What is recorded here

Kilculleen Castle vanished into the wrong county or the wrong memory, leaving behind only a tower shadow on old maps and a bawn whose stones may still lie buried under Limerick grass. Bourke, Roch and Ingoldsbye passed it like a cup at a banquet, each drinking ownership before spilling it to the next. The castle did not collapse so much as stop answering questions, pulling its walls inward until even the surveyors could draw only a tall ghost. What remains is a hole shaped like a house, waiting for someone to stop looking for facts and start listening for the knock.

The precise location of a castle and bawn (LI014-106001-) in the townland of Kilculleen not been identified. Westropp (1906-7, 93) recorded the following details about Kilculleen Castle; '1583 Kyllkollen C[astle]. held by W. Bourke (Des. R., 57). 1623 Pardon to Jasper White for alienating C[astle]. to J. Roch (Pat. R.). 1624 Stephen Roch held it (Inq. Chan. 24a). 1655 C[astle]. and bawen held by Ingoldsbye. Kilcowlin is shown as a tall tower, with high gables and chimneys (D.S.A. 26, C.S., xxi., p. 38); not to be confused with Kilcullane in Small County.' Tower-house like castle depicted on the 17th century Down Survey map of Clanwilliam Barony (Hib. Reg.) and on the parish map of Luddenbeg (NLI MS. 718). The 1654-56 Civil Survey of Limerick recorded that John Borke was the owner of 'a Castle and a bawen unrepaired' (Simington 1938, 84). According to Lynch (1911-13, 26) in Kilculleen there are 'the sites of a church and a castle termed Shanawally, i.e., Sean bhaile, the old baile, or enclosure'. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 2 December 2020

Kilculleen Castle was held in 1583, as recorded by Westropp. Its significance lies in its mention during the 16th-century English administration of Ireland, reflecting the period's efforts to document and control local strongholds.

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