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The Fitzgeralds of Kildare endowed Adare with beautiful monasteries during the centuries of their ownership. Three of these buildings survive, two in use, the third in ruins.
The Trinitarian monastery, now the Roman Catholic church, was founded for the Trinitarian monks around 1230. The work of these monks was the ransoming and liberation of Christian captives during the Crusades. Little would be known of the history of the Priory at Adare were it not for the history of the Trinitarian Order written at Madrid in 1714 by a Spanish priest, Ft. Lopez.
The Order was already established in Scotland, and the story of their coming to Ireland is interesting and detailed. Gregory Dunbar, Earl of March, was instrumental in bringing this about. On a visit to Aadre from Scotland in 1227 he stayed with the Fitzgeralds and related to them stories of the Trinitarian Order. These stories encouraged them to invite the Order to Adare promising to endow a monastery should they be willing to come to Ireland. The Trinitarians accepted, and in the year 1230 the priority was opened by Fr. Comyn, as first Prior.
The monastery was suppressed in 1539 in the reign of Henry VIII and according to Fr. Lopez, the community of forty-five friars were put to death. At that time, it held seventy acres of land, the castle and mill at Castletown or Castleroberts, salmon and eel weirs at Adare, with tithes of numerous lands. It remained a ruin until restored by the first Earl of Dunraven in 1811 as a parish church (Roman Catholic). In 1852 the building was further repaired and enlarged. (Quoted from Adare, Co. Limerick Ireland: A Visitor's Guide, (p.23), published by Shannon Development, Limerick in June 2002)
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The house, known as the Black Abbey, was founded in 1315 by John, son of Thomas, Earl of Kildare. Unfortunately, not a single notice connected with the history of this Priory can be found from its foundation until after the general suppression of these houses in the reign of Henry VIII.
Then in 1583, the Earls of Kildare having retained their lands and buildings, held possession up to 1683.
The group of buildings forming what remained of this Priory consisted of the Church, the Cloisters, the Refectory with rooms beneath, a gateway and a long building extending to the north. The Church consisted of a nave, with a south side aisle, the chancel and lofty square central tower. The west doorway of the nave was plain, but above it are corbels apparently to support the beams of a wooden porch. The south aisle is of a later date than the nave; it had a cornice moulding both external and internal - that on the outside was hollow, ornamented with carvings of foliage, human heads and animals of fourteenth century characters. The east and west windows are surmounted by dripstones springing from foliated carvings with a square return.
Up to 1683 the Priory and these lands of Adare were in possession of the Earls of Kildare; then Mr. Thady Quin, owner, of adjoining property, took a lease of part of the Kildare Estates near the town. In 1721 his son, Valentine, bought this land outright. He also made further large purchases from the Kildare Estate in 1724-1726. This all begins to round off the story of the Manors of Adare and explains why, in 1807, the old Parish church in the Park having fallen into decay, was first restored as a parish church (Church of Ireland).
In 1814 the refectory or dormitory was roofed and converted into a school, and in 1826 a mausoleum for the Quin family was erected in the cloisters. The church was again renovated in 1852 by Caroline, then the widow of the 2nd Earl of Dunraven, and her son, Edwin. Much of the stained glass dates from this time. (Extracted from Adare, Co. Limerick Ireland: A Visitor's Guide, (pp.19-22), published by Shannon Development, Limerick in June 2002)
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This castle was occupied by the Fitzgeralds, Earls of Desmond for nearly fifty years (1536-1584), years which were most eventful in its history.
No clue has been found as to its actual date of erection, nor is it certain by what family it was originally built, for it will be seen below that the Manor of Adare, in the year 1227, belonged to Jeffrey de Marisco. Lopez's account of the Trinitarian priority states that in the subsequent year 1228 the Fitzgeralds possessed the castle of Adare. Therefore we may assume that the oldest part of the buildings was erected before that time and by Jeffrey de Marisco.
It will be shown in a description of the ruins that there is a good reason to suppose that the keep was erected within an ancient rath (fort).
