Rathfarnham Castle 4.15

Rathfarnham Castle is a 16th-century fortified house in Rathfarnham, South Dublin, Ireland.OriginsThe earlier Irish castle was replaced by the present building built on lands confiscated from the Eustace family of Baltinglass because of their involvement in the Second Desmond Rebellion. The family were Irish-speaking and epitomized the fusion of Gaelic & Norman traditions that defines early modern Irish identity as described in the phrase More Irish than the Irish themselves. The Geraldines defended the Pale from the Irish clans in the nearby Wicklow Mountains. It is believed the present castle was built around 1583 for Archbishop Adam Loftus. Originally a semi-fortified and battlemented structure it underwent extensive alterations in the 18th century.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 5ft thick. On the ground level are two vaulted apartments divided by a wall nearly 10ft thick which rises to the full height of the castle. On a level with the entrance hall are the 18th century reception rooms and above this floor 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.