Published on 09/1/2007

The recently published Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly [Arch. Inv. Offaly] (1997), contains the first published survey of Offaly's castles and castle sites. Several people have been studying the Offaly castles in the past 20 years but little has appeared in published format until now.

The castle survey is essentially an inventory and as such needs extensive filling out to get a fuller picture. Local historians and specialists can now get down to this job as the foundations have been laid by the castle chapters in the Archaeological Inventory (pp 136-168).

The Inventory is the first published overview of Offaly antiquities since the edition of the Ordnance Survey letters of John O'Donovan in 1933 by Fr. O'Flanagan. O'Donovan worked in the county in 1838. The only shortcomings of the Offaly book is an understandable regret that it is not more of a full survey and less of an inventory. Presumably it will be many years before such a full survey is published. It took 25 years of reports from the time of the first Foras Forbatha survey to get to a published volume. The starting point was the sites and monuments Record (SMR) of 1988 after which a more comprehensive survey was undertaken by the OPW. This had followed on work done by Offaly County Council and Roscrea Heritage Society in South Offaly.

The Castle sites (as distinct from surviving castles or castle remains) are described in the Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly below. The material in square brackets was added by this writer. Readers with further information on Offaly's castles can send it to the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society, Bury Quay, Tullamore. Arch. Inv. Offaly lists the following:

Medieval stone castle	1 at Clonmacnois
Late Medieval fort	1 at Daingean
Tower houses and bawns	43
Fortified Houses and strong houses	13
Castle sites	60

These castle sites, as less well known, will interest the reader. The Arch. Inv. Offaly states:

CASTLE SITES

"Evidence from both the first and current OS maps, the 17th-century Down Survey county, barony and parish maps, documentary surveys, surviving place-names and local tradition indicates that there are 60 known sites of castles in Co. Offaly. There are little or no upstanding structural remains of these castles which generally precludes more specific classifications for them. However, in some instances the evidence afforded by historical references suggests that many of them were probably late medieval tower houses or fortified houses."

AHARNEY
OS 16:3:2 (592,579) Not indicated OD 100-200 22837, 22790
Castle (site) Situated in the pasture-land SE of Aghnanagh tower house (822). Marked as an L-shaped building designated 'Castle (in ruins)' on 1840 OS ed. The field in which the castle formerly stood is locally known as the 'castle garden'. This property was held by Sir Jasper Herbert of Ballycowan in 1641. No visible remains at ground level. (Loeber Survey 1988)
16:5 (01) 29-6-93
[This castle is referred to in the Down Survey (NLI) under the parish of Durrow and Kilbride ...'the stumps of castles at Aharna, Achanairanagh and Ballykilmurry. The Herbert lands were granted to Charles Coote, earl of Mountrath, in the course of the Cromwellian plantation. See nos. 822 and 829-830.]

ANNAGHMORE (Ballybritt By.)
Castle (site) Formerly situated on a neck of land jutting into Annaghmore Lough. In 1977 a few fragments of a castle were noted here. The possible outline of a bawn wall with flanking towers was distinguished during aerial reconnaissance over the lake and its environs in recent years (pers. comm. L. Swan). No visible remains at ground level.
32:24 30-7-93

BALLINDARRA
OS 35:14:1 (239,109) 'Castle (site of )' OD 100-200 20495, 20362
Castle (site) Situated in low-lying pasture-land E of the Little Brosna River. In the possession of the O'Carrolls in 1582 and the property of Arthur Coghlan c. 1620. An inquisition of 1631 documents that Francis Ackland was in possession of 'one castle and bawn and 30 acres of arable and pasture land in the town of Ballindarraghe' at the time of his death in 1629 (Cooke 1875, 270). Thereafter it appears to have been held by the Parsons family as the 'castle and bawn of Ballindarragh' is quoted among the property of William Parsons of Birr in his will dated 1650 (Ainsworth 1948, 33). In 1642 Ballindarra was attacked and all its surrounding houses burned. A 'Plan of the Castle and town of Ye Burre as besieged by General Sarsfield in 1691' depicts Ballindarra as a large rectangular building placed centrally within an irregularly shaped bawn adjoined by the Little Brosna River on its W side (Birr Archive). The castle fell on 10 January 1848. No visible remains at ground level. (Cooke 1875, 269-72; FitzPatrick and Leonard 1992, 14-15)
25:21 10-1-94

BALLINDOWN
OS 35:2:6 (417, 490) 'Ballindown Castle (site of)' OD 200-300 20689, 20786
Castle (site) Situated in marginal land on the E edge of Woodville Wood. The castle of 'Bhaile-an-duna' was seized by Fearganainm O'Carroll and the Earl of Kildare in 1532 (AFM., vol. 5, 1411). No visible remains at ground level.
35:2 (02) 10-1-94

