Castle, Mountain Castle

Located on high ground overlooking the Finisk River, which is c. 60m to the W. Built by the McGrath or McCreagh family in the early 16th century and owned by Garret Fitzgerald of Dromana (WA029-021----) in 1640 when it was described as a small defencible castle (Simington 1942, 60). J. O'Donovan described it c. 1840 as comprising three storeys with dressed quoins (O'Flanagan 1929, 49). The building is now reduced to two storeys with an attic and has been refurbished as a modern dwelling. It is a rectangular structure (ext. dims. 10.1m N-S; 8m E-W; int. dims. 5.8m x 3.3m) with an external base-batter. The original pointed doorway is towards the W end of the N wall with a mural stairs, now preserved in a wall-cupboard, off the lobby in the N wall. Spiral stairs rise from the first floor at the NE angle. No vaulting survives and there are no original windows. O'Flanagan, M. (Compiler) (1929) Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Waterford collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1841. Typescript. Bray. Simington, R. C. (ed.) (1942) The Civil Survey AD 1654-1656, vi, the County of Waterford. Irish Manuscripts Commission. Dublin. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 23 December 2008

Built by the McGrath or McCreagh family in the early 16th century and later owned by Garret Fitzgerald of Dromana in 1640. Its strategic position on high ground overlooking the Finisk River highlights its importance for local defense and control of the surrounding area.