Armorial plaque in Ballinvirick

This armorial plaque was reported to ASI by Tom Cassidy, Conservation Officer with Limerick County Council on 27th September 2012. It is in the kitchen of Ballinvirick House, Co. Limerick. The arms are probably those of Sir Francis Berkeley who was granted nearby Askeaton Castle (LI011-092003-) in the Munster Plantation and was besieged there in 1598 (see Westropp, T.J. (1902) 'Sir Francis Berkeley of Askeaton' in Journal of Limerick Field Club 2, 118-132). This stone may have been the centre-piece of a fireplace mantle, probably in Askeaton Castle though there is no evidence for this.