What is recorded here

Cloghan Castle is a four-storey tower house inside a long bawn wall on a slight rise above the Shannon floodplain. The Elizabethan army destroyed the earlier castle in 1595, after which the surviving structure was rebuilt and later changed, including an 18th-century square flanking tower at the southwest angle. The bawn still runs north, east, south and west before joining the tower, preserving the shape of a household that watched water, weather and danger from a small height.

Situated on a slight rise overlooking the low-lying floodplains of the river Shannon to the S. Well preserved rectangular tower house (OF029-008001-) four storeys high which has been greatly modified with a later building attached to the E side of the tower. The bawn wall (int. dims 12.85m E-W; 44m N-S) has also been modified on the SW angle where an 18th-century square flanking tower and outhouses were inserted. Originally the bawn ran northwards from the NW angle of the tower returning eastwards then returning southwards then westwards and then northwards where it joined the tower at the SW angle. Three original flanking towers survive along with the wall walk. Probably dating to the period of rebuilding after the castle was destroyed by the Elizabethan army in 1595 (JRSAI 1862, 188-9). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 May 2011

Built in the late 15th or early 16th century by the Blake family, Cloghan Castle is an important example of a well-preserved Irish tower house, reflecting the defensive and social structures of the medieval Gaelic aristocracy in the Shannon region.

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.