Carbury Castle, Carbury, Co Kildare
Carbury lies on the eastern side of the Bog of Allen in County Kildare. The Castle of Carbury is an interesting ruin, which is situated on the summit of a hill.
Originally there seems to have been a rectangular building with vaulted rooms at the lower level. A projecting wing appears to have been added on the west side although the stonework in both sections is similar. An added section on the east side has four 17th century chimney stacks and some large mullioned and transomed windows
Conflicting histories exist regarding the history of this castle. It was probably built in the 14th Century by the de Bermingham family who owned extensive lands on the Kildare/Offaly border. They were originally a Norman family from England who came over with Strongbow. In the 15th century it was taken by the native Irish and in 1562 it was granted to the Colley Family. They were the ancestors of the Dukes of Wellington. Arthur Pomeroy, who later became Lord Haberton, obtained the lands of Newberry through marriage to Mary Colley in 1747. The Colley family were at this time living in Carbury Castle. It appears that the castle was abandoned in the late 1700s.
A short distance to the south of the castle is a graveyard with the scant remains of a church, Teampall Do-Ath and an early 19th century Colley mortuary house.
Conflicting histories exist regarding the history of this castle. It was probably built in the 14th Century by the de Bermingham family who owned extensive lands on the Kildare/Offaly border. They were originally a Norman family from England who came over with Strongbow. In the 15th century it was taken by the native Irish and in 1562 it was granted to the Colley Family. They were the ancestors of the Dukes of Wellington. Arthur Pomeroy, who later became Lord Haberton, obtained the lands of Newberry through marriage to Mary Colley in 1747. The Colley family were at this time living in Carbury Castle. It appears that the castle was abandoned in the late 1700s.
A short distance to the south of the castle is a graveyard with the scant remains of a church, Teampall Do-Ath and an early 19th century Colley mortuary house.
This was the first ruin we actually “hunted” for so is rather special to us. Having found it down a quiet country lane and getting out of the car to investigate further, an elderly black Labrador bitch emerged from a nearby bungalow and accompanied us up the hill and, when we had finished taking pictures and looking around, back down again. She can just be seen in the corner of one of the photographs!
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