Castle Bernard

Not visible at ground level. 19th-century house known as 'Castle Bernard' built near the castle which was erected in Kinnitty in the year 1213 by the Anglo-Normans (Cooke 1875, 21). Castle probably built on top of nearby motte (OF036-044003-) to S of Castle Bernard. In 1997 archaeological test trenching was carried out by Jim Higgins under licence no. 97E0105. Two cuttings were excavated, one at the site of the proposed sewage treatment facility for the house and a second cutting in the shore or moat around the castellated house where a new doorway was being inserted to replace an existing window. No archaeological features were uncovered. A hole was dug in the SE corner of the courtyard at the rear of the 19th century house known as Castle Bernard in 1982. The hole (top Wth. 0.55m; base Wth. 0.9m) revealed traces of a human burial which may have belonged to a burial ground although no evidence for other burials was revealed in the sections of the excavated hole. Inside this hole there was evidence for an earlier wall at a depth of 0.58m of a possible building underneath the 19th century courtyard wall. (ASI file 1982). This site is located within the grounds of Kinnitty Castle, Kinnitty, Co. Offaly. The Pain brothers built Castle Bernard in a Tudor/Gothic revival style in 1833. It has a three-storeyed facade, an impressive entrance front with gables and oriels and a corner castellated tower; it was built of blue-grey limestone. The gardens were exquisitely landscaped. The Annals of Clonmacnoise document the completion of a 'Castle' at Kinnitty in 1214. The castle was built as part of a sub-infeudation undertaken by Theobald Walter, who was granted Munster in AD 1185. The archaeological assessment was carried out under licence no. 03E1964 on 15 and 16 January 2004 as a result of a 'further information request' by Offaly County Council in relation to the proposed development at Kinnitty Castle. At the location of the proposed new bedroom wing the remains of a wall, a cobbled surface and a linear cut feature were identified in Trench 1. These features are associated with activity surrounding the 19th-century Kinnitty Castle. At the location of the proposed conference centre, Trenches 2 and 3, a linear ditch feature was identified. There were no datable finds associated with this feature and, as it is within the 19th-century 'walled garden' in the grounds of Kinnitty Castle, it is likely that this feature is associated with a period of landscaping. No other features of archaeological significance were identified during this assessment. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 April 2009

Built in 1213 by the Anglo-Normans in Kinnitty, Castle Bernard is remembered as part of the medieval expansion into Ireland and was later associated with the 19th-century house that shares its name.