Castle Otway

Situated on level ground in gently rolling pastureland. Described in the Civil Survey (1654-6) as a 'castle partly repaired at the Common Wealthes charge' (Simington 1934, vol. 2, 230). Several landowners are listed as proprietors, including 'Daniell Kenedy of Ballintotta[,]Dermod Kenedy of Shanballyard[,]Richard Butler of Kylcash Esqr All Irish Papists' (ibid.). According to Bence-Jones (1988, 74) the tower incorporates part of the original Clohonan or Cloghanane Castle which was granted to John Otway 1665 and later renamed Castle Otway. A late sixteenth/early seventeenth-century tower house (int. dims. 10.75m NE-SW; 13.9m NW-SE; wall T 1.15m-1.2m) which has been incorporated into an eighteenth-century house and rebuilt in the nineteenth century. There is a doorway in the NE face with later stairs to the NE descending to basement of the eighteenth-century house. The N jamb with chamfered edge has dressing typical of the late sixteenth/early seventeenth century. Original flat-headed single lights with gun loops on either side are in the W end of the NW wall and the E end of the NE wall. A single-light in the NE wall had a wooden lintel below voussoirs composed of slender slabs. This light is blocked up as it is facing into a room in the eighteenth-century house. There is a wall cupboard on the NW wall in the W corner. A window in the NW wall has traces of a wooden shutter with iron hinges. No base-batter evident on external face. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008

Built during the 17th century, Castle Otway, Cloghonan was partially repaired at the expense of the Commonwealth during the Cromwellian period, indicating its strategic or administrative significance following the English Reformation. Its mention in the Civil Survey highlights its role in the post-conflict reorganization of land and power in Ireland.