What is recorded here

Down Survey cartographers marked a good castle in repair at Strahan in 1656, yet by 1994 only a low hummocky platform remained beside its fountain. The stones vanished or sank into the E-facing slope, leaving behind a roughly square bawn visible only from above. What is left is a ghost of a shadow, a castle that refused to be remembered by ordinary eyes.

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 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)’. O’Kelly (1969, 84) describes, ‘A castle and mock tower both in ruins are beside the fountain’. The fountain is indicated on the 1948-9 revision c. 35m NNE of the castle. 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 (KK028-012001-) is visible on satellite imagery (Google Earth, imagery date 27 March 2022). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly

Built by the Strahan family in the late medieval period, Stroan Castle is notable for its strategic positioning, offering good views to the NE-E-S and reflecting the defensive and administrative roles of such structures during that era.

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