Kilcreen Castle

According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 217), ‘This townland was long in the possession of the Rothe family. It was forfeited…by David Rother, Irish Papist, in 1653, and was granted, as was also Drakeland, to the Cromwellian, Captain Thomas Evans…The Rothe castle at Kilcreen stood on the site of the present Kilcreen House. Portion of a stone escutcheon of the Rothe family having lain for many years in the lawn of Kilcreen House’. The escutcheon dated to 1629 and bearing a motto and the arms of Richard Rothe, former mayor of Kilkenny, was presented to the Kilkenny Archaeological Society in 1863 (ibid.).

The Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of ‘The Liberties of the Citty of Kilkenny’ indicates a house roughly in the position of the present Kilcreen House, however, on the Down Survey (1655-6) parish map of ‘St Patricks Parish’ a castle is shown at this location (Hibernia Regnum, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin). The terrier accompanying the parish map notes, ‘in Kilcrine also a Castle & Bawn an orchard and many Cabbins’. The proprietor in 1640 is listed as ‘David Rooth Ir[ish] P[apist]’.

The castle and bawn (KK019-021002-) may have been levelled when Kilcreen House was built in the late 17th century. There is no visible trace of the castle at ground level.