This fortress was one of the castles of the Pale, and is situated in the County of Dublin on the right-hand side of the road which leads from Balrothery to Greenhills.

The name Timon or Timothan is derived from Teach-Munna, signifying “the house of St. Munna.”

The stronghold is built upon an esker and is therefore conspicuous for a considerable distance round.

There seems to be no trace of outworks, which were probably unnecessary owing to the castle having formerly been surrounded by marshes. In recent years the land has been drained and the water carried off by a small stream which crosses the road near the castle and is a tributary of the Poddle.

The building consists of a square keep with a projecting stair tower adjoining the south-west angle, which is now covered with ivy. The main structure was formerly divided into two floors by an arched roof over the lower room. The battlement slightly projects. The east wall has been destroyed, while about two-thirds of the north wall and some of the south have gone. The western side is still perfect.

There is a narrow window splayed outwards on the ground floor, while several “slit” windows and larger openings are noticeable at different heights. There are a few recesses in the walls.

A flue projection resting on two corbels is to be seen near the summit, and also a walk inside the battlements at the top of the tower.

The entrance was in the west wall, and a small machicolation for pouring lead or water on an enemy was situated over the arched doorway. There were holes at each side of the entrance for securing it with wooden bars.

A great rent now runs from base to summit of the ruin.

A view of the castle as it was in 1770 is published in Handcock’s “History of Tallaght.”

The fortress is supposed to have been erected in the reign of King John, who granted the manor to Henry de Loundres for his expenses incurred in fortifying Dublin Castle. This grant was confirmed in 1231.

Timon was constituted a prebend of St. Patrick’s in 1247, and it is so still, but without endowment, though in 1306 it was valued at £10 a year.

In an inquisition in 1547 it is described as a “ruinous fortress,” and three years later being a suppressed prebend it was granted to Bartholomew Cusack for twenty-one years. Two or three years later the lands were granted to James Sedgrove, after which they were purchased by Sir Charles Wilmot, from whom they passed to the Loftus family.

Dudley Loftus was in possession of the castle when he died in 1616, and in 1618 the property was confirmed to Sir Adam Loftus.

William Conolly purchased the estate, which still remains in his family.

Some peasantry inhabited the castle towards the close of the eighteenth century.

There was once a village of Timon, of which no trace now remains.