Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated immediately W of an old river course which has been straightened, in a low-lying position on the W bank of the River Dolla. Described in the Civil Survey (1654-6) as the 'old rotten walls of a castle with one thatcht house and five cabbins' (Simington 1934, vol. 2, 238). Wm Glysane and John Grace are listed as proprietors in 1640 (ibid.). A 'castle' is depicted on the seventeenth-century Down Survey map roughly in this area. Two millstones were found in the immediate vicinity. The limestone rubble foundations of a tower house (dims. c. 7.8m N-S; c. 9.7m E-W; wall T c. 1.2-2.5m; H 0.4m) are located at the S end of a low earthen mound, aligned N-S (c. 34m N-S; 26.7m E-W) and defined by a scarp (H 0.85m on W side to 2.47m on E side). The foundations of the tower house has rounded angles. The field within which the remains of the tower house are situated has well-preserved earthworks - the remains of a deserted village (TN027-163---), including house platforms, a sunken way (TN027-163003-) and an adjacent field system.

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.