What is recorded here

Ballymureen Castle vanished beneath flat Tipperary pasture, leaving only a ruined kitchen chamber and a forgotten bawn behind a later house. The Civil Survey called the whole site out of repair in 1654, yet the surviving room still measures small enough for one family to heat, cook and argue inside. Its thick north wall and broad fireplace suggest heat was the point, not grandeur. Whatever the castle once guarded, the countryside has guarded it back, smoothing the stones until memory must do the digging.

Situated on flat pasture in undulating countryside with a nearby church (TN048-015----) to the W. Described in the Civil Survey (1654-6) as an 'old castle and Bawne out of repaire' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 67). Described in the OS Letters as a small two-storey gabled building (int. dims. 21ft (6.8m) x 14ft (4.26m); wall T 5.5ft (1.67m)) with a large fireplace and a chimney in the N wall which according to local tradition was the kitchen of the castle (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 2, 90-91). No visible remains of the castle and bawn (TN048-016002-) at ground level. They were probably replaced by the nineteenth-century house and modern outhouses. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008

Ballymureen Castle was likely built by the Fitzgerald family, the Geraldines, who were prominent in the region during the late medieval period. It is remembered for its mention in the 17th-century Civil Survey, highlighting its decline following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.