Rathfarnham Castle
Today surrounded by the suburbs of prosperous South Dublin, Rathfarnham Castle once stood as a frontier fortress. It has a long and fascinating history, that began in the late-12th century shortly after the Anglo-Norman arrival in Ireland. These lands were given to the Norman knight Milo de Bret, who was charged with holding the southern approaches to the growing town of Dublin. Rathfarnham served as part of a chain of fortifications that guarded the southern side of what became known as the Pale, against attacks from powerful Irish families like the O’Byrnes and O’Tooles who ranged forth from the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains. De Bret was made Lord of Rathfarnham, Kimmage and Templeogue. After his death, however, his descendants faced financial ruin from trying to hold the lands with little support against repeated incursions. The lands then came into the possession of the Harold family (who’s name is remembered today at Harold’s Cross in the city). The Harolds were tenants of the de Bret family, and they remained at Rathfarnham until the land came into the possession of the Eustace Viscounts of Baltinglass, before it was seized following the Desmond Rebellions, and given to the Loftus family.
The castle that we see today was first built by Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin, in around 1583. It was designed as a cross between a medieval fortified house and a palace fit for a bishop, and incorporated the latest designs from the Continent. The castle initially consisted of a four-storey square structure, with a projecting tower at each corner.
For practical information about visiting this site Click Here
Rathfarnham Castle • Dublin
The History of Rathfarnham Castle and the Loftus Family
Portrait of Adam Loftus • Source
Adam Loftus (c.1533-1605) formerly served as the Archbishop of Armagh, before becoming Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland during the later years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Born in Yorkshire and educated at Cambridge, Loftus was an influential figure and a talented and zealous reformer within the Anglican Church. Loftus was also utterly ruthless. He played a key role in the capture, imprisonment, brutal torture and subsequent execution of the Archbishop of Cashel, Dermot O’Hurley, who had refused to renounce Catholicism and loyalty to the Pope. Lofus was passionate to promote English rule and culture in Ireland. To achieve this, he strove to create a university in Dublin. He succeeded in his ambition, as one of the key figures in the establishment of Trinity College Dublin, which was founded in 1593, with Loftus serving as its first Provost.
He was survived by twelve of his twenty children on his death at the age of 71 in 1605. The marriage alliances he had put in place for his sons, daughters and grandchildren, established one of the elite dynasties of early modern Ireland. The focus of these marriages was always on building ties and alliances with so-called ‘New English’ or ‘New Settler’ families, rather than Irish families, or the ‘Old English’ families that had settled in Ireland centuries earlier, like the Fitzgeralds or De Burghs. These older dynasties had fallen under suspicion that had erupted into outright conflict during the Desmond Rebellions in the late 16th century. It was at this time that the lands of Rathfarnham originally came into the possession of Adam Loftus. They were forfeited during the Desmond Rebellion by Viscount Baltinglass, after he had been convicted of high treason. The original fortification at Rathfarnham was a total ruin, and its settlement described as a ‘waste village’. Loftus rebuilt Rathfarnham Castle to be a stately seat and one of the grandest houses in Ireland, while the settlement of Rathfarnham flourished alongside the new investment into the castle.
Despite the end of the Desmond Rebellions, for centuries the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains had presented a brooding threat to the city of Dublin. Irish tribes had long used the hills as a hideout and a base of operations, sweeping down to raid the rich farmland and settlements below. Rathfarnham was on the very front line of defence, and stood strong when it was attacked in 1600 during the Nine Years War.
Portrait of Adam Loftus • Source
Rathfarnham Castle saw action again during the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–53). Its strategic position guarding the Pale meant that it saw much action, and changed hands several times during the conflict. Adam Loftus sided with the Parliamentarians and, following the Battle of Rathmines, Cromwell and his Parliamentarians held a council at the castle before heading south to attack Wexford. Adam Loftus went on to be killed at the Siege of Limerick in 1651.
In amongst all the elegance and architectural splendour, you can find reminders of the defensive nature of Rathfarnham Castle. Blocked gun loops can be spotted in the corners of the towers, and the towers themselves are angled bastions that followed the Continental method of defensive architecture.
