Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on natural rock outcrop on a natural island surrounded by poorly drained marshy land. A well-preserved four-storey tower house (ext. dims. 9.35m N-S; 11.5m E-W; wall T 2.1m) built with roughly coursed limestone rubble with base-batter. The main entrance consists of a two-centred doorway with punch-dressed chamfered jambs located at the centre of the E wall. Two yett-holes are visible with one at the apex and the other on the S jamb. This entrance gives access to a lobby, protected by a murder-hole, with a guardroom in the NE angle, spiral stairs in the SE angle and the main ground-floor chamber to the W. The ground-floor is lit by simple slit opes set into large segmental-arched embrasures with good evidence of wicker-centring. There are wooden ceilings over the ground and first floors with a barrel vault over the second floor. The first floor is accessed from the SE angle and is lit by simple flat-headed opes. A mural passage in the S wall at first-floor level gives access to a garderobe in the S end of the W wall which is lit by an angle loop in the SW angle. There is a slop-stone under a window in the mural passage. The small first-floor chamber over the lobby, reached from the spiral stairs, gives access to the murder-hole. A series of small chambers over the lobby are located at each floor level. The second floor is lit by twin-light ogee-headed windows in the centre of the E and W walls with a poorly preserved fireplace at the E end of the N wall. There is a slop-stone in the S wall directly inside the doorway to the second floor. A lintelled mural passage in the S wall at mezzanine level between the second and third-floor levels gives access to a garderobe in the SW angle with a well-preserved flagstone seat surround. The garderobe chute outlet is at the S end of the W wall at ground-floor level. The second floor with barrel vaulted roof is accessed from the SE angle with a transomed and mullioned ogee-headed window in the centre of the S wall with a two-centred arched embrasure. There are twin-light ogee-headed windows with decorated spandrels in the centre of the N wall and a single-light ogee-headed window in the E and W walls. A secret chamber is accessed off the N splay of the W window with a drop-hole giving access to a chamber in the NW angle. A possible destroyed fireplace at the E end of the N wall utilises the second-floor flue. The battlemented wall-walk is accessed from the SW angle via a doorway set into the S splay of the E window embrasure. A single-light flat-headed window on the E wall at ground-floor level has several mason's marks in the form of an hour-glass on the jambstones of the window. All the main chambers were accessed via two-centred doorways opened from inside the main chamber at each floor level, with evidence of hanging-eyes still in situ.

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