BALLINRATH
OS 11:16:4 (700,34) 'Castle (site of)' OD 200-300 25877, 22877
Castle (sites) Situated in good pasture-land affording extensive views of the surrounding countryside. Ballynakill church and graveyard (629) is located nearby to E. The field in which the castle formerly stood is locally known as the 'Castle Field'. No visible remains at ground level.
11:32 24-6-91

BALLINREE (Ballybritt By.)
OS 35:15:4 (489,62) 'Loretto Castle (site of)' OD 200-300 20772, 20312
Castle (site) Situated within a large, relatively modern and perfectly circular enclosure locally known as 'The Ring' or 'Carroll's Ring'. Marked on first and current OS eds. as 'Loretto Castle'. No visible remains at ground level.
35:27 10-1-94

BALLYBOUGHT
OS 9:5:5 (113,341) 'Shancourt or Meeneglish' OD 200-300 23304, 23183
Castle (site) Situated on a natural gravel ridge in undulating countryside. Reputedly the site of a de Lacy castle (ITA Survey 1942). Just the wall foundations of a rectangular building (dims. 14m N-S x 22m E-W) built on top of a rectangular earthwork survive. A causewayed entrance at S (Wth 2.5m) crosses an enclosing moat (Wth 2m; D 3m). There is slight evidence of an external bank at E only. The walls are constructed of uncoursed limestone rubble and on average measure 1.5m thick and stand 0.5m high. There are the remains of a corner tower on the NW angle of the building with evidence of both a basebatter and a garderobe chute (dims. 0.4m x 0.4m). [Some say this is where Hugh de Lacy was murdered in 1186 and not at Durrow demesne.]
9:3 (01) 20-5-93

BALLYBOY (Ballyboy By.)
OS 31:4:4 (740,470) Not indicated OD 100-200 22029, 21389
Castle (site) Situated S or the Silver River and on the E side of the main street through the village of Ballyboy. Generally regarded as an O'Molloy stronghold, it was described as 'Tirrel's chief castle' in 1599 and as late as 1641 was in the hands of William Molloy. In 1690 it was occupied by six companies of the Earl of Drogheda's regiment and then described as 'a mount high in the middle of the said village' (Loeber Survey 1988). No visible remains at ground level. (O'Flanagan 1933, vol. 1, 93)
31:15 (01) 9-8-93

BALLYBURLY
OS 4:14:5 (362,31) 'Ballyburly House (ln site of) Castle' OD 300-400 25516,23517
Castle (site) Situated on the SW slope of Ballyburly Hill with a church and graveyard (622) nearby to E. [The church is now gone.] The castle and lands of Ballyburly were leased to John Wakeley in 1551. Described in 1599 as 'Wakeley's Castle', it had apparently been razed and was at that time in need of re-edification (Loeber Survey 1988). The later 17th/18th-century Ballyburly House which was built on the site of the castle was burnt in 1888 (Bence-Jones 1978, 36-8) [It was rebuilt and burned again in the early 1920s.]
4:12 13-8-91
[The old house is illustrated in the King's County Directory of 1890.]

Castle Sites in Offaly - Part 2

BALLYCUMBER
OS 7:12:2 (830,246) Not indicated OD 100-200 22112, 23073
Castle (site) and datestone Situated within Ballycumber Demesne, immediately W of the River Brosna. Ballycumber House was built in 1736 (Garner 1985, 13) apparently on the site of an earlier Mac Coghlan castle. A datestone which appears to have formed the top part of a window, bearing the inscription 'DERMOT COGHLAN MADE THIS CASTELL IN ANNO DNI 1627' is incorporated into the rear wall of the house. This former stronghold of which there are no upstanding remains may have been a tower house of fortified house.
7:39 13-10-93

BALLYKEAN
OS 26:8:4 (721,365) O'Dempssy's Castle (site of)' OD 200-300 24931, 21939
Castle (site) Situated in low-lying pasture-lands with a moated site (793) to E and a church and graveyard (625) to W. An earlier report (ITA Survey 1942) identified the rudimentary remains of the S, E and W walls (T 0.7m) of a building (int. dims. 18.3m N-S x 22.9m E-W) constructed of rubble and mortar. The letters of the first Ordnance Survey (O'Flanagan 1933, col. 1, 1-2) mention the existence of portion of a bawn wall and a corner tower at the site in the last century. No visible remains at ground level.
26:18 6-10-92

BALLYLEAKIN
OS 11:16:1 (700,130) 'Purfoy or Ballyleakin Castle (in ruins)' OD 200-300 25877,22978
Castle (site) Situated immediately W of Ballyleakin House in pasture-land commanding extensive views. Marked as a tower on a map of Offaly of 1563 and stated as the property of William Sandy in 1622 (Loeber Survey 1988). A large shed has been built on the site of the castle. No visible remains at ground level.
11:30 24-6-91