In some rooms, the elaborate rococo plasterwork of the ceiling provides a delicate insight into the purpose of the room. One of the rooms in the south-eastern corner of the castle, for example, has plasterwork that depicts wine decanters and plates, perhaps hinting that it was used as a small dining room.
A gilded and painted ceiling with martial depictions • Rathfarnham Castle
In the early 18th century, Lucy Loftus married Marquess Thomas Wharton. He was something of a controversial figure, described by the famous Jonathan Swift as ‘the most universal villain I ever knew…He has three dominant passions…. Love of Power, Love of Money and Love of Pleasure…’ His wife Lucy Loftus was scarcely more popular, as another account described her as ‘equally unfeeling and unprincipled: flattering, fawning, canting, affecting prudery and even sanctity, yet in reality as abandoned and unscrupulous as her husband…’
Their son Philip Wharton followed in his parent’s footsteps when it came to debauchery and scandal. Philip became the founder of the first Hellfire Club in London, that was later suppressed by order of King George I in 1721. Philip lost of all of his fortune to the South Sea Bubble and to gambling. He sold all of his estates in Ireland, including Rathfarnham Castle, to William Conolly in 1723 for the sum of £62,000. The castle then changed hands a number of times before indirectly coming back into the Loftus family by the end of the 18th century. Henry Loftus, Earl of Ely, was the man who transformed the fortified house into a Georgian mansion. Neoclassical features like the fine entrance into the estate, known as ‘Ely’s Arch’, were added. The narrow mullioned windows were also enlarged, and the battlements replaced by elegant coping and ornamental features. It was regularly lauded for its grandeur and opulence by visitors at the time.
In the 19th century, the Loftus family sold the remainder of their estate in this region, and moved down to Loftus Hall on the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford. The lands of the estate were used for grazing, while Rathfarnham Castle itself began to fall into disrepair. In 1852, it was purchased by Francis Blackbourne, another Lord Chancellor of Ireland. The Blackbourne family lived at Rathfarnham until 1913, when the estate was sold and divided. Housing occupied the northern part of the estate, the eastern land was transformed into a golf course, while the Jesuit Order purchased the castle itself and the south-western part. During the 1970s, a number of the surviving landscape features, including fish ponds and a fine Neo-Classical temple, were demolished or removed. The Jesuits sold Rathfarnham Castle in 1986, and before they left they removed the Harry Clarke stained glass windows from the chapel.
The new owners were a property development firm from the United States. Fear arose in the locality that the castle would be demolished, and a campaign started to save the site. In September 1986, a permanent preservation order was issued by the Commissioners of Public Works to protect the castle, and in 1987 it was purchased by the State. The Office of Public Works then began the long process of conservation.
Archaeological excavations in 2014 revealed tangible evidence for life at Rathfarnham Castle. They found the castle’s oven, along with original windows, doorways, fireplaces and garderobes (toilets). The dig also produced more than 17,000 artefacts from the late-17th century, and included tableware, pottery, lead crystal glass, gaming pieces, wonderfully preserved leather shoes, buttons and items from personal dress, wax seals from letters, an ebony spoon, ointment and cosmetic jars, silver coins including one minted in Bolivia in 1655, and a pencil that was made in Nuremberg, Germany, in around 1680, making it one of the oldest pencils in the world. The majority of these objects were found together. The archaeologists interpreted that they were collected in a store room in the upper levels of the southwest tower, with the intention to repair or recycle later. However, in around 1700, the upper levels of the tower collapsed, with all the objects falling into a wash pit at the base of the tower. They lay buried there until they were discovered more than 300 years later.
Today Rathfarnham Castle is a fine place to soak in the atmosphere and faded grandeur of one a leading family in 18th century Ireland. The fine architecture, painted ceilings and depth of history has made it a popular place for visitors, and it regularly hosts artistic exhibitions, so each visit is different to the last.
Upper left: the elegant interior of the castle • Lower left: a neoclassical column • Right: a room in the castle
Top: the elegant interior of the castle • Middle: a room in the castle • Bottom: a neoclassical column
Rathfarnham Castle Visitor Information
From a frontier fortress to an elegant Georgian home, Rathfarnham Castle has a long and fascinating story to tell.