Kilkea Castle
Kilkea Castle is located northwest of Castledermot, County Kildare, Ireland near the village of Kilkea on the R418 regional road from Athy to Tullow. It was a medieval stronghold, for over 700 years, of the Fitzgeralds, earls of Kildare.
History
built a motte and bailey on the site of Kilkea Castle in 1180. A granddaughter of his married Maurice Fitzgerald, 3rd baron of Offaly, and so the Manor of Kilkea came into the possession of the Fitzgeralds and was to remain in the family for over 700 years.Sir Thomas de Rokeby, the Justiciar of Ireland 1349-56, used the castle as his military base, and died here in 1356. In 1634 the castle was leased to the Jesuit Order by Countess Elizabeth, the widow of Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Kildare and they remained there until 1646. That year the order entertained the Archbishop Rinuccini, Papal Nuncio to the Confederation of Kilkenny at Kilkea.
In the early 18th century, the 19th Earl of Kildare decided to make Carton House the family seat and Kilkea Castle was leased to a succession of tenants. One of these tenants was Thomas Reynolds, a Dublin silk merchant, who was a "friend" of Lord Edward FitzGerald, through whom Reynolds had become a United Irishman, only to become an informer. His role as informer did not prevent the castle from being sacked by the military during the rebellion. After Carton House was sold in 1949, Kilkea Castle became the seat of the 8th Duke of Leinster.