Facts about Swords Castle, County Dublin
The Swords Castle is one of the main attractions of the town city of Swords. It was built in the 1200 AD by John Comyn, who was the first Anglo-Norman Archbishop of Dublin. The perimeter of the wall is about 305 metres larger than a regular Irish castle. Let us learn some of the interesting facts about the Swords Castle.
It might come to you as a shock that this palace that still stands till date was constructed for over 400 years. This grand castle even had parliaments held in the enormous halls. The pentagonal wall area is spread over 1.5 acres of land. The Swords Castle comprised a chapel, Archbishops’ apartments, the North Tower, the West Towers, a gatehouse, rooms for friars, a banqueting hall, apartments for knights and squires and various mediaeval farm buildings.
The palace was the residence of the Archbishop of Dublin. Limestone and red sandstone were used to build the castle. The red sandstone was not locally available in Swords, so it was brought in especially for this purpose. A constable who resided at the confines of the castle managed estate and castle business, and that’s how the palace became an ecclesiastical court.
Comparing the Swords Castle to the modern times, the castle can be compared to a majestic tall building or an edifice that was spectacularly standing beside the river Ward. After a while, the castle was labelled as a pretty spoiled castle. It was later briefly occupied by the protestants of Dutch. The Cobbe family purchased the castle. Later it was offered to the Catholics who have leased the palace from the Archbishops.
Sadly, after that period, the castle was in a bad state and was neglected. Although the outer walls stood tall and strong; the insides had turned into ruins. The apartments and chapel inside had succumbed already. The curtain walls were good enough to be used as an orchard in the 19th century. The majestic edifice became nothing but ruins.
The castle was leased by Robert Savage in the 20th century and later purchased by the Fingal city council. A lot of renovations had to take place to revive this historic structure. The palace is a tourist attraction ow, and the old glory is always filled with people exploring the events that take place at the palace from time to time. Films and Tv-series have also used this castle as a shoot location.
The palace has existed for more than 800 years and has a rich history, recent discoveries about burials beneath the grounds tell us that there is a lot more to be discovered. With people still discovering, we might find out more interesting facts about the castle in the future.