What is recorded here

Paule Boyton Ballycleraghane owned a little castle in Ballyclerahan during the Civil Survey, yet no exact ruin remains for a visitor to touch. The missing structure may have stood near the old village and parish church, while a different strong tower belongs to the wider local memory. Forgetting the exact stones does not erase the household, defense or loss that once filled them.

The Civil Survey (1654-6) refers to the proprietor of Ballyclerahan as 'Paule Boyton Ballycleraghane gent Irish Papist...Upon the sd lands stands a little castle' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 313). This castle is unlocated, but is likely to have been located close to the former village and medieval parish church. Lewis (1837, vol. 1, 128), describes the parish of Ballyclerahan as being 'chiefly remarkable for its castle of great strength, said to have been built by Mocklerough More, or the "great Mockler," …this castle, opposite to which the Butler family erected a strong fortress on their own estate, was besieged by Cromwell …the remains consist of a lofty square tower in one of the angles of the court, which is enclosed with very strong walls of stone; also part of a dwelling-house within the area, and, on the outside, the ruins of a chapel near the gateway'. There is no castle surviving in Ballyclerahan. The above description probably refers to another castle. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

Built or held by Paule Boyton in the mid-17th century, this castle is remembered primarily through the Civil Survey of 1654–56, which notes its presence on the lands of Ballyclerahan, highlighting the ownership patterns and structures of the time in Ireland.

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