Leap Castle is an
IrishIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
castleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in
County OffalyCounty Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
, about four miles north of the town of
RoscreaRoscrea is a small heritage town in North Tipperary, Ireland. The town has a population of 4,910. Its main industries include meat processing and pharmaceuticals. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ikerrin...
on the
R421The R421 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs southwest-northeast from the N62 in Roscrea to the N52 just south of Tullamore.The route is long.-See also:*Roads in Ireland*National primary road*National secondary road-References:...
. It was built in the late 15th century by the O'Bannon family and was originally called "Léim Uí Bhanáin," or "Leap of the O'Bannons." The O'Bannons were the "secondary chieftains" of the territory, and were subject to the ruling
O'CarrollO' Carroll is an Irish family name, deriving from the Gaelic Ó Cearbhail.-O' Carroll name and territorial extent:Notable is the history of the Clan Ó Cearbhail whose territory, known as Ely O' Carroll in Éile, consisted of the pasture lands of Ballycrinass, Rosscullenagh and Drumcan, extending to...
clan.
The
Annals of the Four MastersThe Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
record that the Earl of Kildare, Gerald FitzGerald, tried unsuccessfully to seize the castle in
1513-Births:*Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare, aka Silken Thomas, hanged, drawn and quartered, with his five uncles, at Tyburn .-Deaths:*End of the rule of Garret More, the Great Earl of Kildare ....
. Three years later, he attacked the castle again and managed to partially demolish it. However, by 1557 the O'Carrolls had regained possession.
Following the death of Mulrooney O'Carroll in 1532, family struggles plagued the O'Carroll clan.
A fierce rivalry for the leadership erupted within the family. The bitter fight for power turned brother against brother. One of the brothers was a priest. The O'Carroll priest was holding mass for a group of his family (in what is now called the "Bloody Chapel"). While he was chanting the holy rites, his rival brother burst into the chapel, plunged his sword into his brother and fatally wounded him. The butchered priest fell across the altar and died in front of his family.
In
1659-Events:* 3 September - Richard Cromwell proclaimed Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland upon the death of Oliver Cromwell.-Births:*September - Claud Hamilton, 4th Earl of Abercorn, Jacobite and soldier, fought at the Battle of the Boyne ....
, the castle passed by marriage into the ownership of the Darby family, notable members of which included
Vice-Admiral George DarbyVice Admiral George Darby was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was the second son of Jonathan Darby III Esq. , of Leap Castle, in King's County, Ireland.-Early career:Darby joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer...
,
Admiral Sir Henry D'Esterre DarbyAdmiral Sir Henry D'Esterre Darby, KCB, was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was the second son of Jonathan Darby IV Esq., of Leap Castle, in King's County, Ireland. He was the nephew of Vice Admiral George Darby...
and
John Nelson DarbyJohn Nelson Darby was an Anglo-Irish evangelist, and an influential figure among the original Plymouth Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism. He produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation...
. The central keep was later expanded with significant extensions. However in order to pay for these extensions, rents were raised and much of the land accompanying the castle was sold. This is one theorised motivation for the burning of the castle during the
Irish Civil WarThe Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
in
1922-Events:*January 2 - The first edition of the newspaper Poblacht na hÉireann is published. It is established by republican opponents to the Anglo-Irish Treaty who declare their fealty to the Irish Republic....
.
While renovating the castle, workers discovered an oubliette, a dungeon where people are locked away and left to die. There are spikes at the bottom of this shaft, and when it was being cleaned out, it took three cartloads to carry out all the human bones at the bottom. A report indicates that these workmen also found a pocket-watch dated to the 1840s amongst the bones, it is unknown who it belonged to. These series of spikes are now covered with a vast amount of twigs, grass and dirt, to protect anyone entering it.
Since 1991, the castle has been privately owned by Seán Ryan, who is undertaking restoration work.
The castle was featured on the cover of several editions of the novel
The RidersThe Riders is a novel by Australian author Tim Winton published in 1994. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1995.-Plot summary:The Riders tells the story of an Australian man, Fred Scully, and his 7 year old daughter Billie. Scully, as he is known, and his wife Jennifer have planned to move...
by the Australian author
Tim WintonTimothy John "Tim" Winton , is an Australian novelist and short story writer.-Life:Winton was born in Perth, Western Australia, but moved at a young age to the regional city of Albany....
.
Many people were imprisoned and executed in the castle, and it is supposedly haunted by several spectres. The most terrifying of these beings is thought to have been summoned by Mildred Darby's
occultThe word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
activities. "It", the name given to the creature, is a small grey humanoid, about the size of a sheep, with a decaying face. The apparition is said to be accompanied by the stench of a decomposing corpse and the smell of sulphur. This particular spirit is called an
ElementalAn elemental is a mythological being first appearing in the alchemical works of Paracelsus in the 16th century. Traditionally, there are four types:*gnomes, earth elementals*undines , water elementals*sylphs, air elementals...
. "It" is thought to be a primitive spirit. An
ElementalAn elemental is a mythological being first appearing in the alchemical works of Paracelsus in the 16th century. Traditionally, there are four types:*gnomes, earth elementals*undines , water elementals*sylphs, air elementals...
is a manifestation believed to occur mainly in country areas and attach itself to a particular place. They are often malevolent, terrifying, and unpredictable. "It" appears to keep itself relatively hidden in comparison with the other spirits at Leap Castle. On occasion visitors will see the creature, and in few incidences be attacked.
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