House - fortified house

The National Monuments Service's description

Sir Charles Coote built a fortified house just W of the site of Malby's fortified house (RO039-061001-) sometime after 1616. It is situated on a rise on the S bank of a W-E section of the River Suck at a point where the river turns S c. 60m to the E. By c. 1636 Coote had built a bridge (RO039-061003-) crossing the Suck, E of the house, and the house withstood three assaults in the 1640s (Conboy 1988). An ice-house (RO039-061-011-) was added probably in the late 17th or early 18th century.
The house is a rectangular structure (dims c. 30m N-S; c. 9m E-W) of two storeys over a basement and three bays with projecting, slightly rhomboid towers (dims c. 6m x c. 6m) of three stories at the NE and SE angles. It was re-styled in the 18th century with additions, especially on the N side, and it is still occupied. A bawn (RO039-061010-) (dims c. 60m E-W; c. 40m N-S) surrounded the house, but nothing remains of it apart from the NE and SE towers which were part of Malby's house, mirrored by a featureless and poorly built hexagonal tower at the NW angle. The foundations of the SW tower, and the W wall (T c. 1.6m) of the bawn were uncovered c. 1960 (Connellan 1962-3).

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 24 August 2010

References

Connellan, A.M.J. 1962-3 Ballygeraghty and Castlecoote. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 30, 3-6.

Conboy, T. 1988 Castlecoote and Castlecoote House. Journal of the Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society 2, 62.