Ferrycarrig Castle
| Ferrycarrig Castle | |
|
County Wexford | |
|---|---|
 Ferrycarrig Castle | |
| Type: | Tower house |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | T01612324 |
| Location: | 52°21’6"N, 6°30’33"W |
| History | |
| Built 15th century | |
| Information | |
Ferrycarrig Castle is an abandoned castle in County Wexford; a rectangular tower house perched on a precipitous hillside, on the north side of the River Slaney. It stands close by the place where the first castle was built in Ireland.
The first Ferrycarrig Castle was built in the early days of the Norman conquest of Ireland, by Robert FitzStephen, who, in May 1169 led a force to conquer Wexford. After the capture of Wexford, FitzStephen set about fortifying the town and its surrounding areas, as part of which project he built a ringwork castle at Ferrycarrig, in order to keep watch over the River Slaney. This castle is thought to to have been the first Norman fortification in Ireland.
The 1169 castle no longer exists. The current castle is a 15th-century Norman tower house, built on the opposite side of the River Slaney.
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Ferrycarrig Castle) |
References
- Wexford Hub: Ferrycarrig Castle
- Ferrycarrig Castle: Ireland in Ruins