Page "Tallaght" Paragraph 12

Throughout the greater part of the 13th century a state of comparative peace existed at Tallaght, but subsequently the O ' Byrnes and O ' Tooles, in what would become County Wicklow, took offensive action and were joined by many of the Archbishop's tenants.

As a result of this the land was not tilled, the pastures were not stocked and the holdings were deserted.

In 1310 the bailiffs of Tallaght got a royal grant to enclose the town.

No trace of these defensive walls survive and there is no evidence of their exact location, except, perhaps, for the name of the Watergate Bridge which spans the Dodder on the Oldbawn Road.