placenamesBlackcastle
An Caisleán Dubh
Blackcastle’s past connects a landed estate beside the Boyne with the later growth of Navan’s northern neighbourhoods. Estate papers preserve both practical records of landholding and a striking family tradition about guarding the property on a particular night of the year.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Caisleán Dubh · Irish · main form · validated name
- Blackcastle · English · main form
Place & story
The estate and its changing house
Blackcastle’s Ruxton-Fitzherbert estate differed from several neighbouring Navan estates because its owners lived locally. An 1826 survey recorded tenants and holdings, including small farms around the Slane Road, and preserved names that later disappeared from official maps. Richard Ruxton-Fitzherbert completed a new house in 1828, replacing an earlier thatched residence with slated additions. The later house burned in 1987. Peter Connell’s study of the estate brings these buildings together with the lives and work documented in rentals and account books. [2]
The guarded gates on Saint Peter’s Day
A family tradition held that the Ruxtons of Ardee could revive a claim to Blackcastle by entering the estate on 29 June, Saint Peter’s Day. Connell’s history records the custom of locking the gates and mounting a watch, with four bonfires beside the approaches and porter supplied to the men keeping guard. The practice was remembered as continuing until Bertie Fitzherbert’s death in 1939. This is an attested family belief and associated custom, rather than confirmation that entering the grounds would have established legal ownership. [2]
A school and church for the neighbourhood
Saint Oliver Plunkett Primary School opened in Blackcastle in 1975, with its official opening performed by John Bruton, then parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Education. A new church dedicated to the same saint followed in 1977. Designed by Edward Smith and built by James Andrew, it was blessed and dedicated by Bishop John McCormack on 18 December. These two foundations mark the development of educational and religious facilities for Blackcastle during the expansion of modern Navan. [3] [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Meath
- Barony
- Navan Lower
- Civil parish
- Donaghmore
- Coordinates
- 53.64553, -6.68428 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1414635 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Blackcastle. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Blackcastle Estate – Aspects of its History, originally Navan: Its People and Its Past, volume 1, 2011 · Peter Connell / Navan and District Historical Society
- About Us: School History · Saint Oliver Plunkett Primary School, Navan
- Navan: Blackcastle Church · Noel French / Meath History Hub
- River Boyne and Blackcastle House remains, near Blackcastle illustration: based on a Blackcastle House and the Boyne by JP. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-08-12. How this page was prepared.