The Medieval Castles of Ireland

David Sweetman

While ‘an Englishman’s home is his castle’, in Ireland virtually all castles were built for defensive purposes. The medieval castles of Ireland traces the development of the Irish medieval castle, drawing on the research and records of the Archaeological Survey of Ireland and David Sweetman’s four decades of experience in medieval archaeology. It is the most thorough and accessible book available on Irish castles with 200 original drawings and photographs. This new edition of David Sweetman’s classic monograph takes the reader from early Anglo-Norman earthworks, the great fortifications like Trim Castle, through to the ubiquitous towerhouse and, finally, the fortified houses of the Elizabethan period. This book forms a basic framework and reference from which the student and academic can progress the subject of castle studies. At the same time, its accessible contents and stunning full-colour photography provide the general reader with an understanding of the buildings that are such a distinctive and dramatic feature in the Irish landscape.

‘The last few decades have seen enormous advances in the study of castles and other defensive sites in this country. Now at last a comprehensive synthesis is available’, John Waddell, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society.

‘One man’s deep understanding of these monuments is imparted in this book’, Matthew Stout, Archaeology Ireland.

‘An in-depth guide to typology and chronology in Irish castles. This work will be indispensable to future generations of “castle students”. In addition, it will be an excellent guide for the general reader’, Éamonn Cotter, Journal of the Cork Archaeological and Historical Society.

David Sweetman (1938–2023) was head of the Archaeological Survey of Ireland and Chief Archaeologist in what is now the National Monuments Service. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy, a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (London), and an active participant in Irish castle studies groups in Ireland, Britain and France.