Bawn

The National Monuments Service's description

Dunloe Castle / Caisleán Dhún Ló: The building of a Castle (KE065-103----) at Dun Loich in 1215 by Maurice FitzGerald is recorded in a number of sources (O hlnnse 1947, 91). following the defeat of the Geraldines at the battle of Callan in 1261 it was 'demolished and burned' by the MacCarthys (AI). It seems to have been refortified soon afterwards, for in 1280 it was reported to have been 'evacuated by its guards through fear of Desmumu and MacCartagh, and it was burned after they had departed' (AI). The existing ruins at Dunloe, however, are those of a later tower house associated with the O'Sullivan Mores (Butler 1925, 47). 'Dun Loich on the River Leamhain' is noted as having been demolished by the Earl of Ormond in 1570 (AFM), but it appears to have been reoccupied by the O'Sullivans. One Daniel O’Sullivan of Dunloe represented Kerry in Parliament in 1613 (Smith 1756, 298). It was forfeited in 1656, and subsequently was acquired by Sir William Petty (King 1931, 130). In the late 1600s it became the property of the O'Mahony family, one of whom altered and renovated it in the 1820s. A pencil sketch of the renovated title by Westropp, dated 1891, is preserved in RIA MS 3 A 46.

The tower house stands in the landscaped grounds of Dunloe Hotel on the N end of an elevated ridge which directly overlooks a bend of the River Laune at E.

About 30m to SW of the tower house, in dense overgrowth, is a short stretch of what may have been a bawn wall. It stands to an average height of 2.2m and displays evidence of modern repair.

The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 1109. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 31 July 2013