Blundell Castle
Blundell Castle | ||
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Blundell Castle from the southwest |
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Creation time : | 15th century | |
Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
Conservation status: | ruin | |
Standing position : | Irish nobility | |
Construction: | Quarry stone | |
Place: | Edenderry | |
Geographical location | 53 ° 19 '20 " N , 7 ° 3' 41.9" W | |
Height: | 108 m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference | |
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Blundell Castle is the ruin of a hilltop castle on a hill above the town of Edenderry in County Offaly, Ireland . There is a water tower next to it.
history
The castle was built by the De Berminghams in the 15th century. In the 16th century it belonged to the Colley family and so Edenderry was then called "Coolestown" or "Colleytown". In 1599, during the Nine Years' War , Sir George Colley defended Blundell Castle against an attack by the O'Neills . In May 1691, the troops of the English King James II attacked and damaged the castle. It has been in ruins ever since.
There is a tunnel entrance near Blundell Castle and the people of Edenderry tell each other that this tunnel leads from Blundell Castle to Carbury Castle , which is about 5 miles. If the tunnel really connects the two castles, it could have been built by the De Berminghams for wartime communications. In the 19th century Edenderry was ruled by a Lord Downshire and it is said that his wife used this tunnel to meet her lover at Carbury Castle. It appears, however, that Lord Downshire discovered this affair and therefore murdered his wife.
swell
- Douglas P. Bermingham: Bermingham: Origins and History of the Family Name - 1060 to 1830 . 2012.
- Manual of origin, descent, etc., of Barony of Athenry , Dublin 1820.
- Matthew Devitt: Carbury and the Birminghams's county in Journal of the Kildare Archaeological and Historical Society . 1896-1899.
- GH Orpen: Notes on the Bermingham Pedigree op.cit. IX (1915-1916). Pp. 195-205.
- Hubert T. Knox: The Bermingham family of Athenry op.cit. X, (1917-1918). Pp. 139-154.
- Edward MacLysaght: The Last Names of Ireland . Dublin 1978. p. 17.
Web links
- Edenderry Historical Society . Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- Family name: Bermingham / Birmingham (Baron Athenry, Earl of Louth) . National University of Ireland. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- Bermingham / Birmingham House . National University of Ireland. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- Bermingham family, Barons Athenry . The National Archives. Retrieved April 10, 2019.