Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Castle - unclassified
Gibbonstown, County Limerick, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Gibbonstown
- County
- Limerick
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- SMR number
- LI048-074----
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
The precise location of a castle in the townland of Gibbonstown has not been identified. Westropp (1906-7, 193) recorded the following details about Gibbonstown; '1572-4 Pardons of Ger. mac Thomas of Ballygibbon (Fi. 2158, 2472 ; Hardiman, No. 56). 1655 Gibinstowne ould ruynous C[astle], by N. Haly; also the seats of two grist-mills in Kilbreedy (C.S., xxv., p. 11 ; and D.S. A., 56).' tower house like castle is depicted on the 1654-7 Down Survey map of Coshlea Barony (Hib. Reg.). The terrier of the Down Survey map of Kilbreedy Parish recorded that on the 'Lands of Gibbonstowne are the Ruines of the old Castle' which were owned by Nicholas Haly and Gibbon FitzGibbon (NLI, MS 718). The 1654-56 Civil Survey of Limerick recorded that Nicholas Haly of Tworyne and Gibbon FitzGibbon of Doonmoone both Irish Papists were the owners of Gibbonstown in 1640 containing 'a piece of an ould ruynous Castle' (Simington 1938, 237).
See attached Down Survey map of Coshlea Barony
Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien
Date of upload: 24 May 2021
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.
NLI, MS 718 - National Library of Ireland, Parish maps with terriers, showing forfeited lands in County Limerick, commonly known as the "Down Survey", executed under the direction of Sir William Petty, 1657, and copied by Daniel O'Brien, 1786.
Hibernia Regnum: A set of 214 barony maps of Ireland dating to the period AD 1655-59. The original parish maps have been lost but the Hibernia Regnum maps are preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris (Goblet 1932, v-x). Photographic facsimiles of these maps were published by the Ordnance Survey, Southampton in 1908.