sentences:  The next village is Kilmessan, and today Dunsany and Kilmessan together form a single Catholic parish.The castle was built, probably in succession to basic "motte" fortifications, remnants of which can still be seen to the left and right in front of it, in the period 1180 – 1200, construction being thought to have begun in 1180 / 1181.Foundations and the lower parts of the four main towers are thought to be original, and some interior spaces, notably an old kitchen, but much additional work has been carried out, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the current castle is more than three times the size of the original.