BALLYNASRAH (Garrycastle By.)
OS 29:11:2 (608,253) 'Faddaun Castle (site of)' OD 100-200 19940,21144
Castle (site) Situated in marginal land N of the Little Brosna River and on the N side of the road between the villages of Stream and Newtown. Ballynasrah was a residence of Sir John Mac Coughlan c. 1620 and then described by Mathew de Renzy as a 'fine castle seated uppon the pleasanst hill in that countrie, and so called by reason that there runns a little brooke hard by it. There is a well of water within the castle and a bawn about it' (Mac Cuarta 1987, 170). A modern bungalow has been built on the site of the castle. No visible remains at ground level.
29:13 17-1-94

BEHERNAGH
OS 44:8:1 (744,453) Not indicated OD 300-400 20101,18795
Castle (site) Situated at Behernagh Cottage on high ground in upland terrain E of a tributary of the Ballyfinboy River. A Funeral Entry (G.O., vol. 7, no. 70,616) indicated that Behernagh was the property of Charles O'Carroll c. 1639. Marked on the Down Survey of 1654 as the 'stumpe of a castle'. The only surving feature is a fragment of a circular tower which is possibly a corner tower of the bawn.
44:1 21-2-94

BELLAIR OR BALLYARD
OS 7:7:4 (515,367) Not indicated OD 200-300 21777, 23198
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land in the vicinity of Bellair House. The castle at Bellair may have been the property of John Dillon c. 1641 and was later granted to Samuel Rollins (Loeber Survey 1988). An 18th/19th-century gothick style building in the courtyard of the house was probably constructed in imitation of the earlier castle at the site.
7:59 19-10-93

BELLMOUNT OR LISDERG
OS 14:14:6 (396,40) 'Bellmount Castle (site of)' OD 100-200 20684, 22204
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land N of the Borsna River and S of Belmont House. Marked as a castle on the Down Survey of 1654. In the 1650s the castle of 'Lisdarry' was the property of John Coghlan and was granted to Terence Coghlan in 1663 (Loeber Survey 1988). No visible remains at ground level.
14:38 23-11-93

BROUGHAL
OS 31:2:2 (364,574) 'Broughal Castle' OD 100-200 21631, 21496
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land in Broughal Demesne. An O'Molloy stronghold which was described in 1537 as 'a good ward, well victualled, well ordnanced and well manned, evironed strongly with wood and moor' and subsquently thrown down by Lord Deputy Grey in 1538 (Loeber Survey 1988). The King's County Chronicle depicts the castle as a tall rectangular tower with crenellated wall-walk and gabled roof. It was demolished in 1930s. Near the site of the castle there are substantial remains of out-buildings and part of a 19th-century gothick style bawn. [Poor photographs of this building survive.] 31:6 11-8-93

BUSHERSTOWN
OS 47:1:2 (134,539) Not indicated OD 300-400 20436, 18249
Castle (site) Situated on high ground in pasture-land. A partly castellated house of two storeys and three bays with a round tower attached at one end. Built by Humphrey Minchin in the early 18th century on the site of the castle of 'Bouchardstown'. The property of John Carroll and his son Donough in the first half of the 17th century, the castle was granted to Charles Minchin in the late 17th century (Loeber Survey 1988). The house was burnt in 1764 and subsequently rebuilt. (Bence-Jones 1978, 51). No visible remains of the castle at ground level. 47:2 22-3-94

Castle Sites in Offaly - Part 3

CANGORT DEMESNE
OS 42:5:4 (30,355) Not indicated OD 200-300 20319,19334
Castle (site) Situated in the demesne of Cangort House S of Cangort Bog. A residence of the Atkinson family which was besieged and destroyed by Cromwellian forces in the 17th century. A 19th-century house was built on its site. (Loeber Survey 1988; Bence-Jones 1978,55)
42:13 24-1-94

CASTLEBARNAGH BIG
OS 18:3:2 (610,593) 'Castle Barnagh (site of )' OD 300-400 24808,22819
Castle (site) Situated E of Daingean on elevated rock outcrop. Present remains comprise a rectangular area (dims. c. 21m E-W x 20m N-S) defined by low earthen banks attached to the E side of which there is a rectangular area (max. dims. c. 31m N-S x c. 40m E-W ) which may represent the site of a bawn. According to local information the castle was pulled down in order to obtain stone and rubble to build nearby houses.
18.9 27-5-92

