Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on low natural rock outcrop in undulating countryside. Described in the Civil Survey (1654-6) as 'the ruines of an old castle ye walls onely standing and fower cottages' (Simington 1934, vol. 2, 334). 'Rory Kenedy of Tomebrecane' and 'William Kenedy of ye same Irish Papists' are listed as proprietors (ibid., 333). A four-storey rectangular tower (dims. 10.2m N-S; 13.2m E-W; wall T 2.1m) built with roughly coursed limestone rubble, the SW angle of which is destroyed. The main tower is entered through a destroyed doorway located at the centre of the E wall which gives access to a lobby above which are a series of small N-S rooms with a small barrel vault over the top room. The ground floor is accessed via a partially destroyed two-centred doorway directly opposite the main doorway. The lobby was protected by a guardroom (now destroyed) in the NE angle and gives access to spiral stairs in the SE angle via a two-centred doorway. From this stairs all the main upper chambers are accessed. At first-floor level accessed from the spiral stairs there is a mural passage in the S wall which leads to a destroyed garderobe in the SW angle, the outlet of which is visible at the base of the W wall. There is a barrel vault over the second floor which has a destroyed fireplace at the W end of the N wall and a large segmental-arched embrasure with a single-light window and stone seats to the E of the fireplace. The third floor above the vault is inaccessible - a twin-light ogee-headed window is visible at this level on the N wall. The corbels of a destroyed bartizan are visible on the NW angle. Fenestration consists of simple slit opes, single and twin-light ogee-headed windows.

The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008

References

Simington, R.C. (ed.) 1934 The Civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol. II: county of Tipperary - Western and Northern baronies. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.