Geograph - photograph every grid square

The castle at Maynooth began with the building of the keep in the C13, probably by Gerald Fitz-Maurice, 1st Baron Offaly (d.1203) and became the principal residence of the Kildare branch of the Geraldines. The photo shows the keep to the left, the C15 gatehouse in the centre, and a rectangular tower of the same period on the right. During the rebellion of Silken Thomas of 1535, Sir William Skeffington's artillery managed to breach the castle walls after a five day siege which ended with most of the remaining garrison being executed. The castle was restored to the 11th earl in 1552, following which it was repaired in 1630, taken by the Catholics in 1641, and dismantled by Eoghan Rua O'Neill in 1647.