Coolhill Castle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Coolhill Castle
Native name Irish: Caisleán na Cúlchoille
View of Coolhill Castle overlooking the Barrow. Photo from 1865–1914.
Type	Keep
Location	Coolhill, The Rower, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Area	Barrow Valley
Built	13th century
National Monument of Ireland
Official name: Coolhill Castle
Reference no.	646
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Coolhill Castle is an old stone tower, called a keep, and a special National Monument in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It's a cool place to learn about history!

Where is Coolhill Castle Located?

Coolhill Castle is found about 2.1 kilometers (1.3 miles) northeast of The Rower. It sits high up on a cliff. From there, it looks over the Barrow, a famous river in Ireland.

What is the History of Coolhill Castle?

Coolhill Castle was built a long, long time ago, around the 13th century. That's over 700 years ago!

Who Lived at Coolhill Castle?

• In 1318, a person named Henry de Rupe (also known as de Roache or Roche) owned land at Coolhill.
• Later, a leader named Art Óg mac Murchadha Caomhánach took control of the castle for a short time during his battles.
• In the 1600s, the castle changed hands. It went to the Mountgarret family in 1621.
• Then, in 1652, the castle was taken over by the Roundheads. These were soldiers who supported the English Parliament during a big war.

What Does Coolhill Castle Look Like?

The square demesne tower

The castle actually has two main towers. One is a round tower, which is the main keep. The other is a square tower located to the east.

Inside the Main Keep

• The main keep has a small part that sticks out towards the south.
• The entrance on the north side is protected by a special opening called a machicolation. This allowed defenders to drop things on attackers below.
• There's also another machicolation on the east side.
• A "murder-hole" protects the main entrance. This was another way to defend the castle from invaders.
• Inside, a spiral staircase built into the wall leads up to the higher floors.
• The ground floor has large alcoves, which are like small rooms or deep recesses in the wall.
• The ceiling of the ground floor is vaulted, meaning it's arched. You can even see marks from the wicker (woven branches) used when it was built!
• Above the vaulted ceiling, there are three more floors.
• The second floor has a fireplace to keep people warm.
• The third floor also has a fireplace, a garderobe (an old toilet), and its own stairs leading to the roof.
• The castle walls have narrow openings called loopholes. These were for archers to shoot arrows out of, and they come in single-light, round, and cross shapes.