What is recorded here

Castle and manor of Ballibothey appears in Ormond deeds from 1408 to 1447, and Butlers still held Ballyboe when the Civil Survey recorded old castle ruins beside a thatched house. The castle has never been located, though local memory points to a corner of the field where the moat remains. It may still be buried under grass, waiting for someone to stop asking permission and begin digging.

According to the Civil Survey (1654-6) 'Richard Butler fitz Wm. of Polkerry Esqr Irish Papist' held land in Ballyboe and upon this land 'stands a good thatcht house and the ruines of an old castle' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 281). Cairns (1987, 34) gives the first definite reference to a castle at Ballyboe as c. 1408 in the Ormond deeds, 1509-47 'the castle and manor of Ballibothey' which is included in a deed confirming Butlers lands (COD, vol. 4, 177). The Big House in the townland is a typical Georgian residence with no visible evidence of incorporating an earlier build. There is a tradition that the castle stood not farm from this house, 'in one of the corners of the field in which the moat is' (Corcoran et. al. 1989, 24), the moat being the motte (TS078-032----). However it remains unlocated within Ballyboe townland. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

Richard Butler fitz William of Polkerry held land in Ballyboe in the mid-17th century, where an old castle stood alongside a thatched house. The site is remembered through the 1654–5 Civil Survey, offering a rare reference to early modern landholding and structures in the region.

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