Gatehouse

The National Monuments Service's description

A gatehouse stands at the entrance to the 17th century manor built by Sir William Parsons, Surveyor General of Ireland in 1622. A boundary wall runs up to the SE corner of the tower but is not bonded to it. It is a square tower which rises to two storeys with battlemented parapet (Int dims. L 6.3m; Wth 6.3m, T 0.6m). Built of coursed limestone masonry with some dressed stone in the arches on the E and W sides. The elliptical arched entrance passage is off-centre and occupies most of the ground floor. There is a small chamber S of the entrance passage which is lit by two slit loops and is defended by a gun loop in the N wall. The joist holes for the first floor are visible. The upper chamber above the gate contains a fireplace in the NW corner. This level was originally reached by a stair, the only indication of which is the absence of plaster in the S end of the upper chamber (Mc Dix 1898, No. 914, 9, 19). Lit by large plain windows in E and W walls with smaller opes on N and S sides. In general this building appears to have been an insubstantial fortification, relying on gun loops to provide security rather than wall thickness.
Compiled by Geraldine Stout

References

McDix, E.R. 1898b The lesser castles in the Co. Dublin. 35th article. Irish Builder, 40, No. 35, 57.

McDix, E.R. 1898a The lesser castles in the Co. Dublin. 47th article: The late Ballyfermot Castle. Irish Builder 40, 168.

McDix, E.R. 1898c The lesser castles in the Co. Dublin. 38th article: Newcastle. Irish Builder, 40, No. 85.

McDix, E.R. 1898 Kil-Ma-Huddrick, near Clondalkin, Co. Dublin. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 28, 165-6.