Swords Castle is an early medieval castle located in Swords, Dublin. Originally built for the Archbishops of Dublin in the early 13th century near the Ward River, some of the castle estate had fallen into disrepair by the 14th and 15th centuries. At least partially occupied through the 16th and 17th centuries, the castle was used as a place of rendezvous by Anglo-Irish Catholic families during the 1641 Rebellion. The site was afforded protection as a National Monument and placed under the guardianship of the Office of Public Works in the early 20th century. As of the late 20th and early 21st century, the site was subject to a program of "long term phased restoration", and is partially opened for tours. The site is listed on Fingal County Council's Record of Protected Structures. Description The castle was built as the manorial residence of the first Anglo-Norman Archbishop of Dublin, John Comyn, around 1200 or a little later in Swords, just north of Dublin. The castle was never strong in the military sense, but is unusual in that the perimeter wall of 305 metres is far larger than normal for an Irish castle. The walls enclose a large pentagonal walled area of nearly 6,000 m2 (1.5 acres) with a tower on the north, probably the Constable's residence, and an impressive gateway complex on the south. Within the castle were the archbishop's apartments, apartments for knights and a banqueting hall. The warder may have occupied the quarters to the left of the gate, while to the right was the janitor's room with the priest's room overhead. The adjoining chapel, built in the late 13th century, was probably used as the archbishop's private oratory. Other buildings, recorded for an inquisition in 1326, have now vanished, including the great hall on the east side of the enclosure. History A monastic settlement attributed to St. Columba (or Colmcille) existed in Swords from the 6th century, which in the 17th century was brought under the control of the archbishop of Dublin. In 1181 John Comyn succeeded Laurence O'Toole as archbishop and it appears that he chose Swords at some point as his chief residence, probably because the prebend of Swords was of considerable wealth and was much sought after. The evidence is that he had a manor in Swords by 1192, as a patent was granted to him there on that date authorising him to hold