Slade Castle, Tower house and national monument in County Wexford, Ireland

Slade Castle is a four-story tower with vaulted ceilings and crenellations running along its top edge. The entrance features defensive openings, while lower floors provided storage space and upper levels served as living quarters.

The Laffin (Laffan) family built the original fort in the late 15th century and added a fortified two-storey hall with crenellations in the 16th century. Their estate was only 86 hectares, suggesting fishing or trade funded the castle. They lost Slade after the 1641 Rebellion; it then served as a salt-works store until the 19th century, when it became tenement housing. The Office of Public Works restored it in the 1940s.

The castle shows how Irish and English settlers blended building styles in the late medieval period. You can still see how these mixed influences appear in the walls and structure of the building today.

The location sits near the bay and offers water views and countryside vistas from the upper levels. Visitors should note that this is a historic structure and climbing involves steep stairs.

The three ground-floor rooms of the tower cannot be reached from the living quarters above; they were probably used as warehouses. The hall's south wall holds an oubliette, and a staircase built inside the wall leads to the upper floor.