Bawn in Stroan

On the lower reaches of an E-facing slope with good views to the NE-E-S. A stream runs c. 125m to the SE. A castle (KK028-012----) is indicated on the Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of Gowran, County Kilkenny, shown in ‘Stragham’ within ‘Kileane Parish’ (Hibernia Regnum, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin). A more elaborate castle is indicated in ‘Strahan’ on the Down Survey (1655-6) parish map of ‘Killfane’ (National Library of Ireland MS720) and the accompanying terrier describes, ‘upon Straham a good Castle in repaire’ with John Cantwell listed as the proprietor in 1640 (ibid.). The castle is shown on the 1st (1839) ed. OS 6-inch map and 1948-9 revision and annotated, ‘Castle (in ruins)’. When visited in 1994 there was no upstanding masonry visible, only a low, irregular and hummocky platform which may indicate where the castle stood. A roughly square bawn (dims. c. 64m NE-SW; c. 70m NW-SE) is visible on satellite imagery (Google Earth, imagery date 27 March 2022).   Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Bawn in Stroan was likely held by a local landlord or gentry family during the 17th century, as evidenced by its inclusion in the Down Survey of 1655-56. Its strategic location on an east-facing slope with views to the northeast and southeast suggests it served both residential and defensive purposes, typical for castles of that era in Ireland.