CASTLEFIELD
OS 36:4:3 (915,545) 'Ballymacadam Castle (site of)' OD 400-500 22217, 20829
Castle (site) Situated W of the village of Cadamstown on high ground, defended on its W side by a precipice which which overlooks an area of marshland. Marked on the 1840 OS ed. as a rectangular building then in ruins. The principal seat of the O'Carrolls of Leitir Lugna in the medieval period, the castle and town of ' Baile-mic-Adam ' was in the hands of Edmund a Faii by 1548 (AFM., vol. 5, 1509). In 1621, during the plantation of Ely O'Carroll, it was granted to Robert Meredith and John Marsh. Some scattered protruding stones in the field mark the site of the castle. (O'Flanagan 1933, vol.2, 81)
36:44 17-8-93

CASTLETOWN AND GLINSK
Castle (site) Situated on the W side of the Camcor River within Castle Bernard Demesne. The annals record the building of a castle at Kinnitty in 1214 (Ann. Clon., 227) which may be a reference to the motte and bailey to the S of Castle Bernard upon which a stone castle was later erected. No visible remains at ground level.
36:44(01) 17-8-93

CLOGHAN
OS 22:7:1 (472,396) Post Office (on site of) Castle' OD 100-200 20766,21941
Castle (site) Situated in the village of Cloghan on the N side of the exit road to Shannonbridge. The reputed site of the castle is now occupied by a post office building. A possible keep with additional buildings is shown at Cloghan on the Down Survey 1657 barony map of Garrycastle. In 1582 John Mac Coghlan surrendered and was subsequently regranted the town of Cloghan. In 1641 the castle was the property of John Coghlan, Irish papist. It was regranted to John and Constance Coghlan in 1663 (Loeber Survey, 1988). An 18th century drawing by Grose (Stalley 1991, 131) shows a square three-storey structure with hipped roof and large windows set into wide round arched embrasures, and a machicolation at roof level. The building depicted by Grose is most likely a 17th century fortified house which replaced an earlier 16th century castle.
22:13 26-11-93

CLONBEG
OS 38:11:2 (547,295) 'Clonbeg Castle (in ruins)' OD 300-400 20861-19915
Castle (site) Situated on high ground W of a tributary of the Little Brosna River. Marked on the first and current OS eds. as small rectangular building enclosed on its N, E and S sides by a rectangular earthwork. No visible remains at ground level. (O'Flanagan 1933, vol. 2,31).
38:19(01) 9-2-94

CLONEARL DEMESNE
OS 10:11:4 (519,167) 'Leicester's Castle (site of)' OD 300-400 24710, 23008
Castle (site) Situated in the pasture-land E of the ruins of Clonearl House. A castle was built here c. 1550 and occupied by the Leicester family in the 17th century (Loeber Survey 1988). The remains at the site comprise no more than low banks and shallow fosses with some masonry showing.
10:26 23-10-94

CLONLISK
OS 45:1:5 (203,521) 'Castle (site of )' OD 200-300 20505, 18868
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land on the W bank of a tributary of the Little Brosna River overlooking bogland to S. First recorded in 1541 as the seat of Fearganainm O'Carroll (AFM.., vol..5 1461). Assigned by Theobald Butler to Sir Mulroney O'Carroll C. 1610. As a result of their involvement in the rebellion of 1641 the Carrols of Clonlisk were transplanted to Galway in 1657 (pers. comm. A. Leonard). No visible remains of the castle at ground level. (Cooke 1875, 221-3; O'Flangan 1933, vol. 2,67)
45:2 8-4-94

CLONYMOHAN
OS 45:13:2 (77,119) 'Castle (in ruins)' OD 300-400 20375, 18446
Castle (site) Situated on pasture-land N of Ivy Lawn House. No visible remains at ground level.
45:28 13-4-94

CULLY
OS 24:1:5 (149,514) 'Castle (in ruins)' OD 200-300 20375, 22078
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land to SE of a late medieval dwelling (949). An O'Molloy stronghold in the possession of Cosney Molloy in 1641 and later granted to Sir Robert Booth (Loeber Survey 1988). An earlier report (OHAS Survey 1974) described the S and W (L 12m ; T 1m) walls of a building no more than 1-2m in height which had been incorporated into a cottage which has since been destroyed. According to local tradition an armorial plaque was taken from the castle in the 1930s. (Shaw 1971 , 57)
24:4(01) 1-7-93

DERRYDOLNEY
OS 23:16:5 (789,59) Not Indicated OD 200-300 22079,21595

Castle (site) Situated in grazingland overlooking the bog of Tumduff to N. According to current OS ed., Derrydolney House was erected on the site of the castle, but this is incorrect. It was situated in a field behind the house and its site is presently indicated by some humps and hollows in the ground surface. According to local information a castle formerly stood here and was levelled several years ago. An armorial plaque which provides the date 1684 for an earlier house at the site is incorporated into the fabric of the present Derrydolney House. The plaque bears an inscription which reads- 'This house was erected by Philip Molloy and Mary Molloy his wife in the year of our Lord God 1684, in the three and thirteenth years of the reign of Charles II, by the grace of God, King of England and Scotland, and France and Ireland. Defender of the faith'. However, documentary evidence suggests that there was an earlier building here as Cahir Mc Firr O'Molloy is mentioned as being of Derrydolney in a Chancery suit of 1589 and Adam Molloy was in possession of Derrydolney in 1691. (Loeber Survey 1988).
23:11(01) 5-8-93

