Souterrain

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated c. 25m to SSE of Castlebrack church (LA001-004003-) and graveyard (LA001-004-) and at a lower level. Castle or tower house (LA001-004001-) consists of a pile of featureless rubble but probably measured 20m E-W. Remains of bawn wall to S of towerhouse with ditch outside it at E and S. In the O'Doyne Manuscript, Tadhg Mac Laighnigh Ui Duinn (O'Doyne) in 1475 states that he was the builder of this castle (K.W. Nicholls (ed.) 1983, p. 116-7.). In 1608 the castle is described as 'a castle , hall, parlour at end of hall, kitchen, brewhouse, Bakehouse and the rest of the houses within the bawn the haggart and bawns on S side of castle, the garden, the orchard, the parke, the stable and houses for cattle on the west side and also the houses and tenements for tenants and other uses on N and W parts of the said town of Castlebrack (K.W. Nicholls (ed.) 1983, p. 40). In 1680 the castle was repaired and strengthened by extensive outworks by Colonel Terence O'Dunne in preparation for the Williamite wars. Souterrain described by O'Hanlon when he says that in 'There is a remarkable moat at Castlebrack. In the beginning of the last century, the occupying tenant of the farm on which it was situated, L. McEvoy, found under it some subteraneous passages.' (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, vol. 1, p. 199). These subetrraneous passages may have been a reference to a barrel vaulted ground floor of the castle which had been subsequently covered over with collapsed rubble and soil. The moat that enclosed the bawn may have been associated with the defences constructed in 1680 for the Williamite wars.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 17 December 2007