DUNDRUM CASTLE, COUNTY DUBLIN
This fortress was one of the long chain of the Pale castles which defended the metropolis, but having been inhabited until the beginning of the nineteenth century it is in a much better state of preservation than most of these old buildings.
It is situated about three miles south of Dublin on a rise of ground above the Dundrum River, a tributary of the Dodder, at the junction of the Ballinteer and Enniskerry roads.
It is probable that the castle was built on the site of a more ancient stronghold, as Dundrum signifies “the fort on the ridge.”
The principal ruin of the present castle is a keep which is battlemented in a slightly projecting form on the south-east, while the south-west wall rises in rather a high gable. The building is oblong in shape, and the entrance, which is on the south side, is evidently of more modern construction. A gate now gives egress to the interior, which is occupied by a flower bed.
Two large windows on the ground floor also point to later alterations, especially as they occur simultaneously with the remains of earlier openings.
The stairs are likely to have been situated in the south-west side. There are numerous small chambers and passages in the thickness of the walls.
Of the three fireplaces in the north-west wall that on the ground floor is the largest, measuring 9 feet long by 5 feet high, and as the flagstones of the hearth are covered by some inches of gravel its height was once greater. At the back of the fireplace and slightly to one side is an aperture about two feet square, which is framed in cut stone, and was probably used as an oven.
On the south-west end of the keep are the ruins of a smaller building several storeys high, which is connected with the main building by a square topped doorway. The dividing wall is nearly 6 feet in thickness.
Both buildings are largely covered with plaster, and on the south-east the keep has been partly rough cast.