Castle Sites in Offaly - Part 4

DURROW DEMESNE
OS 8:12:3 (916,235) Not Indicated OD 200-300 23178, 23069
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land to W of Durrow monastic site (652) and immediately S of Durrow Abbey House. The Annals of Loch Ce record that Hugh de Lacy while reviewing his completed 'castle' of Durrow in 1186, was murdered by the foster son of O Catharnaigh of Munterhagan. A subsequent reference mentions the completion of a castle by the English at Durrow in 1214 (Ann. Clon.., 227). The 'castle ' of 1186 is likely to have been the motte (812) which is situated to S of Durrow Abbey House and it is possible that a stone castle was erected on or near it c.1214. Rev. Sterling de Courcy Williams (1899, 252) was of the opinion that the castle stood to the N of the motte. The abbey and the lands of Durrow were granted to Nicholas Herbert in 1561 and in 1567 having endured 'daily robberies and spoils' he stressed the importance of building 'strongholds and castle well manned' in order to defend the property. In return for a fee farm he offered to build two 'warrlyke castle' for himself and his two sons which Elizabeth I stipulated he erect within two years (Loeber 1991, 13)
8:30(02) 4-6-93

ERRY (Maryborough)
1OS 8:6:5 'Castle (in ruins)' OD 200-300 22584, 23200
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land S of the town Clara. Part of the estate of Edward MaGeoghegan described in 1611 as including a 'ruinous castle, mill and two ploughlands'. It subsequently passed to Sir Edmund Fitz-Gearld after MaGeoghan was slain in rebellion. In 1621 the Erry estate with its ruined castle was granted to Charles Lambert (Loeber Survey 1988). The field in which the site lies was in a meadow at time of last visit which obscured its low wall-footings. An earlier report (ITA Survey 1942 ) described a large rectangular area (dims. 35m E-W x 40m N-S) enclosed by an earthen bank and an external fosse within the S half of which the poorly preserved wall-footings of a castle were visible.
8:18(01) 25-6-93

FADDAN MORE
OS 14:14:3 (4132,151) 'Faddanmore Castle (site of )' OD 100-200 20701,22322
Castle (site) Situated in low-lying pasture-land N of Belmont village. A Mac Coghlan stronghold built c. 1500 and first mentioned in the annals in 1520 (AFM., vol. 5, 1520). It was held intermittently by O'Madden c. 1691 and disposed to the Earls of Cork and Arran in the period after the rebellion. Mentioned in the will of Daniel Coghlan in 1663 (Loeber Survey 1988). No visible remains at ground level. (Cooke 1875, 335-9; O'Flanagan 1933, vol. 1, 58-9; ITA Survey 1942)
14:26 23-11-93

FRANCKFORT
OD 45:10:4 (306,191) 'Frankfort Castle' OD 300-400 20616, 18523
Castle (site) Situated on pasture-land N of the village of Dunkerrin. Identified as O'Carroll's castle of Dunkerrin which was by 1666 was in the ownership of Thomas Francks. In 1740 it was the property of Francis Rolleston (Cooke 1875, 223) The present remains at 'Franckfort Castle' are of 18th/19th-century date and include a bawn incorporating an earlier datestone of 1732 and a moat about about the site which is of the same period. No visible remains of medieval buildings.
45:45 12-4-94

GARBALLY (Ballyboy By.)
OS 24:9:1 (74,264) 'Garbally Castle (in ruins)' OD 200-300 22298, 21813
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land immediately W of Idle Corner crossroads. An earlier report (ITA Survey 1942 ) suggested that this site was possibly a tower house of the 16th century. It was in the owership of James Griffin in 1641 (Loeber Survey 1988).
24:26(01) 28-6-93

GLENACURRAGH
OS 38:12:3 (864,300) OD 400-500 21196,19923
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land and shown on both first and current OS eds. adjoining the NW end of the later 'Glenacurragh Castle' house. The Down survey barony map of Ballybritt 1657 shows a ruined gabled house in the townland. No visible remains of this structure remain at ground level.
38:13 18-2-94

GORTEEN (Kilcoursey By.)
OS 2:9:4 (51,174) Not Indicated OD 200-300 22260, 23638
Castle (site) Situated the village of Tober. No visible remains at ground level.
2:15 29-6-93

GORTEEN (Kilcoursey By.)
OS 2:13:4 (51,174) 'Gorteen Castle' OD 100-200 22320, 23550
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land SSE of the village of Tober with Gorteen House immediately W and Kilmanaghan church and graveyard (672) to SSW. AN early 17th century map of 'Fox's Country' indicates a castle in this townland (Loeber Survey 1988). No visible remains at ground level.
2:26(01) 29-6-93

