House - fortified house

The National Monuments Service's description

In farmyard of Meelick House, with excellent views from NE-E-S-W-NW and restricted elsewhere. Not depicted or named on the 1840 ed. OS 6-inch map. Westropp (1906-7, 147) recorded the following details about Meelick Castle; '1583 Myellig C[astle]. 1655 Meelick and Balytragh (D.S.B., 26), Millicke and Bally Ightragh, held by W. Roche and Marg. Bryne, with one Chimnie House and orchard. It paid chiefry, four shillings and four white groats, to the Earl of Kildare (C.S., pp. 27, 28). The C[astle]. was probably at Meelick House, the old "Meelick Upper". Westropp appears to have identified the wrong owner in 1665 as the 1654-56 Civil Survey of Limerick recorded that William Roche of Limerick was in possession of lands in Meelick which were mortgaged from Connor Mc Dermodie Mc Mahonye containing, 'one head fishinge Weare, one Chymnie house with some few tatched Cabbins and an Orchard' (Simington 1938, 389).
Described by the ASI in 2001 as no surface remains visible of castle. The description of the building as a 'Chymnie house' may suggest that this was a 17th century fortified house rather than a tower house. Area now occupied by a farmyard and a modern shed visible on Digital Globe aerial photographs taken 2011-2013 and Google Earth orthoimage taken 28/06/2018.

See attached Google Earth orthoimage.

Compiled by: Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 8 July 2020

References

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

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1938 The civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol. IV: county of Limerick, with a section of Clanmaurice barony Co. Kerry. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.