient masters. But, when it is mentioned, that this structure has been for years a public dairy, and the grounds to the extent of 300 acres converted to its uses, some notion may be formed of their altered condition.

In 1852 it was bought by the Lord Chancellor, Francis Blackburne, whose son resided there. The property developers Bailey & Gibson acquired the castle in 1912 and divided up the estate. The eastern part became the Castle Golf Club, the castle and the southwestern portion were bought in 1913 by the Jesuit Order and the northwestern part was devoted to housing. 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and prior to the Union the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom, and its predecessor states. ... Francis Blackburne (November 11, 1782 - September 17, 1867), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was born at Great Footstown, County Meath, Ireland. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ...

The Jesuits are an order renowned for their education and one of them; Father O'Leary S.J constructed a seismograph. This machine could detect earth tremors and earthquakes from anywhere in the world and for a time, Rathfarnham Castle became a source of earthquake information for the national media. Seismographs (in Greek seismos = earthquake and graphein = write) are used by seismologists to record seismic waves. ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998. ...

To the north of the castle was a long vaulted chamber formerly known as Cromwell’s Court or Fort. This was apparently a barn or storehouse erected as part of the castle farm and like the castle itself had narrow loopholes in its 5-foot thick walls. In 1922, it was incorporated into the new retreat house, to which it formed the ground story and its character concealed from the outside by a uniform covering of cement plaster. For other uses, see Oliver Cromwell (disambiguation). ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Not far from the Golf Club House was an attractive little temple built of stone and brick, another relic of Lord Ely’s occupation of Rathfarnham. Although rather out of repair, if restored, it would have added much to the charm of this part of the links. Unfortunately, by decision of the committee, it was demolished in 1979. Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ...

In 1986, the Jesuits sold Rathfarnham Castle but before leaving, they removed the stained glass windows, made in the famous Harry Clarke studios, from the chapel and donated them to Tullamore Catholic Church which had been destroyed by fire in 1983. Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... A Harry Clarke window Over £1 million was spent in 1922 commissioning a set of Harry Clarke window in the Presentation Sisters convent on Green Street, Dingle. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ...

Preservation

The castle was sold to Delaware Properties in 1985 and it was feared that it was facing demolition. After immense public pressure to save the building, it was purchased by the state in 1987 and was declared a National Monument. Currently, the castle is going through extensive refurbishment but it is still open to the public during the summer months. The Castle is presented as a castle undergoing active conservation, where visitor can see, at first hand, tantalising glimpses of layers of its earlier existence uncovered during research. This article is about the year. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... The term national monument can either refer to a specific monument which aims to represent a nation, or to a general concept. ...

Trivia

One of the most chilling stories about Rathfarnham Castle is that of the skeleton of a woman found in one of the hollow walls on the middle floor in 1880. It is ascertained that she was there for over 130 years. It is believed that she was locked into a secret compartment in one of the rooms during a ball. Two suitors were arguing over her love and they decided to sort out their differences by way of a duel. The victor would then rescue the fair maiden from the wall. However, as it happened, both died - one from drowning and the other from his wounds. The whole affair was conducted in secret so the beautiful maiden was left there entombed in the wall, where she died. The lady of the castle in 1880 had the corpse's silk dress made into cushions. Some believe her ghost haunts the ballroom in the castle. Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... A duel is a formalized type of combat. ...

One interesting feature of the Castle are its secret tunnels. One lead from the castle to an exit at the present Castle Golf Club. Another led from the castle to the Protestant church in the village, this tunnel was only discovered in 1987. Both have been closed off.

Admission Charges

• Adult: EUR 2.00
• Group & Senior Citizen: EUR 1.25
• Child/Student: EUR 1.00
• Family Rate: EUR 5.50

References

External links

• The Ely Papers, PRONI

Much of the text in this article is taken, with permission, from

• Rathfarnham On-Line
• http://www.geocities.com/jorgenpfhartogs/Rathfarnham_Castle.html
• South Dublin Libraries and Archeology, Early Christian Remains and Local Histories, Chapter 10, by Patrick Healy.