Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Bawn
Garraunboy, County Limerick, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Garraunboy
- County
- Limerick
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Coordinates
- 52.54808, -8.83191
- SMR number
- LI021-070001-
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 Libraries
4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1790 map "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Historical maps covering this location
- 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1883 · Ireland 3. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1904 · Sheet 13. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Westropp (1906-7, 220) recorded the following details about Garraunboy (Garrán Buí) Castle (LI021-070----) and bawn; 'The O.S.L. only note it as "a ruin on a plain." It is an oblong peel tower 30 feet [9.1m] by 46 feet [14m], outside. The main wing had four wooden floors covered by a stone vault; there is a skew-loop on the second floor opening at the north-west angle, and another on the third floor at the north-east. There are numerous ambries and ogee headed window-slits. The end wing has the usual spiral stair with doors to each story to the south-west, and five stories with small rooms to the south-east. The lower rooms and top story are under vaults. All the southern face and most of the side walls of this part are gone. The peel stands in a bawn 63 feet [19.2m] east and west, 82 feet [25m] north and south. The walls 3 feet [0.9m] at top, and battered out to 6 feet [1.8m] below. The south wall and south-west turret are levelled. Turrets with vaulted roofs and 12 feet [3.65m] diameter, inside, remain at the three other angles. The peel tower dates from about the middle of the fifteenth century'.
The 1654-56 Civil Survey of Limerick recorded that Richard Stephenson of Dunmoylan, an Irish Papist, was the owner of Garraunboy which contained 'a ruined castle & bawne' (Simington 1938, 293).
Castle and bawn described by Salter (2004, 83) as follows; 'The outer wall of the thick end wall of a five storey tower 14m long by 9m wide has fallen although the rest still stands high, with a vault over the fourth storey. Closely surrounding the tower are remains of a small rectangular bawn with four D-shaped flankers between 4m and 5m in external diameter. One still retains a vault and three gunloops'.
Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien
Date of upload: 3 December 2020
References
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.
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.
Nearby in the register
- Castle - tower houseunder 1 mi
- Ringfort - rathunder 1 mi
- Graveyardunder 1 mi
- Crossunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.