What is recorded here

Tullamain Castle is a modern dwelling built 1835-1838 by William Tinsley in imitation of an old castle, said to stand where Richard Comyn's thatched castle once rose before disappearing without a vestige. It burnt in the 1920s and was rebuilt, joining Maher's fancy construction and Comyn's lost stone in one repeating line. The place keeps inventing itself because nobody stopped to ask whether the new castle was pretending or remembering.

The Civil Survey (1654-6) refers to 'an old Castle thatcht with straw' in 'Tullaghmaine' which was in 1640 under the proprietorship of 'Richard Comyn of Tullaghmaine Irish Papist' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 206). According to the OS Letters (c. 1840) Tullamain Castle 'is a modern dwelling house, erected by Mr. Maher in fancy imitation of the style of an old castle, and finished about two years ago. It is said to be built on or near the site of an ancient castle, a portion of the walls of which existed not many years since. Not a vestige of the old building now remains' (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 3, 80). The present 'castle', as described in the OS Letters, was designed by William Tinsley and built between 1835 and 1838 (Bence-Jones 1988, 277). The 'castle' was burnt in the 1920s and subsequently rebuilt (Craig and Garner 1975, 104). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

Richard Comyn held Tullamain Castle in 1640; it is remembered as an early example of an Irish Catholic proprietor's residence during a period of religious and political tension.

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