Athlone Castle

Well now, yes, we do have our own castle in Athlone. (what's left of it) Albeit it's not a large one (now) does not house lots of artifacts or have great areas to roam around, but we've got one! It's been transformed into the city's tourist center.  Much has been done inside to tell the history of the castle and its peoples over the years. They even have stations with period clothing for the kids to get dressed up and pretend.

It dates to the 11th century and was originally built with wood. It was rebuilt around 1210 in stone for King John (seems lots of castles were built in the name of King John). Athlone for years was considered a bustling river town - lots of commerce moving up & down the river - connecting with Dublin, etc. so this was a very important strategic location. Whoever controlled the castle controlled the bridge crossing the Shannon.  The castle and bridge were lost to William of Orange in 1690.  He held the east bank (Castle on the west bank) and for 10 days bombarded the castle with cannon balls and fire bombs. The outer walls are pretty much what remains today,and they are impressively thick. From the exterior top walkways you can see far up and down of the river so you can imagine how significantly strategic it would have been.

Funny thing, the bridge – it’s still the only bridge in Athlone, for both cars & pedestrians.

PHOTO ALBUM