Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

On a ledge of limestone outcrop on ENE slope, overlooking small river valley to E, while land rises WSW of castle, up to summit of hill. It is in the NE angle of a rectangular bawn (TS076-042002-). According to the Ormond Deeds, Walter, son of Thomas Butler of 'Mullaghmiony' is named as juror in 1551 (Curtis 1941, vol. 5, 61). In the mid-17th-century the land was owned by 'John Butler of Mullaghneony gent. Irish Papist...[and] Upon the sd lands stands a castle, the walles of two houses with a bawne about them, an orchard and some cabbynns' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 303). It is described in the OS Letters as a four-storey castle with a vault over the ground floor, of limestone construction with external render (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 2, 139). The castle is now in ruins (dims. c. 6.4m N-S; c. 9m E-W), the walls have collapsed and the remains are grass-covered. The SW angle is visible, the foundation course survives with a short length of the S and W walls (L 4m and 1.54m respectively), the W wall surviving to max. H of 0.83m. The ground falls away from all sides of the castle, particularly steep at the SE where the face appears to have been quarried. Much ground disturbance in the vicinity of the castle is evidence of small scale quarrying. At the base of the outcrop E of the tower house there is a displaced limestone jamb (L 0.75m; Wth 0.43m; H 0.31m above ground) with chamfer. According to the OS Letters the castle occupied almost the entire extent of the outcrop 'which is seventeen paces = fifty one feet [15.5m] from south to north, whilst the western wall of the castle measures thirty two feet five inches [9.8m] ...The west wall is perfect on the exterior and much injured on the interior, and has small portions of the north and south walls attached to it, the whole being about fifty feet [15m] in height. It appears from places of joists to be still seen in the wall that this was a four storey structure. It was built of limestone and lime and sand mortar, the sand being very gravelly, and measured on the interior nineteen feet [5.8m] from north to south. Very little of the north wall remains attached to the west one, being nearly entirely demolished below and again opposite the floor that rested on a stone arch above the ground one. About seven feet [2m] in length of the south wall remain, much injured everywhere below. The thickness of the wall at breach on west one may be set down as seven feet originally. Over the breach on this wall is a bit of a stone arch, on which rested a floor, above alluded to. This bit retains plastering underneath and is black with smoke at south side. The exterior of the ruin is rough cast. The whole has every appearance of modernism about it' (ibid.).

Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Date of revised upload: 24 September 2014

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.

Curtis, E. 1941 (ed.) Calendar of Ormond Deeds 1547-1584 A.D. Vol. 5. Dublin. The Stationery Office.

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.