What is recorded here

Garrynlease Castle vanished into the Limerick soil, leaving behind only an iron gate and a name repeated in two places. Sir Edward Fitz Harrys held the land in 1640, perhaps occupying one building rather than two, while surveyors hovered uncertain over the duplicate entry. The castle may never have been separate from Kilfinnan, but the gate remains real in the writing, a thin metal tongue poking through the fog of history.

The precise location of Garrynlease Castle has not been identified. Westropp (1906-7, 194) recorded the following details about Garrynlease Castle; '1655 Garrileasy C[astle]. and iron gate, Sir E. Fitz Harys (C.S., xxv., p. 25). Perhaps same as last [Kilfinnan Castle]'. The 1654-56 Civil Survey of Limerick recorded that Sir Edward Fitz Harrys, an Irish Papist was in 1640 the owner of 'Kilfynane, Ballinleynye, Ballinro, Ballyriggyne being parte of Moorestowne, Ballyngerodie, and Garrileasy containing two plowlands, with a Castle and an Iron Grate' (Simington 1938, 246). Probably a duplicate site with Kilfinnan Castle (LI048-057----). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 23 September 2021

Garrynlease Castle was held by Sir Edward FitzHarris in 1655. It is remembered as a minor fortified structure noted in historical land records, though its exact location and broader significance remain unclear.

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