Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on the SE side of a farmyard associated with Culleenmore House. Depicted on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map as a rectangular-shaped structure adjoining a barn to NW. Depicted on the revised 1913 ed. OS 25-inch map as a rectangular-shaped structure annotated ‘Castle (in Ruins)’. The castle is depicted as a tower house type structure standing in S quadrant of townland on the N bank of a stream on the 17th century Down Survey map of Mullingar parish (NLI, MS 723-4). The terrier of the parish map lists William Pettit and Andrew Tuite as the owners of the lands of Cullanmore [Culleen More] in 1641, where they are described as 'Irish Papists' (ibid.).
Monument described as the ruins of a rectangular-shaped tower house (ext. dims. 9.8m NW-SE; 7.8m NE-SW; wall T 1.5m) with barrel vaulted ground floor built with rubble stone walls (approx. H 5m) of which the NE and SE are best preserved. The NW corner has collapsed and the NW wall has been incorporated into a post-1700 stone barn running NW-SE off the NW wall of the tower house as depicted on the OS 25-inch map. The SE half of the ground floor barrel-vault is still intact. In the SE wall of the ground floor there is a large fireplace with a wall oven on the NE side. A possible bawn wall (WM019-009001-) runs SW off S angle and forms a rectangular-shaped enclosure to SW of the tower house. Near the E end of this wall there is a small pointed doorway of 15th/16th century date. There are earthworks (WM019-009002-) visible in the field to NE and SE.

This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 13/1987).

See attached sketch plan showing layout of buildings and earthworks in farmyard of Culleenmore House

Compiled by: Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien

Date of upload: 18 February 2019

References

NLI, MS 723-4 - National Library of Ireland, The parish maps of the Down Survey for the County of Westmeath, attested by W. Petty, in 1659. Copied by Daniel O'Brien. A set of 67 maps with accompanying terriers in two volumes, 1786-7. Dublin.