Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a natural hillock with good views in all directions. Described in the Civil Survey (1654-6) as 'a Castle and the Walls of a stone house out of repaire' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 78). James Earl of Ormond is listed as proprietor in 1640 (ibid.). A large rectangular three-storey tower house (ext. dims. c. 17.1m x c. 10.9m) composed of roughly coursed limestone rubble, with substantial base-batter and dressed quoins. Most of the base-batter has been robbed and this has revealed an internal facing. The S and W walls are supported by tall buttresses, the bases of which have also been robbed. The E wall and E end of the N wall have been destroyed. In the interior, at the NW end, there is a raised area formed by a vaulted chamber which was inserted at ground-floor level. This chamber, together with a double bellcote surmounting the S wall and a circular turret on the N wall, were probably built as demesne features of the Carden estate in the nineteenth century. The S wall has been subject to a lot of modification. At the W end of the wall there is a large break which has been infilled. Above this at first-floor level there is an opening, probably a window embrasure. There is a similar embrasure above this at third-floor level from which a mural passage runs westward, continuing into the W wall. The W wall has been partially repaired in recent times. Two embrasures at first-floor level, both containing a single ogee-headed light with punch-dressed limestone jambs. At second-floor level there is a large embrasure, placed S of centre, with a mural passage running N from it. There are three windows in the W wall, the centre window and possibly the N one, providing light exclusively for the mural passage. The remains of an internal dividing wall exist between the S embrasure and the N embrasure on the first floor. This wall continues from the first floor up to the second-floor level. At the N end of the W wall there is a rectangular garderobe chute (dims 1.1m x 0.82m W), surmounted by the circular turret described above, which exits the building at a point 2.6m above ground level in the external face of the N wall. The remains of a bawn wall (T 1.6m) extend N-S from roughly the centre of the N wall and extend E-W from the S wall.

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.) 1931 The Civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol I: county of Tipperary: eastern and southern baronies. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.