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Castle — Ballyowen

House — fortified house

Why this matters

Ballyowen Castle was built in the 16th or 17th century as a fortified house, likely by a local landowning family for defensive and residential purposes. It is remembered for its historical architecture, including a projecting corner turret noted in an 18th-century drawing by Beranger.

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Overview

Castle — Ballyowen is recorded as House — fortified house in Dublin. Ballyowen Castle is a 16th/17th century fortified house (Gowen 1995, unpub. A drawing by Beranger (1766) shows a large rectangular building with a projecting corner turret (Harbison 1998, 56-7).

Who built and held it

The saved account records: Excavations in 1995, prior to development identified a clay-bonded wall lying to the N of the castle associated with medieval pottery, interpreted as a stone-building of 15th-century date.

Attack, change and use

The saved account records: Ballyowen Castle is a 16th/17th century fortified house (Gowen 1995, unpub.

What survives

The saved account records: There are four entrances into it, an external blocked doorwayin the E wall, an entrance at ground floor level in the S wall, a second entrance at first floor level in the S wall and a possible entrance at second floor level in the S wall.

Why it mattered

Castle — Ballyowen matters because the source ties house — fortified house to this exact landscape and preserves evidence that a bare map name loses. The saved account adds: A drawing by Beranger (1766) shows a large rectangular building with a projecting corner turret (Harbison 1998, 56-7).

History checked 15 August 2026 against the named sources below.

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