castles historical ireland

A motte, causeway and bailey possibly started by Pipard around 1193 and made into a castle in 1197. the first fortification was made of wood, but the stone castle was erected in 1244. It was delivered up to the Crown in 1302, and was abandoned in the 15th century.

The motte is covered in trees, but some of the walls of the castle still remain. The motte was joined to the castle by means of a stone causeway or bridge, probably erected in 1244....

This is a fine early 16th century tower standing in a bawn. The ground and third floors are vaulted, and there are mullioned windows and a fine fireplace on the 3rd floor. The six-sided bawn is one of the best preserved in the country, and the projecting angle in the west wall, constructed so as to have a wider range of fire, is probably imitated from the star-shaped forts. Nearby are the ruins of a contemporary gatehouse.

The castle was one of three built and owned by the O'Shaughne...

In 1429 King Henry VI promised a grant of £10 to every one of his subjects who built a castle 20 feet long, 16 feet wide and 40 feet high before 1439 in Counties Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Louth. As this castle roughly conforms to these measurements, it is quite probable that it is one of these '£10 castles'.

There are 3 storeys, of which the ground floor is vaulted. The corners of the castle are rounded, and a projecting tower at the south-western corner contained the spiral stairc...

Ballaghmore Castle (1480) was the chief seat of the Mac Gillpatricks (Fitzpatricks) Lords of the Upper Ossory. It's strategically placed on the Bealach Mor, the great road to Munster. Partially destroyed by Cromwellians in 1647 it came into possession of the Cootes who leased it to the Elys. Richard Ely, financed by a hoard of gold found on his land, partially restored it in the 1830s. Ely was murdered by a tenant, and the castle was neglected.

It was bought by the present owners...

The Harry Avery who gave his name to the castle was Henry Aimbreidh O'Neill, who died in 1392. The castle, commanding the valley of the River Derg close to Newtownstewart, was probably - though not certainly - built by him, and is unusual in being a stone castle located within what was Gaelic Ulster at the time. Even more curious are the two towers visible from afar which give the impression of being a gate-tower of an earlier century guarding the access to the castle ward behind them (like th...

Mountjoy Castle is a ruined fort with four rectangular corner towers not far from Washing Bay. It was built in 1602 and was garrisoned during the Willianite wars....

Situated on an outcrop of rock ('The Fairy Rock'), this is a 16th century tower of 4 storeys below a vaulted roof. There are turrets on opposing corners at the top.

It was built by the MacCarthys of Drishane, and Teig MacCarthy retired here after the Battle of Kinsale in 1601, but O'Sullivan Bere attacked and sacked the castle shortly afterwards.
There is also a stone circle two fields to the eat of the castle....

Castle:
The Castle was allegedly built by King John in 1213, but was probably not erected until the middle of the 13th century. An enclosure, reached from the street through a 19th century gateway, was surrounded by a strong wall with one rectangular and two D-shaped towers in it. At one corner is a tall rectangular tower with a fine vault and a fireplace on the second floor. The upper floors have an unusual selection of passages and stairs leading to various defensive positions...

Nenagh Castle
Nenagh Castle was built by Theobold Walter, a nephew of Thomas a Becket, the martyr. It became a residence of the Butler family, until they moved to Gowran, Kilkenny in the 14th century. It fell into the hands of the MacIlbrien family, until 1533 when Sir Piers Butler returned to reclaim it. But in 1548, the O'Carroll with his supporters, burned it. The Butlers did eventually regain their position as owners, but the castle was given to Lady Dingwall.

It w...

The remnants of a once great Norman castle built either by the Marshalls or the Fitzgeralds. A castle is mentioned in 1203 as already existing, but this probably refers to an earlier castle here. O'More burned the castle in 1346, and in 1422 O'Dempsey captured it from the Earl of Kildare. The O'Dempseys retained the castle until it was taken from them in 1452 by the Earl of Ormond. Silken Thomas Fitzgerald retreated here during his rebellion in 1535.

In 1556 it was mortgaged for...