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At a glance

TypeCastle - tower house
Date or period mentioned1766
Recorded sizeDims. L8.7m; W 5.1m
StatusNational Monument

What to look for

Wall-walk and parapet
Spiral stair
Bawn wall
Vaulted floor
Corbels

Picked out from the Archaeological Survey description below.

Visiting

National Monument in State care, listed by the National Monuments Service as a monument to visit.NMS Monuments to Visit · official page
May be on private land and not open to the publicNational Monuments Service advice
Wear suitable footwear and clothingNational Monuments Service advice
Uneven ground: not suitable for everyone, especially wheelchair usersNational Monuments Service advice

Opening times and fees change: check with the operator before you go.

About Monkstown Castle

medievalIn medieval times the castle here was the centre of a large farm owned by the Cistercian…
1540When St Mary’s Abbey was dissolved in 1540 the castle at Monkstown was granted to John…

Where it is

Today Monkstown Castle is situated in the suburbs of Dublin.

Its history

In medieval times the castle here was the centre of a large farm owned by the Cistercian monks of St. Mary’s Abbey in the city of Dublin.
When St Mary’s Abbey was dissolved in 1540 the castle at Monkstown was granted to John Travers who came to Ireland from Cornwall.
During the Cromwellian period the castle was granted to General Edmund Ludlow, Cromwell’s Master of the Horse in Ireland, and one of the signatories of the death warrant of Charles I.

What you'll see

Travers was Master of the Ordnance and a Groom of the Chamber to the King.
We know from early paintings that this was a very large castle with a number of buildings, though many of these have long since disappeared.
Today the castle consists of the original gatehouse with a high vault overhead and a large three-storey tower that formed one side of a large hall that has disappeared.

Text: National Monuments Service, Monuments to Visit (CC BY 4.0). Sentences grouped by topic by ErinSites; the wording is unchanged.

History and description

Full archaeological record 368 words

Situated to the SE of the junction of Monkstown Avenue and Mounttown Road Upper the site is located in grassland on the road edge. The tower house is in the SW corner of the bawn wall and projects beyond it towards the road edge. It is three storeys in height with a parapet level containing two upper battlements. In the NE corner of the N wall in an inserted doorway. The doorway opens onto a spiral stairs, under the stairs is an arched recess with shows signs of wicker-centring. The original entrance in the E wall is blocked but has a semi-elliptical head.

The ground floor (Dims. L8.7m; Wth 5.1m) is lit by a slit ope in the N wall. First floor is entered through a lintelled granite doorway with dressed limestone jambs. This door is rebated with bar holes present. Interiors of first and second floors are lit by slit opes. Corbels project from the E wall on the second floor. The parapet level contains two caphouses, stepped crenellations and a wall-walk. There is a dripstone and guttering present. W section of tower lies beyond the bawn wall and is not tied into it. In the NE corner of the tower house there are chamfered limestone jambs from another building re-used as quoins (Healy 1975, 1-19; Turner 1983, 82; Harbison 1970, 79).

The tower house was associated with the Cistercian grange of St Mary's Abbey. After the dissolution in the sixteenth century the lands at Monkstown were given to Sir John Travers, Master of the Ordnance of Ireland. Walter Cheevers had it in 1641, then Ludlow Cromwell, Master of the House, who is said to have repaired the castle and laid out the gardens (Ball 1902, I, 1-12). A drawing by Beranger dated 1766 shows two towers placed either end of a courtyard flanked by a multi-chimneyed mansion on the one side and a show wall on the other (Harbison 1998, 60-1).

The tower house (DU023-014001-) belongs to a complex which includes a gatehouse (DU023-014002-) connected by a bawn wall (DU023-014003-), all built of coursed granite blocks.

This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 189/1951).

References

Revised upload on: 22 May 2018

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Compiled by Geraldine Stout and Padraig Clancy. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

Folklore and traditions

Walter Cheevers had it in 1641, then Ludlow Cromwell, Master of the House, who is said to have repaired the castle and laid out the gardens (Ball 1902, I, 1-12).

As recorded by the Archaeological Survey · a tradition, not a fact

Beliefs and sayings

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Around Monkstown Castle

Other heritage nearby

Kill of the GrangeAncient church · 1.1 km
Killiney ChurchAncient church · 4.4 km
Tully ChurchAncient church · 4.7 km
Dalkey Island ChurchAncient church · 4.7 km
Cabinteely wedge tombMegalithic tomb · 5.2 km
Lady WellHoly well · 5.7 km

Recorded within 5 km

18 castlesArchaeological Survey of Ireland
8 ancient churchesArchaeological Survey of Ireland
7 monastic sitesArchaeological Survey of Ireland
5 holy wellsArchaeological Survey of Ireland
3 megalithic tombsArchaeological Survey of Ireland
2 promontory fortsArchaeological Survey of Ireland
2 high crossesArchaeological Survey of Ireland
1 standing stoneArchaeological Survey of Ireland

Walks and trails

Dublin Mountains WayLong Distance Waymarked Way · 41.2 km · nearest point 6.5 km
Carrickgollogan - Mountain Access routeWalking Trail · 2.0 km · nearest point 7.1 km
Carrickgollogan - Lead Mines Way - (Orange)Walking Trail · 2.4 km · nearest point 7.3 km

Outdoors, towns and places to stay

TicknockForests · 7.5 km
Barnaslingan WoodForests · 7.7 km
SeapointBeaches · 1.0 km · Excellent Quality (2025)
Dun Laoghaire BathsBeaches · 1.5 km · Poor Quality (2025)
North Bull Island Nature ReserveNature reserves · 8.2 km
North Bull Island Nature ReserveNature reserves · 8.2 km
DalkeyWalled towns · 3.1 km
DublinWalled towns · 10 km
Merrion MewsHistoric stays · 8.5 km
Georgian TownhouseHistoric stays · 9.8 km

Other attractions nearby

Dublin Bay Sea SafarisNature and Wildlife · 1.0 km
SeapointBeach · 1.1 km
Irish Cycling SafarisWalking · 1.1 km
Walk The Coast ToursWalking · 1.3 km

What's on nearby

Andy Irvine & Quilty2026-11-05 · 1.2 km
Why Magic?2026-11-05 · 6.2 km
ON ICE Dundrum2026-11-05 · 6.2 km

Excavations nearby

06E944 Laughanstown, County DublinRoad-scheme excavation report (TII) · 4.3 km
06E227 Sandyford to Cherrywood Extension, Murphystown, County DublinRoad-scheme excavation report (TII) · 4.6 km

Monkstown Castle