Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Castle - unclassified
Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Stradbally
- County
- Laois
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Site of Abbey, Vault
- Latest-edition OS map
- The Abbey Site of Abbey
- Coordinates
- 53.01561, -7.14729
- SMR number
- LA014-039002-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 5 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
In the middle of the village of Stradbally on the E side of Main Street opposite the Market Square. An O'Moore castle was situated here known as the Castle of Palace. It was destroyed by the Cosby family who built a fortified house (LA014-039004-) on its site (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, vol. 1, 327-329). Described in 1907 as 'this castle was surrounded by a fosse, and it is said to have been called the Castle of Palace' (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, vol. 1, 327). Mooney (1955, 155) stated that the abbey (LA014-039001-) of Stradbally had 'been thrown down by Francis Cosby, who built a dwelling house for himself in the same place from the materials'. Feehan (1983, 400) suggested that the 'O'More castle of Stradbally was replaced with a fortified house, apparently on the site of the present Abbey House, by the Cosbys'. No visible surface remains.
The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.
Revised by: Caimin O'Brien
Date of revised upload: 27 May 2016
References
Feehan, J. 1983 Laois, an environmental history. Stradbally. Ballykilcavan Press.
Mooney, C. 1955 Franciscan architecture in Pre-Reformation Ireland, Part I. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 85, 133-73.
O'Hanlon, Rev. J. and O'Leary, Rev. E. 1907 (Reprint 1981) History of the Queen's county, vol. 1. Kilkenny. Roberts Books Ltd.
Nearby in the register
- House - fortified houseunder 1 mi
- Religious house - Franciscan friarsunder 1 mi
- Bawnunder 1 mi
- Wellunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.