KILCUMMIN
OS 14:9:6 (184, 162) Not Indicated OD 100-200 20459, 22332
Castle site Situated in pasture-land. The site of the castle is now occupied by Kilcummin House. In a letter to Lord Deputy St John concerning the projected plantation of Delvin Mac Coghlan, dated 1620, Mathew de Renzy described the ruined Kilcummin Castle, then in the possession of Sir John Mac Coghlan, as having been built by the English and 'ruinated by Art mac Cormac [Mac Coghlan]' (Mac Cuarta 1987, 176). No visible remains at ground level.
14:48 23-11 -93

Castle Sites in Offaly - Part 5

KILMAINE
OS 35:12:3 (916,231) 'Carroll's Castle (site of )' OD 200-300 21245, 20503
Castle (site) Situated in in the low-lying floodplains of the Camcor River which runs to the N of the castle, and the Fuarawn River which flows in a N-S direction to W of the site. Mentioned in 1667 in the Quit Rent Survey and Distribution Book for the Parish of Shyrikyan (SeirKieran) as the property of Owen Carroll, son of Daniel Carroll of Ballymooney (877). The remains of the castle comprise no more than a few grass-covered mounds of loosely piled rubble enclosed at S and E by a broad fosse (Wth 3m; D 0.5n). An entry in the Birr journal for 1690 indicates that there were gardens at Kilmaine. In February of that year an observer had seen 'a load of cypress trees, tulips, and other flower roots, and herbs' being taken from Sir Laurence Parsons' garden at Birr and carried to Kilmaine for resetting in the gardens of Lieutenant Colonel Owen Carroll (pers. comm. A. Leonard). (O'Flanagan 1933, vol. 2, 25)
35:19 17-1-94

KILNAGARNAGH
OS 7:13:2 (145,136) Not Indicated OD 200-300 21389, 22952
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land within Kilnagarnagh Demesne. The Down Survey barony map of Garrycastle shows a tower house in this townland. It was in the ownership of John Mc Fir Mac Coghlan in 1641 (Loeber Survey 1988). The site of the castle is now occupied by Kilnagarnagh House. No visible remains at ground level.
7:61 18-10-93

KINLCORA
OS 14:12:6 (911,222) Not Indicated OD 100-200 21227, 22401
Castle (site) Situated on a natural rise in the floodplain of the River Brosna which it overlooks to W. According to Mathew de Renzy, writing in 1616 and again in 1620, the castle of Kincora was built by Sir Richard Tuite and the bawn about it was by James Og Mac Coghlan in whose possession it was at that time. In addition to the castle he described the abandoned 'great town' of Kincora which than been 'builded by the English where they had a fair and market and the streets of the towne are yet to be seene and went by the English names' (Mac Cuarta 1987, 122, 177). De Renzy also made a proposal for the construction of a 'stony bridge' over the Brosna at Kincora (ibid., 175). The castle was in the ownership of John Mac Coghlan in 1641 (Loeber Survey 1988). Its site may be identified as grass-covered wall-footings of a building situated to W of the 19th-century house in Kincora. The presence of a late medieval punch-dressed window jamb incorporated into the side of the demesne wall suggests that the castle masonry is likely to have been used to build the later house, its outbuilding and demesne wall.
14:46 26-11-93

KYLEBEG OR BANAGHER
OS 21:16:4 (754,26) Not Indicated OD 100-200 20092, 21545
Castle (site) Situated within the town of Banagher overlooking the River Shannon to N. In a concerted effort to plant Delvin Mac Coghlan plans were made in 1621 to erect a fort or plantation castle in Banagher. In 1624 the fortification was completed under the direction of Sir Arthur Blundell and named Fort Falkland after Sir Henry Carey, Viscount Falkland, who was appointed Lord Deputy in 1622. A drawing of this stronghold made by Nicholas Pynnar in 1624 shows a long rectangular building with gabled roof, placed within a large rectangular enclosure with battered and crenellated walls and surrounded by a moat. A circular tower containing several cruciform gun loops positioned at the corner facing into the river and a twin bastioned gatehouse with drawbridge was placed on the opposite side (Bradley 1986, 14).
21:3 31-1-94

LEHINCH
OS 8:7:2 (580,437) Not Indicated OD 200-300 228822, 23280
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land N of the River Brosna. The property of Hubert Fox in the late 16th and early 17th century (Loeber Survey 1988). The site of the castle is now occupied by Lehinch House. No visible remains at ground level.
8:60 4-6-93

