These are the ruins of Puck’s Castle, a 16th century fortified house located in Rathmichael, near Shankill in Dublin. Not a lot is known about this premises.
Many similar structures were built around Dublin between 1400 and 1550 to protect the ‘Pale’ from the ‘wild Irish’. Other similar structures in the area include Shankill Castle, Shanganagh Castle, Kilgobbin Castle and this one that is locally known as Puck’s Castle. The name “Puck’s” derives from the Gaelic “Pooka” which is a ghost or spirit and lends to the local legends of it being a haunted house.
In June 1867 Jane Eleanor Sherrard, the daughter of a local English couple Henry and Margaret Sherrard, disappeared near the Castle after she went out to pick flowers for the dinner table. When Jane Eleanor did not return home later that day, the police were notified and they organised a widespread search. Sadly, Jane Eleanor was not seen again and the last confirmed sighting of her was by the local postman who reported seeing Jane Eleanor picking flowers at the Castle. To this day the circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain unknown.
There is very little information about it’s history except that it provided a refuge for James II and members of his army after fleeing the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
You are not allowed into the field, so, my photos were taken from the gate.
This is another example of the things of interest you can find in fields, if you take the time to look, that you may normally just drive by.
Gallagher Photography 