Castle

Known as Stella's castle, the tower house is located in a level field of tillage adjacent to St Catherine's housing estate. Inquisition of 1541 describes the castle as having divers buildings including a threshing house, hemp yard and haggard. The Civil survey (1654-6) describes this site as an 'old castle' owned by the 'Parsonage of Portrarne' (Simington 1945, 148). It rises to three storeys with a spiral stairs tower in the NE corner that projects to the E. Built of coursed limestone masonry. Access is blocked (ext. dims.6m E-W; 7.3m N-S). An unusual feature of the entrance on the N side is that the walls either side protrude to offset the doorway and the first floor level over sails the ground floor on this side of the towerhouse. A string course marks the parapet level. The upper portion has 17th century brick additions including a chimney. These may have been efforts to buttress this weakened side. The external east and south facades are exceptionally overgrown with ivy. The entrance passage is defended by a murder hole. There is a barrel vault over the ground floor. It contains an arched recess. There are wall presses and an original fireplace on the first floor. Interior is lit by plain opes in S wall. Compiled by: Geraldine Stout Updated by: Christine Baker Date of upload: 19 December 2014

Built by the MacCathmhaoil (MacCathmhaol) family, Castle Portraine, also known as Stella's Castle, dates to the 16th century and is remembered as a historic tower house associated with the Gaelic aristocracy of the period.