Castleroche County Louth.

Castle Roche stands in County Louth close to the border with County Armagh where it once controlled a pass into the latter county, it is said to have been built by John de Verdun d1272 a descendant of Bertram de Verdun who came to England with William the Conqueror and took part in the battle of Hastings, subsequently he held land at Buckinghamshire, England.

The Verdun's appear to have had close associations with the English crown, another Bertram is said to have accompanied Henry II on a pilgrimage to Spain. This Bertram is said to have accompanied Henry II's successor Richard I (The Lionhart) on the third crusade to the holy land where he was killed at Jaffa in 1191.

Another version attributes the building of Roche Castle to Lady Rohesia de Verdun in 1236, and that the good lady had the architect thrown from one of the tower windows when the castle was complete, the window is now known as the murder hole.

It is not known if Castle Roche was built on the site of an earlier Irish fortification, the topography around the castle makes the site easily defendable. The de Verdun's built several castles in County Louth one only a few miles away at Castletown.