Kildare County Council is committed to Jigginstown castle restoration

Kildare County Council says it’s committed to assisting with the restoration of the historic Jigginstown Castle.

According to KCC, talks are ongoing with the Office of Public Works and other interested parties and arrangement to accommodate this work and a clean up of the adjoining site are almost completed.

KCC official Peter Minnock told the Naas Municipal district meeting that the castle is a priority for KCC, adding “I'm hopeful that progress will be made in the very short term.”

Work on the historic structure has been ongoing for some time.

A full restoration of the castle on the Newbridge side of Naas, was ruled out by the Office of Public Works about three years ago.

Completed in 1637 at a cost of six thousand pounds, it was the brainchild of then Lord Deputy of Ireland Thomas Wentworth, who was executed in London in 1641.

According to the OPW the restoration project that’s taking place will stabilise and consolidate the brickwork there and the best that can be hoped for is to maintain the castle as a “stable ruin”.

Ana Dolan, a senior architect with the OPW, told a KCC meeting at that time that the restoration work, which could eventually see it opened to the public, has been delayed by Government spending cuts. She said the castle was built with the intention of becoming a royal palace prior to Wentworth being charged with treason.

Jigginstown Castle was never lived in and fell into decay. By 1726 it was “very ruinous”, as images from the time show.

The castle is almost 100 metres long and has a series of cellars. The building has a first floor and to corridors.

As far as possible the OPW aims to make the building presentable and accessible to visitors.

However local councillor and historian Seamie Moore said the council needs to go further than restoration.

He said the OPW was keen to have more space in the area and he also said that the a workshop there could be “turned into some kind of a tourism office.”