castles historical ireland

Redwood Castle was constructed by Normans in 1210, but came into the possession of the Mac Egans, the leading Irish Family of Brehon Lawyers in 1350. They established a famous Law School which flourished for three hundred years, until the castle was destroyed by fire in 1650. The ruin was acquired and restored by an Egan lawyer in the 1970s....

Moycarkey Castle was a Cantwell fortress, consisting of tower house, 7.6m high bawn walls with small towers in opposite corners....

Ferns Castle and Churches
Ferns Castle is a 13th century castle built by William de Valance built on the site of a much earlier castle. The 13th century castle was dismantled by Sir Charles Coote in 1641.The original castle was owned by King Dermot McMurrough. McMurrough's castle was destroyed by the O'Rourkes and the O'Connors.

In revenge, McMurrough gained the support of the Normans, led by Strongbow, who conquered them. Close to the Castle are the remains of an Augustini...

Centrepiece of Baltimore is the ruin of the 17th century castle, seat of the O'Driscoll clan....

Typical of the late 13th century, the castle is nearly square in plan, with rectangular towers at the two southern corners, and smaller turrets at the other two corners. Remains of the main interior buildings can be seen on the eastern side of the courtyard. While the castle is not mentioned in existing records until the 14th century, the shape of the trefoil window in the south wall shows that it was built probably towards the end of the 13th century. Clonmore was captured by the Earl of Kil...

This is one of the few castles in Ireland which is round. It was built by the Purcells in the 16th century. The walls splay at the bottom. Of the two ceilings which are preserved, one is a flat corbelled ceiling, the other is vaulted.
,br> The castle has 5 storeys, turrets, a broken fireplace in the 3rd storey, a 'murder hole' above the door to drop things on unwelcome intruders, and a small hole for muskets at one window....

Clogh Oughter is unusual in being a round 13th century castle, built on an island in Lough Oughter. It was probably begun by William Gorm de Lacy around 1220, and to this period may be ascribed the masonry of the two lower floors.

It was presumably built up to its full height during the following two centuries when it served as a stronghold of the O'Reilly clan, either in their own dynastic struggles or as a defence against their traditional foes, the O'Rourkes of Breifne, until taken f...

Cullahill Castle sits atop a natural rock. The ruins include those of a 17th century stone house with intact corbels, stone lintels, and a fireplace with an oven. Richard Burke was the owner in 1654....

The original keep was 3 storeys high and was square in shape with stout three-quarter round towers at the corners, but only the eastern half still stands, with its two corner towers and the connecting wall. The entrance was through a door on the first floor of the north side. The topmost storey of the north-western tower dates back to the 15th-16th century.
Although the castle is only first mentioned in 1231, it was probably built by William the Marshall or by his son not long after...

The castle consists of a long main block with a square tower at each corner. The door is of good workmanship, and the interior, which is now empty was lighted by a myriad of two-and three-mullioned windows. In the interior walls there are a number of fireplaces which are no longer in a good state of preservation. Parts of the bawn, with a corner turret, can still be seen nearby.

The castle originally had 26 gables and 7 tall chimney stacks. A stone once over the doorway and now bui...