This book traces the development of the Irish medieval castle from 1169 onwards, drawing on the research and records of the Archaeological Survey.

Castles are the most familiar medieval landmark across the Irish countryside. Their often romantic appearance belies their turbulent history and their lore abounds in stories of sieges, betrayals and daring escapes. From the earliest stone castles such as Dublin Castle to the fortified manor houses such as Red Hugh O'Donnell's Donegal Castle, each has a fascinating and individual story to tell. Castles of Ireland brings the reader on a tour of more than sixty castles, from the biggest and most well-known to dramatic and atmospheric ruins which had a role to play in shaping Ireland's history.

The castles of Ireland are an essential part of the story of medieval Europe, but were, until recently, a subject neglected by scholars. Dr McNeill weaves the evidence from the castles into the story of lordship and power in medieval Eire.

This book contains essays originating from the 1998 Castle Studies Group Conference, held in Maynooth, county Kildare, Ireland. The book has been brought together specifically to advance research on castles and fortifications in Ireland and Wales.

Despite an ever-expanding literature on Irish castles, the relationships between the castle building tradition in Ireland and those of contemporary Europe have attracted very little attention among Irish scholars. This book seeks to remedy this by approaching the corpus of Irish castles as a non-Irish scholar might do. Is there a case for dating the first castles in Ireland to the tenth century in line with the revised chronology of castle-building on the Continent? Are castles in Ireland typical of their periods by contemporary standards in England and France in particular? Are any castles in Ireland genuinely innovative or radical by those contemporary standards? What inferences about Ireland's place in medieval Europe can be drawn from the evidence of its castles and their forms?

The castles of Ireland are an essential part of the story of medieval Europe, but were, until recently, a subject neglected by scholars. A lord's power and prestige was displayed in the majesty and uniqueness of his castle. The remains of several thousand castles enable us to reconstruct life in Ireland during these crucial centuries. Castles in Ireland tells the story of the nature and development of lordship and power in medieval Ireland. Ireland formed the setting to the interplay of the differing roles of competing lordships: English and Irish; feudal European and Gaelic; royal and baronial. Tom McNeill argues that the design of the castles contests the traditional view of Ireland as a land torn by war and divided culturally between the English and Irish.

The vast majority of castles in England, Wales, Ireland, and France have virtually no military history' of sieges or physical conflict across the whole panorama of more than five centuries'. This is quite a sobering thought.