Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on flat well drained soils with good views in all directions. Four storey tower house (ext. dims 7.5m N-S; 9.8m E-W; wall T 1.5m) with attic above. Ground floor (int. dims. 4.3m N-S; 4.8m E-W) accessed by a main door of the two centred type located on the W wall with series of small barrel vaulted chambers directly over lobby area. Only half of the door survives with punch dressed jambs and yett hole visible. Door is protected by a small square shaped machicolation at wall-walk level. Immediately inside the doorway on the left hand side are the remains of a doorway which gives access to the spiral stairs in the NW angle from which all upper floors were accessed. Externally the tower house displays many defensive features such as a prominent base batter with masonry added to the corners, numerous musket holes, two diagonally opposite bartizans on the SW and NE angle at third floor level. Both bartizans are large square shaped projections carried on external corbels and accessed internally by a flat headed rectangular door. Twin ogee headed windows on the building appear to be later additions. Large rectangular shaped gable ended 17th-century house (OF017-006004-) attached to the N end of the W wall. Fireplace partially destroyed on W gable with chimney stack protruding from external face of W gable. Internally all the floors of the tower house were wooden with none surviving. Fireplace on N wall at first floor level suggests that this was the main living area. Garderobe at second floor level in SE corner with outlet on the E wall. Also at this level in the SW angle small guardroom which gives access to a small double twin light ogee headed angle loop. The third floor is the main defensive room with access to the bartizans and a mural passage which is located in the E wall. Above this floor are the remains of a high pitched E gable with square flat headed window in the gable with remains of wall-walk visible. Built by John Briscoe in 1588 (ITA Survey 1942). (Garner 1985, 39; O' Flanagan 1933, vol. 1, 66)

Testing was undertaken under licence no. 04E0540 adjacent to the archaeological constraint zone surrounding Srah Castle and earthworks, in advance of infrastructural developments. The excavation did not uncover any archaeological feature or find (Excavations Bulletin 2004).
Rose M. Cleary, Department of Archaeology, University College Cork.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 23 April 2009

References

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1933 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the King's County collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839. Bray.

Irish Tourist Association. Surveys undertaken in the 1940s for the Irish Tourist Association (now Fáilte Ireland) relating to ‘Natural features, antiquities, historic associations etc.' Extracts from these surveys were copied into the Topographical files of the Office of Public Works and these have been incorporated into the Sites and Monuments Record files (National Monuments Service).

Garner, W.J. 1985 Churches and houses of architectural interest in Co. Offaly. Dublin. An Foras Forbartha.