Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Westropp (1906-07, 159-60) recorded the following details about Shanpallas Castle; 'O'Donovan regards this as the C[astle]. of Caenraige of the Annalists. If so, and Castletown be not intended - 1573 Gerald, Earl of Desmond, on his removal from the Tower of London to Dublin, escaped on St. Patrick's Day, and in three days reached his own lands, expelled the English from the C[astle]. of Caenraige, and next year made terms with the Government and surrendered the C[astle]. (A.F.M.). 1583 Gerald mac Thomas held the C[astle]. of Pallace in Kenryherrowe (Des. R., 33b). 1638 Garrett Eitzgerald held it at his death from G., Earl of Kildare, as part of Adare Manor. 1650 Sir H. Waller took and dismantled Pallas C[astle]. It was eventually granted to the Duke of York. "Castlepallace, alias Knocktershane, or Shanpalse (Trustee Maps, 6, 38). 1703 Sold to John Bury, ancestor of the Lords Charleville." Fabric - A lofty tower on a rock, 20 feet [6m] high. Tradition connects it with the Earls of Desmond. The south wall, and about half of the sides, have fallen; the rest is fairly perfect, 16½ feet [5m] by 14 feet [4.2m] inside; the walls 6 feet [1.8m] thick and 60 feet [18m] high. It has five stories; the two lowest are under a vault. Near it is a "Court," [LI012-001002-] the walls 30 feet [9m] high and 5½ feet [1.7m] thick. Near the main tower is a round turret, with spiral stairs, leading to a sallyport near a pool. The outer wall encloses a bawn about 60 yards [55m] square (O.S.L., 8, p. 7)'.
Shanpallas Castle was classified by Donnelly (1999, 37) as Type 1D which was characterised by castles where the 'entrance to the building is located in one of the tower house's long walls near a corner. The entrance lobby is set within the thickness of the long wall. There is no subsidiary chamber but on one side of the lobby is the doorway leading to a wall-stair that rises up through the thickness of the long wall to provide access to the first and/or second floor level in the building' (Donnelly 1999, 25).
Castle and bawn described by Salter (2004, 95) as follows; 'On a rock beside a stream is the northern half of an 18m high tower measuring about 10.5m by 9m. The second of the five storeys was vaulted. The round turret with a staircase nearby is a relic of a bawn 18m square, now partly filled with farmbuildings. This castle of the earls of Desmond was captured by Sir Henry Waller for Cromwell in 1650'.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 19 November 2020

References

Salter, M. 2004 The castles of North Munster. Worcestershire. Folly Publications.

Westropp, T.J. 1906-7 The ancient castles of the county of Limerick. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 26, 54-264.

AFM - Annals of the kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters from the earliest period to the year 1616, ed. and trans. John O'Donovan (7 vols., Dublin, 1851; reprint New York, 1966)