This castle served as the residence for the minor canons, the junior clergy who assisted with the daily services and administration of Dublin’s famous medieval cathedral. The building’s proximity to St. Patrick’s Cathedral was no accident; it allowed these clerics easy access to their duties whilst providing them with comfortable accommodation befitting their station in the church hierarchy.

Historical records from 1546 paint a picture of a substantial structure, describing it as a castle complete with multiple bedchambers and various other buildings. This wasn’t merely a dormitory but a proper residential complex that would have housed several canons, likely with shared spaces for dining and meeting, as well as private quarters for study and rest. The description as a ‘castle’ suggests it was built with some defensive features, common for important ecclesiastical buildings in medieval Dublin, where the church held significant temporal as well as spiritual power.

Today, visitors to St. Patrick’s Park will find no trace of this once significant building. The hall disappeared from Dublin’s landscape centuries ago, leaving only documentary evidence of its existence. Archaeological investigations by Bradley and King in 1987 confirmed that whilst the historical records are clear about its location and importance, no visible surface remains survive to mark where Dublin’s minor canons once lived, worked, and contributed to the religious life of medieval Ireland’s most important city.