On This Day - The Castledermot Parliament

On this day in 1264, the first recorded session of an Irish Parliament sat in Castledermot, Co Kildare. Produced and presented by Brian Byrne.

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The event had been called to determine if the Archbishop Fulk de Sandeford had the rights to hold court and dispense justice.

The Castledermot Parliament is accepted as the original of a line of such institutions in this country from Norman times to the 19th century. 

The south Kildare town was at the time an important centre in the Normans’ settlement of Ireland, as well having a strong religious presence. 

The precise location of that first Parliament in Castledermot is not known. But a subsequent established Parliament House is said to have been built on the site now occupied by a pub in the town.

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