Bright Castle

Bright Castle is believed to have been constructed in the late 15th or early 16th century. In 1515, the castle passed into the hands of Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare. The structure is locally believed to have been at one time occupied by a branch of the Anglo-Norman de Russel (or Roisel) family. During a military campaign in 1538, Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane, captured and reportedly destroyed many castles in the Lecale region and this may have included Bright Castle.

The castle originally consisted of three storeys. Today, only the east wall remains fully intact, while the north and south walls extend partially westward by approximately 2 to 3 metres. The rest of the structure has disappeared. The surviving east wall measures approximately 6.4 metres in length and 1.15 metres in thickness. The other walls are about 1.3 metres thick at ground level, narrowing to 1 metre on the upper floors. The ground floor was originally covered by a barrel vault, which remains partially visible in the side walls and gable. Lighting was provided by three small hourglass-shaped windows. The first storey was lit by larger windows in the east wall. A stone-framed window is…