Maynooth to the West of Dublin

This history, reaching from the Norman Conquest to the Space Age, lies in fascinating detail within a short span between the Maynooth College spire and ruined castle to the west, and a stately home and world-class golf course to the east.

The Castle

The impressive keep stands at the western end of the main street, together with parts of the six-feet-thick wall of the inner court. It was built by descendents of Maurice Fitzgerald, a Norman adventurer who invaded with Strongbow during the reign of Henry II. Above the main gate is the Fitzgerald coat-of-arms, which depicts a pair of monkeys. According to legend, this refers to the rescue of a child, during a fire, by a pet ape.

In 1534, Lord Thomas Fitzgerald, known as Silken Thomas, rose in rebellion against Henry VIII. The castle fell after a week’s siege, the rebels were executed and the lands confiscated, to be restored to the Fitzgeralds by Edward VI in 1552. The castle fell into disuse and ruin by the end of the 17th Century.

Of the outer court wall, all that remains is a small section that was incorporated into the chapel, which was built in 1521. The chapel caters for the local Protestant community yet it stands wholly within the grounds of what was, for a time, the largest Catholic ecclesiastic college in the world.

The College

Maynooth College was founded in 1795. Its tall spire beckons visitors for miles around, while its grounds are extensive and peaceful. The cloisters retain something of the essence of mediaeval monasticism, and are lined with the portraits of alumni who became bishops, cardinals and theologians. In 1966, it became a constituent college of the National University of Ireland.

Throughout its history, the college has championed science. Among the exhibits in its small museum, are early examples of electrical equipment. These include the world’s first induction coils, designed at Maynooth by Professor Nicholas Callan between 1826 and 1864. When the Giotto spacecraft made its rendezvous with Halley’s comet, in 1986, the first data sent to Earth were the results of an experiment devised by Professor McKenna-Lalor of Maynooth University.

Carton House

At the eastern end of the Main Street, an avenue lined with lime trees, leads for half-a-mile to the gates of Carton estate. This comprises 1100 acres, surrounded by a five-mile wall. Carton House, one of Ireland’s great stately homes, was built for the Fitzgeralds in the 18th Century by the German architect, Richard Cassels, who was also responsible for Powerscourt and other great houses of Ireland. Carton remained with the Fitzgerald family until 1949.

At various times since then, parts of the house have been rented to various representatives of the film and entertainment industries. The house has also taken a starring role in film and television productions, including the BBC serial, "Aristocrats", which portrayed the lives of Lady Emily Fitzgerald and her sisters.

Carton has now been re-furbished as a hotel, while the grounds are occupied by two of the finest golf courses in Ireland. One of these was the venue for the 2006 Irish Open Golf Tournament.

One of the interesting houses hidden away in the grounds is the shell cottage, so named because the walls of one of its rooms are completely covered with seashells.

A short distance outside the boundary of the estate, though still on Carton land, and easily visible from the main road, stands the 140-foot high obelisk, Conolly’s Folly. This was built by Mrs Catherine Conolly, of the nearby Castletown House, in Celbridge, to provide employment for the local men during the famine of 1740.

Maynooth Castle

Maynooth College

Carton House

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