Country Ireland Years built 13th century Architectural style Norman architecture | Founded 13th century Length 34 m (112 ft) | |
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Location Baldongan Close, Skerries, County Fingal Denomination Pre-Reformation Catholic Diocese Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin | ||
Baldongan church
Baldongan Church, also called Baldungan Castle, is an ancient church and National Monument in Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland.
Contents
Location
Baldongan Church lies in a rural part of north County Dublin (modern County Fingal), halfway between Skerries and Lusk and 2.4 km (1.5 mi) from the seashore.
First church
An earlier church at the site was granted to the Priory of St Mary at Kilbixy in 1190.
Castle
Baldongan was originally the site of a fortified church, rectangular in plan with towers on each corner, constructed by the Knights Templar in the 13th century on the site of an ancient dún.
When the Templars were suppressed in 1313 the Archbishop of Dublin acquired Baldongan, and in 1350 Sir Reginald de Barnwall obtained it in trust from the Archbishop. It later passed to the de Bermingham family and then as a marriage settlement to the St. Lawrences (Lords of Howth) in 1508.
Confederate forces held the castle until June 1642 when Parliamentary forces under a Colonel Trafford breached the walls. The garrison of 200 men were put to death except for two priests, who were tortured on the rack and deported to France.
A nearby field is called the "Nuns Stood", supposedly the site from where local nuns watched the destruction of the castle — however, there is no record of any convent ever having been nearby.
Church
The later church was built in the 15th century and was furnished with a 21 metre high fortified bell tower. The tower is 6.7 m (22 ft) square.