Castle, Greenhills, Co. Kildare
The townland of Greenhills in County Kildare holds the remains of what was once part of Bishopcourt, a 16th century ecclesiastical estate where the bishopric maintained a castle and hall.
Castle, Greenhills, Co. Kildare
Today, visitors can find the fairly well preserved ruins of a small square tower, measuring just 2.55 metres on each side internally, which now projects from the southwestern corner of a later 17th century house. Built from rubble masonry and rising four storeys high, this compact fortified structure features battered walls on its south, west and north faces, with a short section of wall extending southward from its southeastern corner.
The tower’s ground floor reveals fascinating architectural details despite centuries of modification. Originally accessed through a now robbed out opening in the west wall, the space features a vaulted arch ceiling that still bears faint traces of the wickerwork centring used in its construction, visible beneath surviving plaster. The interior shows signs of later alterations, including a small fireplace added to the refaced south wall and various blocked loops and window embrasures. A remarkably narrow passage, just 60 centimetres wide, connects the tower to the main house through the north wall, whilst the original external entrance measured a more generous 1.5 metres across.
Moving upward through the tower’s levels reveals a complex history of construction and decay. The first floor, accessible via a narrow, splaying passage built on a squinch in the northeast angle, once featured its own vaulted ceiling; scar lines where the arch once sprang from the walls remain visible today. Each ascending level shows evidence of different floor construction methods, from joist holes at the second floor to dense ivy coverage obscuring much of the third floor’s features. Windows and loops at various levels provided both light and defensive positions, though many are now robbed out or blocked. Dressed limestone blocks found incorporated into nearby outbuilding walls and lying about the site likely originated from this tower, suggesting it was once a more refined structure than its current rubble masonry appearance might indicate.