Athlumney Castle, Tower house and fortified house in Navan, Ireland

Athlumney Castle is a fortified residence in Navan that brings together building styles from different eras into a single complex. It features a tower from the 1400s, later additions with large window styles, projecting corner structures, and remnants of an Early Christian underground chamber on the grounds.

A motte was raised at Athlumney after 1172, when Amauri de Feipo received the land from Adam de Feypo, Baron Skryne. The 15th-century tower house was joined around 1630 by a Tudor fortified house built for the Dowdall family. In 1649 the Maguire holding the castle burned it to deny Cromwell a base; after the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 Launcelot Dowdall is said to have fired it again rather than leave it to William III.

The site sits near a historic crossing point of the Boyne River, explaining its importance to the region across centuries. Visitors can see how different periods of building and settlement have layered themselves at this location over time.

The exterior can be viewed from outside, but the interior is usually not open to the public and requires special arrangements. It is best to check in advance and use local contacts on site to arrange entry.

On the first floor of the Tudor house a mural chamber is cut into the wall, reached only by steps descending from the level above; it is thought to be a priest hole, made for the Catholic Dowdalls. The tower house keeps its spiral staircase and the holes where the first-floor beams once sat.