Carlow Castle

Built on the ruins of a previous fortification in the early 13th century, Carlow Castle was a trading hub along the confluence of the Barrow and Burren rivers for hundreds of years. Its construction is attributed to William Marshal, often referred to as "the greatest knight who ever lived," and the successor of Richard "Strongbow" de Clare. With wet bogland surrounding all sides, the castle was essentially built on an island.

Rectangular with a round tower at each corner, the castle's design had more in common with fortresses from western France than with those in Ireland. This suggests that Marshal had a profound influence on the building's design, having spent much of his life in France. For a little over a decade during the late 14th century, the British monarchy designated Carlow as the administrative capital of Ireland. The castle defenses, including its 2.7-meter-thick walls, were significantly upgraded, and a third story was added to the top.

Although attacked many times, Carlow Castle was never taken by military force until 1650. As Oliver Cromwell and his overwhelming number of troops, equipped with artillery, neared the castle during his conquest of Ireland, Carlow immediately surrendered. It passed between several aristocrats during the next 150 years. 

In 1812, a member of the Irish Parliament leased Carlow Castle to Dr. Phillip Parry Middleton, who wanted to turn the old building into a mental institution. Middleton, a progressive doctor treating mental patients almost a century before Freud, believed he could gain valuable space by building tunnels under the castle and reducing the thickness of its walls.

But, better in medicine than demolition, Middleton used an excessive amount of explosive charges to clear out the interior of the castle, destroying more than half the building in the process. Today, only the western wall remains.

If it had been preserved, Carlow Castle would have been similar in size and splendor to Kilkenny Castle — one of Ireland's top tourist attractions. Today the lost towers of Carlow Castle are marked by rows of neatly trimmed hedges and birch trees, giving visitors a sense of the full scale of what once stood there. 

The rubble left over from Middleton’s botched demolition laid the foundation for downtown Carlow today, land that had previously been too soft for any other buildings.