Locating this Castle was a joy as it is in such a picturesque location alongside a section of the Grand Canal deep in the heart of County Kildare. I was surprised however on researching it later that it is not quite what I thought it to be.
There are records of a Fitzgerald Castle located at Ballyteague of which it is said that one of the
more famous members of that family, Silken Thomas the 10th Earl of Kildare, took refuge in the Castle in 1535 following the nearby Battle of Allen. Later in 1650 the Castle was badly damaged by cannon fire by invading Cromwellian forces. There was talk of some repair but from what I can gather the sturdy tower house that stands today is not the original Castle but in fact an archaeologically sound reproduction of a Norman tower house constructed by Sir Gerald George Aylmer in 1860 as a folly. Aylmer’s family had inherited the lands at Ballyteague from the Fitzgeralds in 1662. By the early 19th century the Aylmers were almost bankrupt but Sir Gerald George went about a plan of squaring the family finances and indeed subsequently did so and contributed a great deal of good work to the locality including a new road from Prosperous to his newly reconstructed Donadea Castle (see earlier post,) a drainage scheme of the slate river and the partial construction of Kilmeague Village. At this time Aylmer had dabbled in folly’s creating the prominent tower on the Hill of Allen called Aylmer’s Folly (see earlier post). The castle at Ballyteague was designed as a genuine looking three storey Norman style Castle that was pleasing to the eye in a bucolic setting. It is thought that some of the original stone of the earlier medieval tower house may have been incorporated into the building of this folly. The tower was owned by the Thornton family in the early part of the last century and eventually came into the hands of Tom Hendy a well thought of and noted historian who collected and kept many local historical artefacts within the castle. Tom unfortunately died in 2010. This is all the information I could garner on the castle but interestingly enough a well renowned author of some Irish based books called Anita Hendy lives near the castle and indeed one of her Books “The Castle Book” is apparently inspired by Ballyteague. I wonder is Anita a relative of Tom Hendy?
When I visited Ballyteague I expected a ruin and it could very well have been as I had no previous knowledge of it at that point and there is only limited access through a gate in a little grass enclosure on one side. There are some nearby houses but I didn’t think at the time that there to ask if there was any access to the tower and I didn’t want to intrude too much. I wonder if the historical collection is still housed there and if any access is permitted? Maybe someone out there can shed some light.
The Castle is located next to Huband Bridge on the canal and really is worth a trip to see. It’s so peaceful there and though not technically a ruin it may contain parts of the original Fitzgerald Castle now gone in the sands of time.
To find Ballyteague Castle take the R403 heading West from
Prosperous until you reach Allenwood. As you enter the village there is a left
turn just after the Esso Service Station with a sign pointing to Newbridge.
Turn left down this road (R415) and drive for approx 1.5KM until you have
crossed two hump back stone bridges. A short distance after the second bridge
you reach a third one. Cross over and turn right on the other side and follow
the narrow road parallel to the canal. Drive for approx.1.5Km and you will spot
the Castle on the far side of the canal. Just before you reach Huband Bridge which leads
to the Castle there is a field gate and enough room to pull over. Simply cross
the bridge on foot and there is a small metal gate in the wall in front of the
Castle
I wonder if there maybe something in a Canaliana issue about this? There were some very good local historians during the Robertstown Festival Years C 1967 - 1977 Fr PJ Murphy and all that. Ed Walker was certainly one of them. Let me look this up for you. I have nearly all the back issues of Canaliana.
ReplyDeleteThank you Andrew, that would be much appreciated.
DeleteHi there, aplogoes I have no information for you on this, but would be interested in the Canaliana books. I was 'googling' Canalania and your website came up. I'm going to Newbridge Library on Saturday to look at what they have there. I'm looking for stories of swimming in the canal as far back in history as there are archives. Would you know of any 'swim' research people or even swimmers in Allenwood and the surrounding area?
ReplyDeleteDr Rynne above comments may be able to help you with this.
DeleteVanessa, I live a little up the canal from the castle, and while I didn't grow up here, I know swimming was and is very popular on this section of the canal, although a little further down at the two locks. It's really just local children that swim in the canal during the summer, can't think I've seen any adults swimming.
DeleteAs far as I know, the castle is still owned by the Hendys (Anita is Tom's daughter). I too originally thought it was a Norman castle.
ReplyDeleteSaw a picture recently from about 1920 that showed a family, maybe the Thorntons, living in a part of the castle. Will try to hunt it down and will ask one of the Hendys about access and the artefacts.
Hi I visited Anita today and she and sister Nora lived there as children. They have many stories about the castle
ReplyDeleteBallyteague castle was destroyed by Anglo Normans in the 1100s. It was rebuilt by the Fitzgeralds. Cronwell shot his cannon at it from Crosspatrick hill. In 1847 John Thornton came home from the Crimean war and bought it. He repaired it. It was never in the possession of the Alymers. The Thorntons had no descendants so Tom Hendy inherited the castle because he was their cousin. His grandchildren still own it.It will fall. The council are only interested in old buildings if they are already in ruins or are just rumours.
DeleteInteresting,thank you.
ReplyDeleteJ.
Thats most interesting,incidently the Hendy family own the adjoining house and surrounding lands.
ReplyDeleteJ.
I remember first visiting Tom Hendy in the castle in the late 1960
ReplyDeleteI remember visiting Tom Hendy in the castle in the late 1960s when he had an Irish draught Stallion. I was bring a mare to him for a friend in 1972 I went to live in Ballyteague and Tom Hendy was prominent in organising the canal Festa in Robertstown. I supplied a horse one year to pull a water skier in front of Robertstown Hotel In the 80s Tom Hendy and his wife moved to a large farm house nearer to Lowtown and his sun also called Thomas lived in the castle for a time before building a house beside the castle. I left Ballyteague in 2003 to move to Roscommon. Eric Herrieven.
ReplyDelete