House - 16th/17th century

The National Monuments Service's description

According to MacDonagh (1936, 197) this ruin is 'the remains of the fortified house' built by Jasper Brett; Brett was High Sheriff of Sligo in 1627-28 and 1635 (O'Dowd 1991, 58). Access to the ruined structure, which is known locally as a 'castle', was denied by the landowner but it was observed from the roadside. It consists of a SW gable wall (L 10.35m; T 0.25-0.45m) and returns of the NW (L 6.5m) and SE (L 3.1m) walls, of a two-storey house (wall measurements in Flynn 2003). The walls (H c. 5m) are of random mortared rubble with undressed corner quoins. Some red brick was also noted in the fabric of the walls, particularly at the broken ends of the NW and SE walls. No window embrasures survive. Joist-holes are visible on the inner face of the gable wall c. 2.5m above ground level. A lean-to shed stands against the external face of the gable wall. A series of low earthworks, evident immediately to the NE, E and S of the ruin, may be the remains of a bawn or structures associated with the house.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005).

Date of upload: 18 January 2008