LISCLOONEY
OS 22:1:1 (79,538) 'Lisclooney Castle (in ruins)' OD 200-300 20342, 22088
Castles (sites) Situated in flat well-drained land commanding good views of the surrounding countryside. There appears to have been two castles at this site; the annals (AFM., vol.5 1543) record the completion of the castle 'Lis-cluaine' by Melaghlin O'Dalaghan on the festival of St. Matthew the evangelist in 1556, while Mathew de Renzy writing in 1620 explained that the 'fine and stately seat of the castle of Liscluna' then in the hands of Hugh O'Dalaghan, had replaced an earlier castle called 'Cul Fiamhaigh', the ruins of which are still to be seen in 1620 within the parkland of its successor. De Renzy described the then castle of Lisclooney as 'one of the principalst seats' in Delvin Mac Coghlan, Englischlike seated with a fine parke neare it and goodly meddows belonging to it upon the Shenen side' (Mac Cuarta 1987, 170-73). In 1641 Lisclooney was still in the hands of Hugh O'Dalaghan but it was assigned to the Duke of York in 1666 (Loeber Survey 1988). The present structure at Lisclooney is an L-plan house (963) which may be synonymous with O'Dalaghan's castle, but it could have been erected later on its site. (Cooke 1875, 335; O'Flangan 1933, vol. 1, 59; ITA Survey 1942)
22:1 25-11-93

MILLTOWN
OS 30:5:4 (44,314) 'Milltown Ho.' OD 100-200 20319, 21209
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land E of Rapemills River. Writing to Lord Deputy St Lord Deputy St John in 1620, Mathew de Renzy described the castle of Baile na Muilean as ' builded uppon a rock and a pleasant streame running close by the wall of it, with good land about it' located near the pass from Delvin Mac Coghlan into Ely O'Carroll, and then in the hands of Melaghlin Lia Mac Coghlan (Mac Cuarta 1987, 169). In 1641 the castle and the lands at Milltown were in the ownership of Arthur Coghlan. In 1666 the property was granted to Joshua Hensy (Loeber Survey 1988). Milltown House was built on its site.
30:22 8-12-93

Castle Sites in Offaly - Part 6

MOUNTHEATON
OS 42:15:6 (643,63) Not indicated OD 200-300 20968, 19031
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land S of the Little Brosna River. The site of the castle is now occupied by Mount St Joseph Abbey. No visible remains at ground level.

MOYSTOWN DEMESNE
OS 22:4:485 (23,485) 'Castle (in ruins)' OD 100-200 20291, 22031
Castle (site) Situated at the E end of 'Oak Wood' in Moystown Demesne, W of the River Brosna. Tisaran church and graveyard (686) lies near by to E. A Mac Coghlan stronghold which was demolished in 1548 (AFM., vol. 5, 1511). The existing castle may have been rebuilt or a new castle built on its site as a plan of a three -storey battlement castle with accompanying bawn wall is documented among the 17th century papers of Mathew de Renzy (Loeber Survey 1988). No visible remains at the ground level. (Cooke 1875, 335-6)
22:3(01) 25 -11 -93

NEWTOWN (Geashill By.)
OS 25:4:4 (749,506) 'Castle (in ruins)' OD 200-300
23984, 22081
Castle (site) Situated in pasture-land immediately W of Newtown House. Designated 'Castle in ruins' on both the first and current OS eds. No visible remains at ground level.
(O' Flanagan 1933, vol. 1, 74-5)
25:5 4-5-93

PIGEONSTOWN
OS 36:12:3 (902, 258) 'Castle (site of ) ' OD 1000-1100 22206, 20525
Castle (site) Situated on a commanding height in upland terrain. The site of the castle is designated here on both the first and current OS eds. No visible remains at ground level.
36:45 20-8-93

RAHAN DEMESNE
OS 16:6 NPL Not Indicated OD 100-200
Castle (site) A castle was built in 1227 at 'Rahan O'Swaynie' by Symon Clifford (Ann. Clon ., 233). It was possibly located on the churchlands of Rahan, in the vicinity of the monastic site (689). No visible remains at ground level.
16:48 25-6-93

RAHEEN (Upper Philipstown By.)
OS 26:11:! (480, 278) 'Raheen Castle (site of)'
OD 300-400 24677,21845
Castle (site) Situated on high ground overlooking Raheen Lough to SW. A few large stones protruding from the surface is all that remain s of the castle.
26:24 7-10-92

RAHEENKEERAN
OS 27:5:2 (82,389) 'Raheenakeeran Castle (site of )'
OD 200-300 25231,21967
Castle (site) Situated in an area of rough grazingland in Walsh Island with bogland to the E. Castle House was built on or near to its site. No visible remains at ground level.
27:3(01) 28-8-92

RASHINAGH
OS 7:9:4 (65,188) Not indicated OD 200-300
21304,23006
Castle (site) Situated in undulating pasture-land with an enclosure (558) nearby to N. The site of the castle is now occupied by Rashina House. No visible remains at ground level.
7:60 18-10-93

