The site of the earliest known Irish Parliament

Castledermot has many claims to fame. This was once one of the most important ecclesiastical centers in Ireland and you can still see many fine ruins including the remains of a round tower, two High Crosses, an Abbey, and a Franciscan friary.  This was the location of the earliest Irish Parliament which met on 18 June 1264, the home of the Earls of Kildare Fitzgeralds, and its Franciscan Monastery has the oldest intact stone window in Western Europe. The town was so important that it was even allowed to mint its own coins! On the flip side, this attracted unwanted attention and records show that it was attacked by Vikings in 841 and 867, the Normans in 1169, Edward the Bruce in 1316, the McMurroughs in 1405 and 1427, the Crown forces in 1530, and good old Cromwell whose forces destroyed most of the place in 1650. By 1850 Castledermot was described as having ‘neither trade nor manufacture’ and is now wholly dependent on agriculture.

Thanks to Eoghan Corry for the very informative video on Castledermot – The center of the Universe!