Croom Castle

Croom Castle lies in the town of the same name, in County Limerick, in Ireland.

Allegedly the first fortification at this site, next to a bend in the River Maigue, was a wooden fort that had been constructed by a Dermot O'Donovan in the late 12th century.

The stone Croom Castle was built by Gerald FitzMaurice, an Anglo-Norman knight, soon after receiving the manor in c1200. It was repaired in 1334 by John Darcy, but most of the remains probably date from the 15th century, when Croom was held by the descendants of the FitzMaurices; the Earls of Kildare. They lost it after the Kildare Rebellion of 1534.

Apparently, it was later regranted to them. For in 1601, during the Nine Years' War, the Countess of Kildare received Red Hugh O'Donnell and his men in Croom Castle. This was just after they had completed the famous night crossing of the frozen Slieve Felim marshes. They were on their way to Kinsale to meet up with the Spaniards who had arrived to aid the Irish in their revolt against the English.

Croom Castle and manor were once again restored to the FitzGerald family by James I, but they finally forfeited Croom for the last time during the wars of 1641. Charles II of England later granted the castle to the Duke of Richmond in 1678. Jacobites strengthened the castle against the Williamite force in 1691.

By 1721 the castle was falling into disrepair, and it was sold to John Croker by the Duke of Richmond. The Crokers then used the dilapidated castle as a quarry to build a new 2-storey house against the inner face of the bawn walls.

The medieval castle seems to have consisted of an inner castle, formed by a tower house within a circular defensive wall, and a bawn stretching between the inner castle and the river bank. The walls of the inner castle have largely collapsed and now form an overgrown mound of rubble.

At present, the 18th century bawn houses of Croom Castle are private residences, centered around the ruined inner castle. The inner castle is now kept as a garden ornament. The castle can not be visited, and the inner castle is hard to see from the outside.

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