After the Anglo Norman conquest the lands of Rathcoole were the property of the Metropolitan See and in the thirteenth century they formed one of the smaller manors of the Archbishop of Dublin. Over the succeeding centuries Rathcoole became a place of considerable importance. The first stage on the coach road from Dublin to the South of Ireland, it contained several fortified houses and was maintained as a defensive outpost of the Pale. By the time of the 1641 Rebellion, however, Rathcoole was a stronghold of the Irish. In the mid 17th century, a new inn, The Old Munster Arms Hotel, was built. It became a coaching inn when a weekly coach service between Dublin and Limerick began around 1760, a journey which took four days to complete.

Fresh horses, supplied by the Royal Garter Stables near the present Citywest, took the coach to the next coaching inn: there was one at Blackchurch and another at the Red Cow.

The Royal Garter Stables (Brownsbarn) still exist and Rathcoole’s tradition as a stopping-place on the road to and from Dublin is evidenced by the number of pubs and restaurants, old and new, in and around the village today. There are several thatched roofed pubs in the village.

There has been a manor at Rathcoole since about 1300. The current Rathcoole House is a five-bay two-story house, was built around 1750. The kitchen and milling room were in the basement; a large hall, dining room and drawing room on the ground floor and five bedrooms on the first floor. The building is now derelict. In the early 1960's the village of Rathcoole was bypassed with the construction of the N7 dual carriageway. Despite development in the area, Rathcoole retains the character of a rural village.