Archibald Castle

As previously mention in my post on Goat Castle, from the seven Castles or Tower houses that once stood in the Dalkey area only two remain. Directly across the street from Goat Castle, which also houses the Dalkey Heritage center, lays Archibold Castle. Like its neighbour it was built by merchants from Dublin to safeguard goods brought into the deep sea port at Dalkey. It also dates back to around the 15^th century. The several Castles built in Dalkey would have benefited greatly from the ‘Subsidised Castles Act’ passed in the fifteenth century by Henry VI, were a grant of £10 was provided for the construction of castles to defend an area of Norman control known as the Pale. The Pale was a large part of Ireland held under force by the foreign invaders. The Gaelic Chieftains whose lands had been stolen would regularly raid areas controlled by Norman’s in an effort to weaken their position in the country and reclaim their land. It was for this reason that Henry VI encouraged the building of Castles around the Pale.

The Machicolation

Archibold Castle was believed to have been owned by the Dungan Family, but it bears its current name after the Archibald Family whom leased the property back in the 18^th Century. This tower house looks to be  three storeys in height,  and covers an area of approx 9 X 5 meters. The entrance can be found on the west side of the castle, with a machicolation directly above. The machicolation was a standard defensive feature of castles during the period and consisted of an opening above the castle entrance. This would allow the inhabitants to drop various things on unsuspecting attackers such as boiling oil etc .

The second floor is believed to be the main room of the castle which contained a fireplace and a toilet. It recently underwent restoration works by Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown county council and the surrounding pavements were also done. So whilst you can safely examine the external features of this fantastic ruin you are unfortunately unable to explore the inside of the structure, which is a shame.

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