Ballyteige Castle
Located just north of the village, Ballyteige Castle is one of the most significant architectural landmarks in the Kilmore Quay area. Unlike many of the coastal ruins, it remains remarkably well-preserved.
This five-story tower house rises 20.5 meters to its original battlements. Built with a defensive base and fine stonework, it features a southeast garderobe tower and a heavily fortified north entrance protected by a machicolation and murder hole. Inside, mural stairs connect storage vaults to living quarters equipped with fireplaces and window seats. Notable features include a hidden “oubliette” beneath the garderobe and corner lookout posts on the wall walks. The structure anchors the southeast corner of a 30-by-23-meter bawn. These enclosure walls once reached 8 meters high, guarded at the northwest by a four-story circular tower with defensive slit windows.
Lords and Vassals
The Marshalls were the supreme lords of Leinster. In the early 1200s, William Marshal granted the lands of Ballyteigue to the Whitty family. Under the feudal system, the Whittys became vassals of the Marshalls. This meant they held the land in exchange for “half a knight’s fee”—essentially a tax or a commitment to provide military service when called upon by the Earl. Sir Walter Whitty built the original medieval castle, which served as his descendants’ ancestral home for 400 years until the Cromwellian invasions. This long tenure was punctuated by drama: in 1408, Art MacMurrough Kavanagh, King of Leinster, raided and burned the fortress. The family quickly rebuilt the tower house that remains standing today. In 1594, Spanish privateers kidnapped Richard Whitty to gather intelligence on Catholic dignitaries. While he was taken to Spain, state records are unclear on how he secured his return. This incident highlights the maritime dangers of the era and the vital role of the castle’s defensive walls.
Colonial Estate
After the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653), the English Parliament did not have the cash to pay its soldiers. Instead, they paid them with land confiscated from Irish Catholic “rebels” and Royalists. In 1654, the Whitty family—specifically Richard Whitty, who was officially labeled an “Irish Papist”—was dispossessed. Ballyteige Castle and its 490 acres were granted to Captain Solomon as payment for his military service.
Solomon’s arrival changed the castle’s function. Under the Whittys, it was a medieval lordship; under Solomon, it became a colonial estate.
Unlike many soldiers who sold their land grants immediately to return to England, Solomon’s family attempted to settle. In local Kilmore Quay folklore, the name “Solomon” is often associated with the harshness of the Cromwellian era. The displacement of the Whittys was a traumatic event for the parish, as the Whittys had been the local patrons and protectors for centuries. Solomon was seen as the “outsider” who took the keys to the castle. Over the next century, the Solomon interest in the land faded, eventually allowing the Colclough family (another prominent Anglo-Irish family with roots at Tintern Abbey) to become the dominant landlords of the Ballyteige area.
From a symbolic “lordship” into a productive, working agricultural estate
John Henry Colclough became a leader of the 1798 Rebellion. After the fall of Wexford, Colclough and fellow leader Bagenal Harvey fled to a cave on the Great Saltee Island. They were captured, brought back to Wexford town, and executed.
The Meadows family eventually secured the property. The Meadows were part of the professional and landowning class of Wexford (lawyers, clerics, and officers). Unlike the medieval Whittys who lived in the tower for defense, the Meadows viewed the castle as a romantic, historical backdrop for a modern life. The most visible mark the Meadows left on Ballyteige is the attached farmhouse. They realized that living inside a 15th-century stone tower with narrow windows and damp walls was no longer comfortable. They built the substantial two-storey house that sits directly against the castle walls. This allowed them to use the ancient tower for storage while enjoying the comforts of a Victorian home. If you look at the castle today, the “L-shape” formed by the ancient grey stone tower and the white-washed/rendered house is largely the result of the Meadows’ era.
Like many Anglo-Irish families, their grip on the land weakened in the late 1800s due to the Irish Land Acts, which eventually paved the way for the Grant family to take over the holding. While the Whittys built the tower and the Colcloughs brought it into the history books of the 1798 Rebellion, the Grants are responsible for its survival into the 21st century and turned Ballyteige Castle into a functional farmyard. Most farmers in the 18th and 19th centuries tore down bawn walls (outer defensive walls) to use the stone for road-building and smaller outhouses. But the Grant maintained Ballyteige bawn and the smaller circular flanking tower. And today, the Grant family is widely credited by local historians and architectural conservationists for the remarkable condition of the castle. In Kilmore Quay, the Grant name is synonymous with the “Big House” of the area. They represent the bridge between the old “Gentry” history of the castle and the modern “Agricultural” identity of the village. Their care for the site ensures that when you look up from the harbor at Kilmore Quay, you still see the same medieval skyline that has existed for 500 years.
Current Status & Access
- Ownership: The castle is private property and is part of a working farm owned by the Grant family, who have been custodians of the site for generations.
- Condition: It is considered to be in excellent structural condition. While the interior is not open to the general public as a museum, the exterior is a dominant feature of the landscape and can be clearly seen from Ballyteige Burrow. It stands four storeys high. On the northwest corner of the bawn wall, there is a smaller circular tower, which is rare to see in such good condition today. If you look at the south wall above the gate.
- Protected Status: It is a Recorded Monument (RMP) and is protected under the National Monuments Act (SMR WX051-001)
Watch this amazing drone footage of Ballyteige Castle captured by Sky Photography and posted on YouTube.
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/3uukepygO54?si=EeDHBAJYDhL1PTzd
References
Power, J. 1975. A Lake that stretched to Bridgetown. Kilmore Parish Journal, No. 4 (1975/76), pages 24-25
SWC (Ballyteige Burrow), Jim Hurley
Link: https://www.southwexfordcoast.com/swcprom/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/401-Introduction.pdf
WCC Development plan (2013-2019) Record of Protected Structures VOLUME 2
Link: https://www.wexfordcoco.ie/sites/default/files/content/Planning/WexCoPlan13-19/Volume2.pdf
Websites
https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5009239/5000901/5122978
https://www.irishtowerhouses.ie/county-wexford/ballyteigue-castle-co-wexford/#:~:text=Ballyteigue%20Castle%2C%20County%20Wexford%2C%20in,Full%20Index
website- https://www.megalithicireland.com/Ballyteige%20Tower%20House,%20Wexford.html#:~:text=This%2015th%20century%20tower%20house,to%20the%20early%2013th%20century
