A location called Cerne, Cernae or Cerna in early historic times, encompassing the townlands of Carnes[2] to the east of the ford at Athcarne, was noted as the principal burial site for the men of east Midhe and Brega (Cernoi nominatur, al. Cernai .i.

[5] The name also appears in Tochmarc Emire as part of the route south from Brú na Bóinne between Cleitech and Lusk outlined in the riddling colloquy of Cú Chulainn.

He arrived in Ireland, either with Richard "Strongbow", Earl of Pembroke in 1170 or with Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath in 1171.

[citation needed] It was significantly extended in 1590 by the High Court judge Sir William Bathe and his wife Janet Dowdall.

On 1 September, the Earl of Ormonde issued an instruction to the Royalist troops in Drogheda to capture three other castles near the crucial crossing points on the river Nanny, and hence strategically important: they were Athcarne, Bellewstown and Dardistown.

Cromwell now controlled the river Nanny, running parallel to and south of the Boyne, where Drogheda was located.

Despite petitioning to get his lands back, under the Second Act of Settlement 1662, Athcarne, as well as many of the estates originally taken by Cromwell were transferred into the name of the Duke of York, the future King James II of England.

The Bathe family never regained legal ownership of Athcarne, although they were allowed to live there: in 1668, the Duke of York allowed Sir Luke Bathe to rent Athcarne and 1,200 acres from him on a 99-year lease from 1668 for £430 in total, which was considered a "peppercorn" or nominal amount at the time.