Black Castle (in ruins)

Set by a small stream in very marshy area at a point where a small N-S river valley narrows onto a near gorge. The castle commands the valley at this point. The sides of the valley rise steeply to the E, S and W, while to the N the valley opens out to a flat reclaimed floor. The Ordnance Survey letters (1839) record, 'part of the east side of a Castle called the Black Castle in the same townland; the wall was nine feet [c. 2.7m] thick' (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 1, 203). Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 269), describes it as, 'now a broken fragment, [which] was the residence of the Rochefords till the Cromwellian confiscations'. The 25-inch OS map depicts Black Castle as a roofless rectangular building (dims. c. 11m x c. 4.5m) orientated NE-SW, with gables to the NW and SE. In 1987 the only visible remains consisted of a massively thick wall sandwiched between two derelict farm buildings. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 21 December 2016

Built in the 13th century, the Black Castle at Killaree was likely constructed by a local Norman lord to control strategic river crossings and trade routes through the valley. Its importance lies in its defensive position, which made it a key stronghold in the medieval control of the surrounding region.