What is recorded here

Ballynakill Castle is a two-storey limestone tower house in County Westmeath, reduced to SE and SW walls that still rise six to seven metres above gently undulating pasture. Its interior has become a cattle shed, where barrel vaulting spans the ground and first floor levels while robbed quoins and a probable bawn wall mark the SW edge. The castle may have housed families, stored grain or witnessed local conflicts, but those lives have faded into the stones and grass.

Sited on a slight rise, in gently undulating pasture. Ballynakill Castle described in 1979 as the ruins of a rectangular tower house standing two storeys high of which only the SE (approx. L 9m) and SW (approx. L 6m; H 6-7m) walls survive upstanding. The walls are constructed of limestone with a prominent base batter visible. The facing stones of the batter and the quoins have been robbed out. The interior of the castle is covered and used as a cattle shed. The remains of barrel vaulting can be seen over the ground and first floor levels. A pile of stones lie to S of the castle ruins. The remains of a probable bawn wall (WM022-006001-) adjoin to SW. Compiled by: Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien Date of upload: 15 July 2019

Ballynakill Castle is a 16th-century tower house, likely built by the Butler family, who were prominent in the area during the Tudor period. It is remembered as a typical example of a defensive structure from the medieval period in the region.

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