Editing Swords, Dublin (section)

=== Swords Castle ===
{{Main|Swords Castle}}
Swords Castle was built as the manorial residence of the 1st [[Archbishop of Dublin (Roman Catholic)|Archbishop of Dublin]], John Comyn, around 1200 or a little later in Swords, just north of Dublin. It was never strong in the military sense, but covers a large pentagonal walled area of nearly {{convert|1.5|acre|m2}} with a tower on the north and a gateway complex on the south. The adjoining chapel, built in the late thirteenth century, was probably used as the Archbishop's private oratory.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Other buildings, recorded in an inquisition in 1326, have now vanished, including the great hall on the east side of the enclosure. The Archbishop abandoned Swords once a new palace was built at [[Tallaght]] in 1324. The stepped battlements suggest some form of occupancy during the fifteenth century, but by 1583, when briefly occupied by [[Dutch people|Dutch]] [[Protestants]], it was described as "the quite spoiled old castle". It was used as a garden in the nineteenth century and sold after the [[Church of Ireland]] was disestablished.

Swords Castle has undergone restoration and is open as a tourist attraction. The castle was used as a film location for the production of TV series ''[[The Tudors]]'' in the spring of 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/swords-castle-features-in-the-tudors-1901486.html |title=Swords Castle – The Tudors |newspaper=Evening Herald |access-date=5 October 2012 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129123933/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/dublin |url-status=live }}</ref>