This unassuming location off Palmerston Park was once home to Rathmines Castle, a grand 17th century mansion built by Sir George Radcliffe. The original building, depicted in the Down Survey maps of 1655-6 as an impressive multi-gabled house, would have been one of the more substantial properties in what was then a rural area outside Dublin’s city walls.

The castle found itself at the centre of one of the most significant military engagements of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. During the Battle of Rathmines in 1649, the area around Radcliffe’s mansion became a battlefield as Parliamentary forces clashed with Royalist troops. This decisive victory for Oliver Cromwell’s army would prove to be a turning point in the campaign, ultimately leading to the fall of Dublin to Parliamentary forces and changing the course of Irish history.

Though Rathmines Castle itself is long gone, replaced by the current building known as The Orchards, the site remains a tangible link to this turbulent period of Irish history. Walking past today, few would guess that this quiet residential spot once witnessed such dramatic events, or that beneath the modern suburban landscape lies the footprint of a mansion that played host to some of the most pivotal moments of 17th century Ireland.