Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a low rise of rock outcrop in undulating countryside with a nearby church (TN030-002-) to the W and earthworks, identified on an aerial photograph taken in 1968 (CUCAP, AVT 59), to the S, W and NW of the tower house. The Civil Survey of 1654 describes a 'stumpe of a castle without repayre' and 'Piers Lord Viscount Ikerine Irish Papist' is listed as proprietor (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 20). The proprietor at this time was Lord Viscount of Ikerrin who, it is stated, had the lands and castle in fee, by descent from his ancestors (Stout 1984, 130-31). The OS Letters describe the building as a square castle with a round tower at the SW (NW) angle and part of a square tower at the NE (SE) angle with a doorway on the N wall near the round tower (int. dim. 7ft (2.13m)) which contained destroyed spiral stairs (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 2, 87-8). The poorly preserved remains of a small rectangular castle (ext. dims. 14m NW-SE; 8m NE-SW; wall T 1.4m) built with roughly coursed limestone rubble with base-batter. The walls survive two storeys high with only the wall-footings visible at the NW angle. There was a barrel vault (now destroyed) over ground floor and a single-light window (also destroyed) in the centre of the SE wall set into a segmental-arched embrasure. A tower projects from the SE angle of the castle with possible jambstones of an external door accessing the tower in the SE 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.

Stout, G. 1984 The archaeological survey of the barony of Ikerrin. Roscrea Heritage Society.

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1930 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Tipperary collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1840. Bray.