The first time we were here was May 30th, 2001.
The original Maynooth castle was built by Maurice Fitzgerald in 1176 on a land that Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Lord of Leinster, also known as Strongbow, granted to him. In the early 13th century it was enlarged for the first time with the building of the keep. A further enlargement was carried out in 1426, with an extensive rebuilding of the castle.
Under Garret Óg, the 9th Earl of Kildare, the castle became the centre of political power and culture. The English monarchy disliked this and arrested Garret Óg and held him in the Tower of London. His son Thomas, known as Silken Thomas, rebelled against the king and led a rebellion in 1534, but the English army sieged the castle and after ten days they won the battle, executed all the soldiers in the castle and took Silken Thomas to London where he was executed along with five of his uncles.
The castle became the residence of the Lord Deputies of Ireland and by the 17th century it fell in ruins.
Today only the keep and the gatehouses survive.
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