Bawn

The National Monuments Service's description

On a broad rather boggy, though partly reclaimed, terrace just above the gorge of the River Coon. There are good views N and S along the Coon and down to the Dinin river valley, also E and W across the Coon valley to the low rolling hills beyond. An RC church and graveyard are located immediately E of the SE quadrant of the bawn. According to the OS letters (1839) (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 1, 21) in this townland, 'they shew the foundation of an old castle, in the centre of a piece of ground forty five yards square [c. 41m], surrounded by a trench eight feet [2.4m] deep and twelve 3.6m] in breadth. This castle, according to tradition, was called Caislen Churain Fheidhlim Ui Neill, i.e., the Castle of the Whelps of Feilim O'Neill, and stood to a considerable height till about twelve years ago'. Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 457) states that, 'The castle of Coon stood till about 1830, when it was thrown down to provide materials for the building of Coon chapel. It was a strong castle, built of greenstone and grouting. its cellars remain uninjured, but nothing now marks its site but a square enclosure, 50 or 60 yds. across and surrounded by a deep fosse. In Irish it is called Cushlawn-aChooing (Caislean a'Chuain), i.e. the Castle of Coon. It appears in a document of 1790 as Castlecoonfeily'. The castle (KK011-006002-) is not visible at ground level, however, the enclosing bawn survives as a raised platform (H c. 0.5m; dims. 45m square).

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of upload: 19 December 2016

References

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1930 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Kilkenny collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839. Bray.

Carrigan, Rev. W. 1905 (Reprint 1981) The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory, 4 vols. Kilkenny. Roberts Books and Wellbrook Press.