The earliest description of the castle is in Inquisition of Adare, taken in 1329-1331. This Inquisition mentions the castle as consisting of a hall, a chapel with stone walls covered with slates, a chamber near the stone part covered with thatch - and states that the whole property was waste on account of war. There is no trace as to what particular wars these devastations are to be attributed but the local history of that period is most imperfectly known.
There is a record of a Grant by Edward III in 1334 to Sir John Darcy, guardian to the young Earl of Kildare, so presumably the castle must have been repaired soon after the Inquisition.
Desmond Castle was the property, for many years, of the Earls of Kildare. They do not appear to have resided much at Adare during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries but there is mention in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary that Gerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, set out from this Castle in 1519 to meet the charges brought against him by the influence of Cardinal Wolsey. The family had acquired large possessions in Kildare and Carlow, and Maynooth became their chief residence.
The foundation, however, of the Franciscan Abbey in the year 1464 shows that at that period the Fitzgeralds must have taken an interest in Adare. In the rebellion of Silken Thomas, son of Gerald, Earl of Kildare, who later became the Duke of Leinster, all his castles were taken in succession, last among them Croom and Adare.
The Castle at Adare was taken by the English in 1578 after a siege of eleven days. Then in 1599, there is another notice of Adare - when the Earl of Essex was sent to Ireland with a large army to subdue the Irish who were everywhere in arms under the great O'Neill, Earl of Tylone. This attempt proved unsuccessful and the Earl of Essex and his men "received a furious and formidable battle from the Geraldines at Finneterstown" close to Adare.
There are subsequent mentions of the Castle being occupied by one side and then another, until 1641. In 1657 the Castle was dismantled by order of the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell.
The castle ruins situated on the banks of the River Maigue are of considerable extent and, although simple in their in their architectural features, they form a picturesque group of buildings. As Mr. Thady Quinn came into the possession of the Manor Estates in 1683, only twenty-six years after the castle was dismantled, he mush have, with his descendants - the Earls of Dunraven, helped to preserve what was left. The ruins then, as they are today, consist of an outer and inner ward and within the latter, a massive square keep. The castle includes a mediaeval fortress, a tower, portcullis, drawbridge, walls of massive thickness, stables, kitchen, great-hall and dungeon. The walls, the river and a moat formed lines of defense.
In about 1825 Desmond Castle was extensively repaired bby the 2nd Earl of Dunraven. In succeeding years other portions of the walls have been repaired, the damage having been caused by the luxuriant growth of ivy. Desmond Castle has been taken in conservation works are being carried out at present; there is not public access to the site at time of publication. (Quoted from Adare, Co. Limerick Ireland: A Visitor's Guide, (pp.9-11), published by Shannon Development, Limerick in June 2002)
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Today when one goes through the ornamental gates of Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Club, one enters a demesne of unique beauty with long stretches of emerald green turf and landscaped gardens. Here the River Maigue gently glides and gaily tumbles over the weirs into deep, still pools. Here time seems to stand still for those who care to linger awhile. It was here, at the close of the seventeenth century, that Mr. Thady Quin chose to build his familt home.
In 1832, his great-great grandson, the 2nd Earl of Dunraven with his wife, Caroline, started building what is today known as Adare Manor, incorporating some walls of the old house into the new one. He chose a particularly talented mason, James Connolly, and with him carried on the work for twenty one years. They employed local labors and materials,and the work (both woodwork and stone carvings) was carried out by craftmen from Adare and neighboring villages. The carved grey stone chimney piece in the Great Hall was designed by Pugin. He also designed the panelled walls and ceilings of the diningroom, the staircase of carved oak, the minstrels gallery and several of the marble chimney pieces. Hardwick laid out the geometrical box gardens below the south terrace. Here also is located a Cedar of Lebanon, thought to have been planted circa1645, pre-dating Adare Manor by almost two centuries. (Quoted from Adare, Co. Limerick Ireland: A Visitor's Guide, (p.16), published by Shannon Development, Limerick in June 2002)
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Note: The twins to this memorial are installed in Denver, Colorado and the United States National Cemetery in Riverside, California.
