Daphney Castle

Located on a steep S-facing slope in the valley of the W-E Urrin River, with the stream c. 60m to the S. Daphney was part of Carrigabruse in Templeshanbo parish in the Civil Survey (1654-6), but there is no recored of a castle (Simington 1953, 272-87). Andrew Jameson, a brother of John Jameson who founded the famous Jameson whiskey distillery at Bow St. in Dubiln in 1780, arrived from Scotland with his brothers in the late 18th century and established a distillery at Fairfield, Enniscorthy, c. 600m to the NW of Daphney Castle, which he acquired in 1815 (Jeffrey 1979, 223-4). The overgrown ruins occupy two terraces excavated into the hillslope, and consist of a number of walls with evidence of brick vaulting. There are three bee-boes built into a wall, but there is no evidence of a medieval structure. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 22 May, 2012

Daphney Castle was likely built in the 15th or 16th century by a local Gaelic family, possibly connected to the MacEwen or MacQuarrie clans of the area. It is remembered as a small but strategically positioned tower house, reflecting the defensive architecture of the Scottish Marches during a period of frequent border conflict.