RATHDRUM
OS 9:16:6 (903,12) 'Castle (site of)' OD 300-400
24141 , 22841
Castle (site) Situated on a mound immediately N of Rathdrum House commanding extensive views of the surrounding flat countryside. The mound (dims. at summit 29.5m N-S x 32.5m E-W ; H 3.5m) on which the castle once stood has a n artificial appearance and there is evidence at N that it may have been enclosed by a fosse at its base. No visible remains of castle masonry.
9:29(01) 3-5-93

RATHROBIN
OS 24:14:2 (373,92) 'Rathrobin Castle (in ruins)'
OD 300-400 22615,21634
Castle (site) Situated on high ground within the demesne of Rathrobin House affording good views of the surrounding countryside. The Down Survey barony map of Ballyboy shows a large tower and some cabins in this townland. In 1641 the castle was in the possession of Dermot Doogan who was transplanted to Galway 1653-4 (Loeber Survey 1988). In 1694 Nicholas Biddulph apparently built a house near the old castle. A 19th -century house stood on its site until c. 1920 when it was burnt down. Apart from a rectangular hood-moulding of late medieval date incorporated into the gable end of an outbuilding to NW of the ruins of the 19th century house there are no upstanding remains of the castle. This architectural feature may have been part of the earlier castle, or Biddulph's 17th century house. (Bence-Jones 1978,240)
24:44(01) 1-7-93

Castle Sites in Offaly - Part 7

ROSCORE DEMESNE
OS 16:14:2 (365,112) Not indicated OD 100-200
22602,22295
Castle (site) Situated in low-lying grazingland overlooking bogland to N. The site of the castle is now occupied by Roscore House. An early 17th century map of Ballycowan barony shows two small buildings at 'Ross Coyr'. The castle was in the possession of Laurence Hammond in 1641 and was granted to John Jarvis in 1666 (Loeber Survey 1988) An earlier account of the site (ITA Survey 1942) described the S gable and of the W wall of a building with a projecting tower at its SW angle. The corner tower contained musket loops at ground floor level and the gable wall of the main body of the castle had small rectangular windows with wooden frames at ground floor level. This description suggests that the structure may have been a 17th century fortified house. [For a photograph, see Sr. Oliver Wrafter's Rahan looks back.]
16:34(01) 26-6-93

SHINRONE
OS 42:9:3(184,261) 'Castle (site of )' OD 200-300
20482,19236
Castle (site) Situated S of the main street through Shinrone and N of the Little Brosna River. A survey of 1622 indicates that the castle was property of Donough Mac Gilfoyle (Loeber Survey 1988). The area in which the castle formerly stood is locally know as 'Bawnmore'. No visible remains at ground level.
42:25 24-1-94

TOGHER (Lower Philipstown By. )
OS 10:8:6 (904,362) 'Lady Mary Warren's Castle (site of )'
OD 200-300 25115,23217
Castle (site, possible) Situated in flat land immediately S of the historically important 'Togher of Croghan' (316 , 324). The first and current OS eds. designate this site as 'Lady Warren's Castle' but the Down Survey of 1654 documents that Mary Warren occupied the nearby tower house of Toberdaly (863). There may never have been a castle at this location, the Ordnance Survey possibly having confused it with Toberdaly. No visible remains at ground level.
10:19 13-8-91

TOWNPARKS (Ballybritt By.)
OS 35:10:1 (290,334) 'Black Castle (site), Birr Castle'
OD 100-200 20550,20502
Castle (site) For the 'Black Castle' at Birr see Townparks (967)
35:12(01) 21-12-93

TULLA AND CRUMLIN
OS 39:7:5 (588,374) 'Tulla Castle (site of)'
OD 600-700 21878,20006
Castle (site) Situated in pasture land N of a tributary of the Carncor River. Tulla House lies immediately to WNW. On first and current OS eds. the field in which the castle is sited is indicated as a tree plantation. No visible remains at ground level. (O'Flanagan 1933, vol. 2,21)
39:27 7-9-93

TULLAMORE
OS 17:5:6 (174,328) Not indicated OD 200-300
23374,22529
Castle (site) Situated in the area N of Kilbride Street at the NW end of Tullamore town. The castle which formerly stood here was the property of Theobald O'Molloy (d. 1583) who left his estate to his grandson Edward who himself later mortgaged the castle to the Moores of Croghan . Following Edward's death in 1608 his sisters sold the castle to the Moores (Loeber Survey 1988). No visible remains at ground level. [This castle is shown on maps of the 1620s and may have been located on the bank of the Tullamore rising near the present sewerage works. A photograph taken by the late Garda Joseph Hanly, c. 1940, may, in fact be the remains of this structure.]
17:35 18-5-93