Monday 20 February 2017

Kiltimon Castle Co Wicklow




                                     Above Image: One of the four bartizans



                                   Above Image: The walled garden enclosure



This picturesque castle with its decorative bartizans is located in a circular walled garden of Dunran Demesne on a back road South of Newtownmountkennedy.  It has long been the subject of speculation as to the authenticity of its age.
Originally Kiltimon Castle was a three storey Norman tower built circa 1550. It was later occupied by the O'Byrnes a powerful Irish clan prominent in Wicklow but was lost to them with their lands during the Cromwellian invasion in the 1600's. A print by Gabriel Beranger (1725-1817) from 1750 shows the castle in complete ruin. It is from here that the unsurety begins. In 1781 the Estate was owned by General Robert Gun Cunningham (1726-1801) who went about a large renovation of the house and lands and in doing so built this present castle as a garden folly. It was thought that this was at a different location to the original Kiltimon Castle but an investigation revealed that some inner sections were actually of medieval date so in fact he had the folly built up from the ruins of the original castle. It is somewhat ironic that the folly that is purporting to be a ruin is in fact a ruin that is now a fol!y! 
When I visited I had hoped to get closer but the large gates of Dunran remain squarely locked. I could see plainly over the wall a pathway leading from the drive leading down to the gate of the circular walled garden. The roadside wall is one of those distinct types devilishly built with pointed capstones designed to make access difficult, and I have to say it does its job well. I would hope to return again and see if access is allowed by the owners, in the meantime it is still worth a visit if in the area especially as it is in close proximity to both Newcastle Castle and Old Killadreenan Church (see earlier posts here & here )
To find the ruin head South on the M11 Dublin to Wexford motorway and exit at Junction 13 for Newcastle. The exit loops round to a small roundabout. Take the left hand exit signposted for the R772 to Newtownmountkennedy. Follow the road for approx 400m until you reach a T-Junction (you will pass the ruins of Killadreenan Church on your right). Turn left at the junction and drive for approx 1.4KM until you reach signs saying "No Through Road Local Access Only" with a small road slanting off to the right. Turn right onto the small road and drive for approx 850m until you see the castle jutting above the wall on your right. It is narrow along here but I managed to park a little down from the castle location. It's not a busy road so you should be okay for a short visit. 




























14 comments:

  1. I enjoy your posts, but there are a couple of things that you could do to improve things.

    Sometimes you say "see earlier posts". It would be much easier for us readers if you could include a link to those posts, as they would be easier for you to find, since you know your work better than a reader would.

    Also, having a public google map with all the locations would be a great resource for us to help decide if we can visit other places nearby when we go to one place.

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    1. Thanks Sokratees9 for your suggestions. sounds good to me I'll certainly look into this. Thanks for checking out the blog

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  2. Coordinates would be very helpful! I am trying to follow your description on the map (and satelite view on google maps) but I don't see the castle. Thanks!

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    1. Hi, map co-ordinates are 327368, 202231 or (WGS84) Latitude : 53.049. Longitude : -6.11. I'm old fashioned when it comes to directions!

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    2. Hi Castlehunter. I am modern fashioned, the opposite. I am castle hunting with satellite maps, coordintes and my quadcopter with a camera :)
      Me and my girlfriend love hunting for castles, abbeys.
      If you would like to join forces and go hunting together, it would be great! Let me know if idea sounds good to you. We live in Dublin.

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  3. Hi Michael. I wouldn't rule that out but I'll have to get back to you on that. Have a lot going on at the moment ruin unrelated but it's great to hear of your means of exploring. Love the idea of the quadcopter!

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    1. No worries. This is what we got this weekend, hunting for castles in County Wicklow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db6FUZ8Znjs

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    2. Just watched your video. Exellent shots Michael!

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  4. Omg I live in newtownmountennedy and have drove up by this many times. I love it and have been trying to find out how to access it. Did u have any luck getting into it.

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    1. Unfortunately not so far. It's a private residence and difficult to find the owner as the gates always appear to be locked. But I haven't given up hope yet.

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    2. Best of luck. If u do get in please let me know

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  5. I’m just back from there ....I jumped over both walls into the circular garden the main door into the castle is open it’s amazing there is a staircase in it so you can climb up but it’s a bit sketchy so be careful it’s a good place to go although I should have got permission first but I didn’t....really is amazing

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. You got a lucky break alright. Thanks for the info on the interior!

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