What is recorded here

Ardfinnan Castle stands on a massive rock outcrop above the River Suir, watching the bridge and settlement below like a stone guardian that never blinked. Its tower house rises four storeys from the old castle bawn, still occupied after centuries of siege and storm. The crude dripstones and battered base suggest hands that built for life, not display, while the missing windows leave the interior dark to imagination.

On top of a massive rock outcrop overlooking the River Suir to the S, its strategic position dominating the settlement and bridge below. Ardfinnan Castle was beseiged during the Cromwellian wars in the mid-17th century (Killanin and Duignan 1967, 66). The tower house (ext. dims. c. 6m x 10m), still occupied, is built onto the SE angle of the bawn of the 13th-century castle (TS088-001001-). It is at least four storeys high and is rendered with plaster. None of the original fenestration is extant, with the possible exception of a loop in the E face. Visible original features include a series of crude dripstones in the top masonry courses and a pronounced base-batter. A caphouse runs N-S along the E wall. (Farrelly and FitzPatrick 1993, 1-5). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

Ardfinnan Castle was built by the Fitzgeralds, Lords of Kerry, in the 13th century and later held by the Butler family. It is remembered for its strategic role in controlling the River Suir and for being besieged during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in the mid-17th century.

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